Ah, the 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray: six months ago, you witnessed its dramatic unveiling (possibly here on GM Authority), you saw all kinds of videos and in-depth reports on its features and components, and some of you may have already even seen the car in person at an auto show or two. But if you’re in the market to actually buy one, you’ll need to continue being very patient.
That’s because the ordering consensus timeline for the 2014 C7 has been publicized thanks to Corvette Blogger and Kerbeck Chevrolet’s Dave Salvatore. The ordering consensus is GM’s way of determining how many units of a particular product a dealership has “earned” based on a number of factors. Unless the Bowling Green plant in Kentucky that makes the Vette has more capacity than dealer requests and unless some dealers turn away units allocated to them, the amount of units determined by GM in the ordering consensus process for a store is pretty much the amount of units that a specific dealer will receive. For the C7, the ordering consensus period began on May 23rd, and was set to be a two-week-long process. Dealers were given the ability to prioritize their orders by May 30th, all bank orders had to be submitted by June 1st, and dealers had the ability to make changes to any picked-up orders (those that have been reviewed by GM) by June 4th. So far so good.
Now, any orders picked up by GM during the first week of the consensus period didn’t see any order sale changes until June 5th, and any orders assigned number 1,100 and up were not picked up during the first week of the consensus. At this point, GM may start giving dealers approximate assembly dates for the orders that have been received, but for its part, Kerbeck Chevy isn’t taking deposits for 2014 Corvettes just yet and some stores have begun taking orders; Kerbeck, for instance, started taking orders with a deposit on May 31st (hat tip to Todd in the comments).
So even if GM were to begin giving dealers estimated assembly dates for C7 orders, there’s still the fact that such dates are always subject to variation and can easily change, since assembly line, quality control, and a myriad of other factors can delay the initial assembly process.
At the end of the day, the C7 is oh-so-close we can already smell its rubber and exhaust… but yet it seems to be so far from landing in customers’ driveways — since that’s always a grueling wait period measured by the day… and those days can get real long, real fast.
One reader and future C7 buyer said it best: “whenever I’m waiting for something as awesome as the Stingray, minutes turn into hours, and hours into days… and a month seems like a year.”
But good things are worth the wait… right?
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Comments
Ummm….Alex?
The Corvette Assembly Plant is in Bowling Green, KENTUCKY. Not Tennessee…..they used to make Saturns in TN. Google Map it next time ;P
Durrrr… That’s what I get for running on a few hours of sleep. Fixed.
FYI, Kerbeck started taking orders with a deposit on May 31st. I placed my order there the morning of June 1st, and I’m 33rd on the list. They were promised 507 C7s in the first 6-9 months.
I always buy me Corvettes from my local dealer.I know he is small but I feel I can,t or don,t want to drive hrs. and hrs to get service.
Gm get on the stick and let smaller dealers get a allocation.I have bought 13 new vettes as well as over 150 new GM products over the years.Right now I own 2 2011 Cadillacs,1 2013 1500,just sold my 2012 ZL-1 to buy new C-7.
I realize bigger dealers have made a very large investment to sell Vettes and they should get a large no.But remember your smaller customer out in the middle of Mo. who also supports your co.
1 or 2 units a day would not be too much to ask for you to get allocation to the smaller dealers.
Illiceman, you can get service at any Chevy dealer — it doesn’t have to be the one you purchased it from. So if you buy it at a big dealer a couple of hours away, you can still get exactly the same service you normally would at your local dealer. Best of both worlds.
Many people still do business the old fashion way, buy and service at the local dealer. If they don’t sell cars they won’t be around to take care of you. Keep your local dealers alive.
A code I try to live by.GM needs to review this.This has served me very well in the past 70 years,
The dealership gets huge amounts of money from their service department. I support them plenty by giving them the service on my car. In fact, they get a LOT more from service than they do from the initial sale. So you put things in perspective and find that waiting an extra year for a Corvette C7 to finally arrive at my tiny local dealer does not help them, and it certainly doesn’t help me. It is a false sense of duty that hurts everyone.
Thats one way to look at it. I have at a dealer as a technician so I know plenty on how a dealer makes money. The dealer I worked at averaged $3500 profit on a new car and right under $5000 on a used car. That is a lot of labor to make up for the lost sale, how much labor does your car require in a year? I highly doubt it any where near $1000 much less 3-5k.
In case you weren’t aware, when the dealer does warranty work and “included” service, they still get paid. And who says I was talking about 1 year? Do you only own a car 1 year? Profit on a car (which you are over-estimating) is a 1-time event, whereas service is the gift that keeps giving to them. I have friends too.
Since you know everything about the car business there is no need for me to explain the dealers point of view. Its funny how blinding ignorance and arrogance can be.
Dude, I don’t know where your attitude comes from, but you should seriously think about it. YOU are the one who said, “I have at a dealer as a technician so I know plenty on how a dealer makes money.”
What on Earth is wrong with you? Someone suggests that there is no dire need to buy their Corvette at the local dealer and you start flipping out?? Get a grip!
I firmly believe in buying local, and made in America as much as possible. No matter if it is a pair of shoes or a new car. I don’t go to a local store and try on shoes to order them online to save $20. I do this because I like the town I live in and the people that live in it, and if it cost me a little more to keep it that way then so be it. I also shop at local grocery stores as opposed to Walmart because I know where the money goes. So if my local Chevy dealer says I will have to wait a couple extra months to get what I want then I will wait. I would also feel bad bringing a car I bought from another dealer to my local dealer for warranty work. If you have worked in a dealer you know that warranty repairs do not pay very well. The times payed on them are often half of what any other labor guide calls for. For example I was paid a total of 8 hours to change a long block in a car, does that seem reasonable? The service department makes money on routine maintenance like 30k and 60k services which include flushes and high profit items.
“But remember your smaller customer out in the middle of Mo. who also supports your co.”
So they might sell 1 or 2 C7’s a year. Why does the rural dealer demand more attention than say, one in Vegas, where 60 to 200 C7’s might move in a year.
If other automakers are limiting the supply of their hi-po cars to places where the population is high, why should GM have their hi-po cars available in places where the cars are less likely to sell?
GM should sell their cars where the action is, not where it isn’t.
No one is demanding anything here.If your read my post you would know this.
Small dealers for many many years have sold a large amount of GM products and in most cases have made very large investments in their businesses as well as there community.They are owned by local people not large corps. who demand a flate fee just to get to buy from them.
Nor do these dealers ask to get me to the head of the line but let me have one unit here and there.One or two units a day is NOT something that I would call a demand.Nor would it hurt the total production going to other large dealers.
Thanks I do know that.I have never had to do that but.
I checked with my local dealer (Criswell Chevy in Gaithersburg, Md) who said they had 100 orders ahead and I would not see a car until next summer (their allocation is 8-10 cars per month). I just placed an order for the new Jaguar F type which is expected to arrive late summer. This car is ALL New and has received great reviews. BTW, GM is offering $3000 GM card allowances on 2014 Corvettte. I have owned 3 Vettes, the last a 05 C6 which I traded on a 2008 Maserati Grand Turismo. The Vette is stilll a great value for the money.
And as a major owner of their products they gave you ZERO consideration… and when interest rates rise and they are desperate again and they seek your custom.. you will say, “I bought a BRITISH car mate.. thanks for nothing”……………. as an American they gave you nuttin…. you are but a number to them
Terrible logistics…. awful website, terrible service and bloody thieving effing awful dealers.
BUT a 96/100 car… shame for me
Try living in Australia where our government wont allow new LHD vehicles and GM wont make RHD corvettes. Guess Ill just have to keep enjoying my other ‘vettes well I wait for the world to change.
My dad worked at Holdens… if i told him what I went through today to try to pre-order one of these things he would be disgusted
GM is making RHD C7 Corvettes so you should be able to get one there in Australia.
So my late father was so proud to be a design engineer (35 years) at GMH, Isuzu, Opel, Vauxhall and GM that he would have LOVED this car… likewise he was pissed at me because I have never owned a GM until NOW… I want to buy a 2014 C7 Stingray in whatever version…
I have driven so many Australian GM cars that my Dad brought home… many were excellent, many godwaful….. and I have owned Subarus (excellent), a 2000 V8 Lotus Esprit (temperamental), various V8 BMW etc (terrible or GREAT)….. until now ZERO USA made cars have passed me by but I want one of these… I will pay cash… real cash not a deal I cannot afford..
SO
I ring the ALL OF local dealers… all within 50 miles of NY and the Hamptons… everyone tried to extort me with DEALER VIG… so guess what.. I love your pre-release car and
I will NEVER BUY ANY OF YOUR PRODUCTS BECAUSE YOU ARE SLIMEBAGS..
New BMW M4 AT $15K MORE ….. SURE………SHIP IT… GM Dealers in NY you can blow me
Hello, I ordered a 2014 Stingray almost 4 weeks ago with a 20,000.00 down payment. I didn’t even get an order number.
The sales person said I should be hearing or getting an e-mail from GM. Just curious to see if this is standard procedure.
I’m looking for some type of info. Thanks Deb
Wow, no. The standard down payment is $1,000. And the common price for a 2014 Stingray is MSRP — I hope you did not agree to pay anything over the MSRP.
GM does not send e-mails about ordered cars. The only one communicating with you is normally the dealer. Hopefully you got a receipt for your down payment.
How many 2014 stingrays have been made to date?