So you want a new Corvette?
First thing you need to know is there is a waiting list for the cars at every dealer.
Some dealers receive as many as 100 per year or more and some as few as Zero per year.
Once a month GM awards allocations to dealers. Large dealers receive several allocations a month and small ones relatively few if any.
Because of this you must ascertain certain information from your choice in dealers.
1. How many corvettes have they received from GM in the last 3 years, by year.
Check this site for your dealer and or a dealer for their historical allocations
2. How many customers are on their list currently and where you stand on their list.
It's also important to note: Some dealers keep seperate lists for the Z06 and Eray and some don't. So ask about the lists for all flavours of C8 and your variation.
Stingray allocations are impacted by production. For example, the more C8 Z06's manufactured (or other versions of the C8, like the E-Ray), the fewer Stingrays made and that reduces Stingray allocations, which can make it difficult for dealers to predict their Stingray allocations. This is not an exact science.
3. Does the dealer sell for MSRP, or MSRP plus some "additional dealer mark-ups (ADM's)" (if so, what are the ADM's?)? (Best practice is to have dealer confirm pricing in writing or send an email confirming any such conversation.) You decide if you're willing to pay any ADM's or try and find a dealer who sells for only MSRP or close to it.
You might also consider asking:
4. Does the dealer follow the list, by matching received allocations to those at the top of the list or if an allocation is declined by a customer at the top of the list, does the dealer offer it to people next on the list? (ie. the dealer doesn't take allocations for itself and sell for over MSRP).
5. Does a salesman or other designated individual in the dealership, respond in a reasonable time, to customer enquiries about the status of the customer on the Stingray list, or provide periodic updates upon request, once an allocation has been received and GM has assigned an order number? Note: the "order number" is a 6 digit Alphanumeric code.
Once you decide on a dealer you will only be price protected if you pay a deposit and fill out a purchase agreement which is only valid for that model year (MY).
Some dealers will enter your order into the GM ordering software known as "Workbench" and give you an order number and some will not. If you receive an order number your status code will be 1100. *See Status codes below
This only really matters to you. I believe GM scans this information so they know how many orders they can expect to fill, but I have no proof other than I think they'd be foolish not to.
With the order number you can contact the Chevrolet concierge to get some information about your order, but your dealer is the only good source of information about your order (see #5 above) .
You might also want to consider getting on multiple dealer lists, to minimize your wait time. You'll enjoy being behind the wheel that much sooner, making these additional efforts worthwhile. Many have also purchased vehicles out of province and either made the trip to pick them up or had them trailered. Many also check this c8tracker website to see what dealers have received Corvettes and how many. Make sure up front, that any deposits paid to a dealer, are refundable before an allocation is assigned and order made. Then choose the dealer who gets you an allocation the fastest, thereafter cancelling your spot on all other dealer lists and getting deposits refunded. Or if you're loyal to your local dealer and want to be on only one list, recognize you may be in for a longer wait.
Beware: Dealers are still not allowed to order C8's for stock. They can order for the owner or a salesperson, but they have to keep it for a year. They can keep a car if the original purchaser walks away from the order and sell it for whatever price they want over MSRP. Also, you may see cars for sale at MSRP on Autotrader or dealer websites but these are customer cars yet to be picked up by the customer. These cars automatically show up as stock on websites, but aren't.
PIck your options. Make sure your dealer knows that you might be willing to accept other colours or options depending on the constraints at the time of your allocation.
You may not want to wait because the brake calipers can't be yellow for example. See constraints below. Make sure he talks to you first, if it's your turn, because it's YOUR decision, not his!
Some dealers won't even discuss options until the allocation arrives and some will allow you to give him changes any time and some are in the middle. It's best to be certain even before discussing options with them.
Warning!: Make absolutely sure your configuration is the way you want it before your dealer assigns an allocation to your order because once matched and Chevrolet accepts your order (Status 2000), it's virtually impossible to change it.
It's important to note that the National Corvette Museum offers a photo album of your car being built, but Canadians can NOT do the Museum delivery.
Next you wait for the dealer to receive an allocation he can match to your order. This process can be a complicated one because GM can allocate a Stingray, Stingray HTC (convertible), a Z06, A Z06 HTC, etc.. It is also complicated by constraints in a given period. Dealers are told of constraints before allocations are assigned.
For example: If You are next on the Stingray list and you want a Stingray coupe, but the dealer has only been allocated a Stingray HTC, he may ask you if you want the HTC or wait for a coupe. You would then either take the HTC allocation or pass on it and it would be offered to the next buyer on the list.
Another example would be you want a Z51 but the Z51 is on constraint. So again you could take the car without the Z51 or pass on it and it would be offered to the next on the list.
* A constraint can mean none is available or none was offered to that dealer. Dealer A may be offered none where Dealer B is offered 1 Z51 because only 10 Z51's were available nationally.
Once your order has received an allocation your status code moves to 2000 and the wait begins. Take this opportunity to download the manuals and familiarize yourself with your car.
ORDER STATUS CODES
Code Description
1100 Order Placed at Dealership - status order requests by dealers
2000 Order Accepted by Chevrolet
2500 Order Preferenced (or “Picked Up” or “Imaged”)
3000 Order Accepted by Production Control
3100 Order Available to be Sequenced
3300 Order Scheduled for Production
3400 Order Broadcast (Internal Plant Order Produced)
3800 Vehicle Produced
4000 Vehicle Available to Ship
4104 Bailment Invoice Created
4B00 ORDER BAYED; VEHICLE IS WAITING ON TRANSPORTATION OR PULLED FOR QUALITY CONTROL
4106 Bailment Released
4150 Vehicle Invoiced
4200 Vehicle Shipped from Bowling Green
4300 Intermediate Delivery
4800 Rail Ramp Unload
5000 Vehicle at Dealer - Awaiting Prep
6000 Vehicle Delivered to Customer
The time between status codes varies, usually because of parts supply issues or the Bowling Green Assembly plant (BGAP) efficiency.
I.E. They don't build 2 Z06's one after the other etc.
2000 to 3000 goes relatively quickly as soon as 1 day
3000 to 3100 can take as much as 8 to 10 weeks because all the parts have to be in the building before it can advance.
at 3100 some can see a TPW (Tentative or Target Production Week), but at this point that date is very fluid
3100 to 3400 is usually between 6 to 10 days
at 3400 your TPW is stable and can only change by plant efficiency. Your partial vin is available from your dealer. When your dealer does a "Vehicle Order Inquiry" on your order and scrolls all the way to the right he can click on "Vin Incentive Lookup" and give you your vin. Once you have your vin there are spreadsheets maintained by individuals on the Internet that shows the exact day and estimated hour your car will be built.
3400 to 3800 can take as few as 1 day or 7 days again depending on plant efficiency.
3800 to 4000 (or 4B00) takes only a day or 2 depending on quality control issues. If you car is flagged for Quality Control it can be held for days or months depending on the issue. Individual QC holds are very rare, but can happen. The shipper has 10 days to remove the car from BGAP.
4200 to 6000 can take up to a month depending on the destination. Southern Ontario receives cars in days, but B.C. or N.S. can take a lot longer depending on the shipping method and shipping logistics. Your dealer has tools in Workbench to track your car and there is an estimated arrival time to the dealer.
Once your car arrives at the dealer it must go through a 32 point inspection and some parts assembly. This can take several days depending on the resources at your dealer. Your salesperson will show you your car. Inspect it well here because if there are ANY issues you want to point then out at this point. It will make it much easier to get it fixed. Once you're satisfied the Salesperson will take you to the Sales manager to sign the actual purchase agreement and will try to sell you on the extended warranty and PPF and / or Ceramic coating. You have until your standard warranty expires to get the extended warranty so you take your time with that. Once you give them your bank draft or sign financing etc. your Salesperson will walk you through some basic features and force you to listen to OnStar's sales pitch. Then the car is yours! If you ordered a 2LT or 3LT make sure you take a memory card with you to enable the PDR recording. Several of us have had success with this card. Also make sure you enable the audio recording or you won't get your voice yelling WOWWWWEEEEE as you accelerate!
Note: GM offers a discount of almost 75% off the cost of the Ron Fellows Corvette Owners School in Spring Mountain. The cost of the school is $3695.00 or $1000.00 with the new owner discount. This is a highly rated experience and recommended by all who have gone. The certificate comes with the Corvette welcome gift. The gift many times takes a year or 2 to arrive, so plan for the summer after you pick up your car and contact the school early. They will confirm your eligibility.
Note: For 2023 and up the first DCT filter change is free, though many dealers don't know it. Attached is the letter from GM Canada to all dealers stating it.
Here's a JPG of it. Plus this techlink article.
Good luck with your Corvette order! May the force be with you!
First thing you need to know is there is a waiting list for the cars at every dealer.
Some dealers receive as many as 100 per year or more and some as few as Zero per year.
Once a month GM awards allocations to dealers. Large dealers receive several allocations a month and small ones relatively few if any.
Because of this you must ascertain certain information from your choice in dealers.
1. How many corvettes have they received from GM in the last 3 years, by year.
Check this site for your dealer and or a dealer for their historical allocations
2. How many customers are on their list currently and where you stand on their list.
It's also important to note: Some dealers keep seperate lists for the Z06 and Eray and some don't. So ask about the lists for all flavours of C8 and your variation.
Stingray allocations are impacted by production. For example, the more C8 Z06's manufactured (or other versions of the C8, like the E-Ray), the fewer Stingrays made and that reduces Stingray allocations, which can make it difficult for dealers to predict their Stingray allocations. This is not an exact science.
3. Does the dealer sell for MSRP, or MSRP plus some "additional dealer mark-ups (ADM's)" (if so, what are the ADM's?)? (Best practice is to have dealer confirm pricing in writing or send an email confirming any such conversation.) You decide if you're willing to pay any ADM's or try and find a dealer who sells for only MSRP or close to it.
You might also consider asking:
4. Does the dealer follow the list, by matching received allocations to those at the top of the list or if an allocation is declined by a customer at the top of the list, does the dealer offer it to people next on the list? (ie. the dealer doesn't take allocations for itself and sell for over MSRP).
5. Does a salesman or other designated individual in the dealership, respond in a reasonable time, to customer enquiries about the status of the customer on the Stingray list, or provide periodic updates upon request, once an allocation has been received and GM has assigned an order number? Note: the "order number" is a 6 digit Alphanumeric code.
Once you decide on a dealer you will only be price protected if you pay a deposit and fill out a purchase agreement which is only valid for that model year (MY).
Some dealers will enter your order into the GM ordering software known as "Workbench" and give you an order number and some will not. If you receive an order number your status code will be 1100. *See Status codes below
This only really matters to you. I believe GM scans this information so they know how many orders they can expect to fill, but I have no proof other than I think they'd be foolish not to.
With the order number you can contact the Chevrolet concierge to get some information about your order, but your dealer is the only good source of information about your order (see #5 above) .
You might also want to consider getting on multiple dealer lists, to minimize your wait time. You'll enjoy being behind the wheel that much sooner, making these additional efforts worthwhile. Many have also purchased vehicles out of province and either made the trip to pick them up or had them trailered. Many also check this c8tracker website to see what dealers have received Corvettes and how many. Make sure up front, that any deposits paid to a dealer, are refundable before an allocation is assigned and order made. Then choose the dealer who gets you an allocation the fastest, thereafter cancelling your spot on all other dealer lists and getting deposits refunded. Or if you're loyal to your local dealer and want to be on only one list, recognize you may be in for a longer wait.
Beware: Dealers are still not allowed to order C8's for stock. They can order for the owner or a salesperson, but they have to keep it for a year. They can keep a car if the original purchaser walks away from the order and sell it for whatever price they want over MSRP. Also, you may see cars for sale at MSRP on Autotrader or dealer websites but these are customer cars yet to be picked up by the customer. These cars automatically show up as stock on websites, but aren't.
PIck your options. Make sure your dealer knows that you might be willing to accept other colours or options depending on the constraints at the time of your allocation.
You may not want to wait because the brake calipers can't be yellow for example. See constraints below. Make sure he talks to you first, if it's your turn, because it's YOUR decision, not his!
Some dealers won't even discuss options until the allocation arrives and some will allow you to give him changes any time and some are in the middle. It's best to be certain even before discussing options with them.
Warning!: Make absolutely sure your configuration is the way you want it before your dealer assigns an allocation to your order because once matched and Chevrolet accepts your order (Status 2000), it's virtually impossible to change it.
It's important to note that the National Corvette Museum offers a photo album of your car being built, but Canadians can NOT do the Museum delivery.
Next you wait for the dealer to receive an allocation he can match to your order. This process can be a complicated one because GM can allocate a Stingray, Stingray HTC (convertible), a Z06, A Z06 HTC, etc.. It is also complicated by constraints in a given period. Dealers are told of constraints before allocations are assigned.
For example: If You are next on the Stingray list and you want a Stingray coupe, but the dealer has only been allocated a Stingray HTC, he may ask you if you want the HTC or wait for a coupe. You would then either take the HTC allocation or pass on it and it would be offered to the next buyer on the list.
Another example would be you want a Z51 but the Z51 is on constraint. So again you could take the car without the Z51 or pass on it and it would be offered to the next on the list.
* A constraint can mean none is available or none was offered to that dealer. Dealer A may be offered none where Dealer B is offered 1 Z51 because only 10 Z51's were available nationally.
Once your order has received an allocation your status code moves to 2000 and the wait begins. Take this opportunity to download the manuals and familiarize yourself with your car.
ORDER STATUS CODES
Code Description
1100 Order Placed at Dealership - status order requests by dealers
2000 Order Accepted by Chevrolet
2500 Order Preferenced (or “Picked Up” or “Imaged”)
3000 Order Accepted by Production Control
3100 Order Available to be Sequenced
3300 Order Scheduled for Production
3400 Order Broadcast (Internal Plant Order Produced)
3800 Vehicle Produced
4000 Vehicle Available to Ship
4104 Bailment Invoice Created
4B00 ORDER BAYED; VEHICLE IS WAITING ON TRANSPORTATION OR PULLED FOR QUALITY CONTROL
4106 Bailment Released
4150 Vehicle Invoiced
4200 Vehicle Shipped from Bowling Green
4300 Intermediate Delivery
4800 Rail Ramp Unload
5000 Vehicle at Dealer - Awaiting Prep
6000 Vehicle Delivered to Customer
The time between status codes varies, usually because of parts supply issues or the Bowling Green Assembly plant (BGAP) efficiency.
I.E. They don't build 2 Z06's one after the other etc.
2000 to 3000 goes relatively quickly as soon as 1 day
3000 to 3100 can take as much as 8 to 10 weeks because all the parts have to be in the building before it can advance.
at 3100 some can see a TPW (Tentative or Target Production Week), but at this point that date is very fluid
3100 to 3400 is usually between 6 to 10 days
at 3400 your TPW is stable and can only change by plant efficiency. Your partial vin is available from your dealer. When your dealer does a "Vehicle Order Inquiry" on your order and scrolls all the way to the right he can click on "Vin Incentive Lookup" and give you your vin. Once you have your vin there are spreadsheets maintained by individuals on the Internet that shows the exact day and estimated hour your car will be built.
3400 to 3800 can take as few as 1 day or 7 days again depending on plant efficiency.
3800 to 4000 (or 4B00) takes only a day or 2 depending on quality control issues. If you car is flagged for Quality Control it can be held for days or months depending on the issue. Individual QC holds are very rare, but can happen. The shipper has 10 days to remove the car from BGAP.
4200 to 6000 can take up to a month depending on the destination. Southern Ontario receives cars in days, but B.C. or N.S. can take a lot longer depending on the shipping method and shipping logistics. Your dealer has tools in Workbench to track your car and there is an estimated arrival time to the dealer.
Once your car arrives at the dealer it must go through a 32 point inspection and some parts assembly. This can take several days depending on the resources at your dealer. Your salesperson will show you your car. Inspect it well here because if there are ANY issues you want to point then out at this point. It will make it much easier to get it fixed. Once you're satisfied the Salesperson will take you to the Sales manager to sign the actual purchase agreement and will try to sell you on the extended warranty and PPF and / or Ceramic coating. You have until your standard warranty expires to get the extended warranty so you take your time with that. Once you give them your bank draft or sign financing etc. your Salesperson will walk you through some basic features and force you to listen to OnStar's sales pitch. Then the car is yours! If you ordered a 2LT or 3LT make sure you take a memory card with you to enable the PDR recording. Several of us have had success with this card. Also make sure you enable the audio recording or you won't get your voice yelling WOWWWWEEEEE as you accelerate!
Note: GM offers a discount of almost 75% off the cost of the Ron Fellows Corvette Owners School in Spring Mountain. The cost of the school is $3695.00 or $1000.00 with the new owner discount. This is a highly rated experience and recommended by all who have gone. The certificate comes with the Corvette welcome gift. The gift many times takes a year or 2 to arrive, so plan for the summer after you pick up your car and contact the school early. They will confirm your eligibility.
Note: For 2023 and up the first DCT filter change is free, though many dealers don't know it. Attached is the letter from GM Canada to all dealers stating it.
Here's a JPG of it. Plus this techlink article.
Good luck with your Corvette order! May the force be with you!
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