Great deals to be had out there
Discussion
I'm not a Corvette person but anything that supports motor racing can't be bad! I was reading the Telegraph and if you are thinking of buying I suggest you read this. There must be some fantastic deals to be had at the moment.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/mrmo...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/mrmo...
Sad but interesting article. The motor industry is in it quite deep by the look of things.
Mitch.... I've just had a rummage down the back of the sofa and have amassed £11.43. Any chance of a deal around that number on a new yellow Z06?
.... thought not. The article said it was worth a try though.
Good luck for 2009.
Mitch.... I've just had a rummage down the back of the sofa and have amassed £11.43. Any chance of a deal around that number on a new yellow Z06?
.... thought not. The article said it was worth a try though.
Good luck for 2009.
Well when I tried to buy one back in March after doing a deal with Stratstones Reading they backed out and said no because they did not want my car in part exchange!
And again Mitch has been trying to help us on a new C6 a few months ago and GM did not want to help out by putting some more money in the deal. I would think GM should be all over Bauer Millett to help them as they are the only dealership in the UK with any real interest in selling Corvettes.
I also know of two other members who bought from Reading and then pulled out and got refunds. How many deals have been lost this year? Corvette will never sell in huge numbers in the UK but if the main UK agent does not want return customer how were sales ever going to increase?
And again Mitch has been trying to help us on a new C6 a few months ago and GM did not want to help out by putting some more money in the deal. I would think GM should be all over Bauer Millett to help them as they are the only dealership in the UK with any real interest in selling Corvettes.
I also know of two other members who bought from Reading and then pulled out and got refunds. How many deals have been lost this year? Corvette will never sell in huge numbers in the UK but if the main UK agent does not want return customer how were sales ever going to increase?
Vet Guru said:
Well when I tried to buy one back in March after doing a deal with Stratstones Reading they backed out and said no because they did not want my car in part exchange!
And again Mitch has been trying to help us on a new C6 a few months ago and GM did not want to help out by putting some more money in the deal. I would think GM should be all over Bauer Millett to help them as they are the only dealership in the UK with any real interest in selling Corvettes.
I also know of two other members who bought from Reading and then pulled out and got refunds. How many deals have been lost this year? Corvette will never sell in huge numbers in the UK but if the main UK agent does not want return customer how were sales ever going to increase?
Guess I was lucky I had a Z4 to trade in when I bought my C6 from Reading back in March.And again Mitch has been trying to help us on a new C6 a few months ago and GM did not want to help out by putting some more money in the deal. I would think GM should be all over Bauer Millett to help them as they are the only dealership in the UK with any real interest in selling Corvettes.
I also know of two other members who bought from Reading and then pulled out and got refunds. How many deals have been lost this year? Corvette will never sell in huge numbers in the UK but if the main UK agent does not want return customer how were sales ever going to increase?
I know GM say they haven't pulled out of the UK in the article, but I do wonder how long Strats will carry on before they give up completely leaving just BM to carry the torch.
Guess I was lucky I had a Z4 to trade in when I bought my C6 from Reading back in March.
They would take part exchange just not a Corvette as in there words "we want to sell our ones first"
MMMM Maybe that's why none were sold this year as owners of Corvette's could not part exchange them!
Bauer Millett must be getting De Ja Vu from 2002 when they were the only official GM dealer again. Every decade GM must think we can sell to the UK lets not ask the dealership that has been selling them forever we can do it better! And after a year of no sales oops lets bring them onboard to help out our poor sales!
I think GM will leave it to the pros to carry on in the UK this year, I think Bauer Milett will still outsell Stratstones in Corvette sales.
The only negative thing is Corvette at the moment as a great Product and left to somebody like Stratstones who are not interested in it.
Maybe GM have another idea???
They would take part exchange just not a Corvette as in there words "we want to sell our ones first"
MMMM Maybe that's why none were sold this year as owners of Corvette's could not part exchange them!
Bauer Millett must be getting De Ja Vu from 2002 when they were the only official GM dealer again. Every decade GM must think we can sell to the UK lets not ask the dealership that has been selling them forever we can do it better! And after a year of no sales oops lets bring them onboard to help out our poor sales!
I think GM will leave it to the pros to carry on in the UK this year, I think Bauer Milett will still outsell Stratstones in Corvette sales.
The only negative thing is Corvette at the moment as a great Product and left to somebody like Stratstones who are not interested in it.
Maybe GM have another idea???
Edited by Vet Guru on Friday 2nd January 19:00
songman3 said:
Do you know if Stratstone are still in Corvette sales - I doubt it?
Where are they supposed to be operating from? Most of their GM showrooms seem to be closing !
Looking on GM's europe website yesterday the manual C6 coupe was still 'knocked down' to £39999 - offer ending 31st December 08. Where are they supposed to be operating from? Most of their GM showrooms seem to be closing !
Edited by songman3 on Friday 2nd January 19:51
roscobbc said:
songman3 said:
Do you know if Stratstone are still in Corvette sales - I doubt it?
Where are they supposed to be operating from? Most of their GM showrooms seem to be closing !
Looking on GM's europe website yesterday the manual C6 coupe was still 'knocked down' to £39999 - offer ending 31st December 08. Where are they supposed to be operating from? Most of their GM showrooms seem to be closing !
Edited by songman3 on Friday 2nd January 19:51
songman3 said:
roscobbc said:
songman3 said:
Do you know if Stratstone are still in Corvette sales - I doubt it?
Where are they supposed to be operating from? Most of their GM showrooms seem to be closing !
Looking on GM's europe website yesterday the manual C6 coupe was still 'knocked down' to £39999 - offer ending 31st December 08. Where are they supposed to be operating from? Most of their GM showrooms seem to be closing !
Edited by songman3 on Friday 2nd January 19:51
It would be interesting being a 'fly on GM Europes wall' at the moment - topics of conversation could be on the lines of "do we increase the price on new 2009 stock 'cos of currency fluctuation" 
or perhaps "do we run the £39999 for a little while longer" 
or even "what the 
are we going to do now" 
I don't envy them 
(or any other manufacturer for that matter)Vet Guru said:
Guess I was lucky I had a Z4 to trade in when I bought my C6 from Reading back in March.
They would take part exchange just not a Corvette as in there words "we want to sell our ones first"
MMMM Maybe that's why none were sold this year as owners of Corvette's could not part exchange them!
Rob, I was agreeing with your point - I was lucky that I had a Z4 to trade in rather than the C5 I'd owned before the Z4.They would take part exchange just not a Corvette as in there words "we want to sell our ones first"
MMMM Maybe that's why none were sold this year as owners of Corvette's could not part exchange them!
Edited by Vet Guru on Friday 2nd January 19:00
It's odd (or maybe not given their general lack of imagination) that Strats don't see a market for second-hand Vettes when BM do. Even if it's a case of selling them in Europe rather than the UK it's still a way of keeping the market moving. But that really sums up Strats - in general they don't actually skill up or try to sell, they just think they can sit back and take orders.
Sales of Corvette in the U.K. are a less than simple thing to consider. The cars that we are supplied with here are the same spec. as those sold on the mainland with the headlight swap being done at port before they are dispatched to us. Bearing this in mind the main concern for GM is that the cars are sold and profitably, which I'm told they still are on the continent. I suppose that puts you in a position of wondering whether there is any point breaking your back to get a few sales in the U.K. albeit at less or no profit when the same cars can be sold on the continent for a profit.
I think it was roscobbc who mentioned price rises and he's hit the nail on the head. We're expecting price increases on our entire range next week from between 3-11% given that the pound is weak against the Euro and the Euro weaker against the dollar. Look at what happened to the prices of ZR1.....One week I'm being told we're massively uncompetitive, the next we're cheaper than some U.S. importers by £55,000!!!!!
There is a great deal of deja vu here, but on more levels than you might think. The first 3 years of sales for a new generation Corvette are always strong, after which they taper off as these cars filter there way down the enthusiasts, with others choosing simply to buy used cars in from the U.S. The parities between sales of C5 and C6 are broader than you might think.
I think it was roscobbc who mentioned price rises and he's hit the nail on the head. We're expecting price increases on our entire range next week from between 3-11% given that the pound is weak against the Euro and the Euro weaker against the dollar. Look at what happened to the prices of ZR1.....One week I'm being told we're massively uncompetitive, the next we're cheaper than some U.S. importers by £55,000!!!!!
There is a great deal of deja vu here, but on more levels than you might think. The first 3 years of sales for a new generation Corvette are always strong, after which they taper off as these cars filter there way down the enthusiasts, with others choosing simply to buy used cars in from the U.S. The parities between sales of C5 and C6 are broader than you might think.
GW65 said:
Rob, I was agreeing with your point - I was lucky that I had a Z4 to trade in rather than the C5 I'd owned before the Z4.
It's odd (or maybe not given their general lack of imagination) that Strats don't see a market for second-hand Vettes when BM do. Even if it's a case of selling them in Europe rather than the UK it's still a way of keeping the market moving. But that really sums up Strats - in general they don't actually skill up or try to sell, they just think they can sit back and take orders.
Park Lane and Reading sold every C5 that it part exchanged for a reasonable profit and fairly quickly.It's odd (or maybe not given their general lack of imagination) that Strats don't see a market for second-hand Vettes when BM do. Even if it's a case of selling them in Europe rather than the UK it's still a way of keeping the market moving. But that really sums up Strats - in general they don't actually skill up or try to sell, they just think they can sit back and take orders.
The problem was that if the regional managers got involved they were scared of unknown [to them] cars. Trying to get an underwrite from a third party Corvette dealer was almost impossible (Adrian Dromey excepted, but he always bid silly prices as he knew thsat no other Vette specialist would put a price on a car for Stratstone!).
The used C6 problem was self generated. There was potentially more prfit in selling a new C6 compared with a demonstrator C6 at the same money. As a result the demonstrators were never sold and still remain in stock 18 months later...Because of this the company perception has become that used C6 are difficult to shift.
There was a lack of understanding on how to look after the new/used market when you have 100% control of official UK cars and probably 80% of the C6 sales.
[quote=JimexPL][quote=GW65]
Park Lane and Reading sold every C5 that it part exchanged for a reasonable profit and fairly quickly.
The problem was that if the regional managers got involved they were scared of unknown [to them] cars. Trying to get an underwrite from a third party Corvette dealer was almost impossible (Adrian Dromey excepted, but he always bid silly prices as he knew thsat no other Vette specialist would put a price on a car for Stratstone!).
Actually James,that is incorrect,I tried to get my name taken seriously at Straystones as a Corvette buyer.Nobody phoned me back much,apart from a few calls to tell me that as I wasn't a "recognised dealer" to Stratstones,they would only knock off a few hundred quid.I had budgeted £200K for my Corvette (ad)venture,I guess I wasn't serious enough !
Park Lane and Reading sold every C5 that it part exchanged for a reasonable profit and fairly quickly.
The problem was that if the regional managers got involved they were scared of unknown [to them] cars. Trying to get an underwrite from a third party Corvette dealer was almost impossible (Adrian Dromey excepted, but he always bid silly prices as he knew thsat no other Vette specialist would put a price on a car for Stratstone!).
Actually James,that is incorrect,I tried to get my name taken seriously at Straystones as a Corvette buyer.Nobody phoned me back much,apart from a few calls to tell me that as I wasn't a "recognised dealer" to Stratstones,they would only knock off a few hundred quid.I had budgeted £200K for my Corvette (ad)venture,I guess I wasn't serious enough !
v8yea said:
Actually James,that is incorrect,I tried to get my name taken seriously at Straystones as a Corvette buyer.Nobody phoned me back much,apart from a few calls to tell me that as I wasn't a "recognised dealer" to Stratstones,they would only knock off a few hundred quid.I had budgeted £200K for my Corvette (ad)venture,I guess I wasn't serious enough !
It must have been before or after my time then as I would have happily sold you several cars, as I did to other American specilists where it was clear that we wouldn't be competing for the business. If it's brand new cars that you were looking at then it's a different story.v8yea said:
Thanks for the offer Mitch !
I was actually looking to buy several for that money !
My reasoning was that Corvette UK didn't have a showroom within 100 miles of me and there was a gap in the market.
Problem is,not enough trade cars to make it work.
Shame - I was actually looking to buy several for that money !
My reasoning was that Corvette UK didn't have a showroom within 100 miles of me and there was a gap in the market.
Problem is,not enough trade cars to make it work.
a trading partnership/alliance with Corvette Kingdom would cover both ends of the market (i.e. classics and current models)As James just touched on, selling you un-registered cars is a big 'no-no' for us. It comes under illicit-wholesaling in our dealer agreements and can turn rather expensive if you get caught doing it. Pre-registered and used-cars are a different story, but I know that Pendragon have a very strict policy on which traders they deal with.....
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