Chevy Dealer Surprises 2020 Corvette Buyer with $10K Market Adjustment at Delivery (Updated)

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Chevy Dealer Surprises 2020 Corvette Buyer with $10K Market Adjustment at Delivery

Photo Credits: Anthony Caruso


We’ve been blessed to know and work with some of the great Chevrolet dealers out there who understand Corvette owners and take good of them during the sales process. And then there those that just can’t get out of the way of themselves when it comes to attempting to take a buyer for as much as they can. There’s a reason why these dealers are nicknamed “stealerships” and one way to curb this kind of behavior is to make them famous.

Anthony Caruso tells the story on the C8 Corvette Owners (and Friends) Facebook page about how he was recently treated by Liberty Chevrolet in Selma, California. He placed his order with the dealer on August 9, 2019 and has a signed agreement for $85,805 including freight and his $1,000 deposit check was accepted. The dealer called him last week to let him know the car was ready for delivery.

Before making the 375-mile round trip, Anthony’s friend who is described as having a “judicial background” suggested he call the dealer for a final price including California DMV fees and taxes. Much to his surprise, the price minus his deposit came out to around $93,000. He called the sales manager to confirm, and that’s when he was hit with the $10,000 markup with the manager reportedly saying “if you want your car today or you can order one and wait another year or two.”

Chevy Dealer Surprises 2020 Corvette Buyer with $10K Market Adjustment at Delivery


Well, Anthony’s judicial friend “hates extortion” and after the dealer tells Anthony that he has the paperwork right in front of him showing the $10,000 market adjustment, his friend believes the dealer likely “committed a felony or two”:

“My Friend laughed out loud saying perfect tell him to take pictures of the doc’s and text them to me ASAP.! Now he gets a little rowdy and nervous yelling what paperwork it understood by everyone that to order a C8 last year in August/ September it was going to be 10K over. I hung up, he tried calling back, I was on another line, he then sends a text, stating either you agree to the 10K by the end of day or I’ll sell your car first thing tomorrow morning for 20-30k over. My passenger said you really lucked out he just purged himself and committed a Felony or two. not going to end up well for him. Now it’s 10 days later car is still there. FYI- mine was the only 2020 C8 they have allocated.”

AutoEvolution says the story doesn’t just end there. Apparently, Liberty Chevrolet also posted the Black 3LT Coupe on its website with a selling price of $105,505.

“They had it up on there on their site with MSRP since when it was in transit [in September],” said Anthony. “I emailed them expressing interest (a different email than the one they have; I have about 8 different emails from companies I own). I get an email that the car was sold to the person that ordered it last year. I replied that yes, the car was ordered by me. The ad was taken done immediately.”

The car is no longer listed on their website and Liberty has also taken down their Facebook page after other Corvette enthusiasts in the Facebook group began expressing their disapproval.

Whether or not Anthony prevails in the matter, we’ll have to wait and see!

UPDATE
It appears that Liberty Chevrolet did the right thing and delivered Anthony’s car to him at the originally agreed-upon price. Anthony posted this photo on Sunday showing him (in the middle) with his son (left) and his “judicial friend” (right) as they picked up the black Corvette Stingray. He writes on Facebook, “Picked up my C8 today at MSRP as promised, Thank you for all the help!!!”

Chevy Dealer Surprises 2020 Corvette Buyer with $10K Market Adjustment at Delivery


Here’s Anthony’s full post from the C8 Corvette Owners (And Friends) Facebook Group:

SORRY FOR GRAMMER, RAMBLING ON AND ALL BUT IM REALLY UPSET:

my new C8 arrived at the dealership 10/06/20. Unfortunately for them they decided to extort me for 10K markup. Mind you I have a signed agreement at $85,805 w/DFC and my $1,000 deposit check stating the same deposited on 08/09/19 the went status 1100 on 09/13/19 #XFNCBZ order. Last week I received a call from sales manager my C8 was ready for pick up. I was on my way the next day to pick it up, with a friend (with a let’s say”judicial background”) he suggested to call Dealer before we leave for a 375 mile round trip so he first called a friend at DMV for fees and Ca taxes then minus the deposit it came out to around $93,000- he said call the sales manager to confirm your math, I was a little puzzled But did so the sale Manager agreed on the $93K math but said there’s a 10K markup, if you want your car today or you can order one and wait a another year or two. ( mind you I already did that pre GM strike and pre COVID and the year has pasted AND GONE, I see another grin for my bud, he wrote now tell tell him the facts you all agreed the car was to be 85,805, SM said no way I have the paperwork with 10K over right in front of me- my guy smiles again. My Friend laughed out loud saying perfect tell him to take pictures of the doc’s and text them to me ASAP.!Now he gets a little rowdy and nervous yelling what paperwork it understood by everyone that to order a C8 last year in August/ September it was going to be 10K over.I hung up, he tried calling back, I was on another line, he then sends a text, stating either you agree to the 10K by the end of day or I’ll sell your car first thing tomorrow morning for 20-30k over. My passenger said you really lucked out he just purged himself and committed a Felony or two. not going to end up well for him. Now it’s 10 days later car is still there. FYI- mine was the only 2020 C8 they have allocated.

A day that started as a good exciting day for me is going to turn out to be the sales manager worst nightmare- don’t worry about my legal fees it all pro bono, why because my guy hates extortion, we are both first generation Sicilian from Palermo, and it kinda pisses us off when people refer to us as mobsters/ Mafia/ Extortionists. when the real extortionists are in Selma, California ( Liberty Chevrolet).


Source:
C8 Corvette Owners (and Friends) and AutoEvolution

Related:
The Numbers of Pre-Owned 2020 Corvettes for Sale Online Are Growing Daily
Chevy Dealer Doubles the Price of a 1LT 2020 Corvette, Now Priced at $143,240 – Update w/ Dealer Statement
Market Adjustment: Texas Chevy Dealer Offering a 2020 Corvette for $37,970 Over Sticker

 



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31 COMMENTS

  1. An Offer presented and signed by the buyer and accepted and signed by the sales person created a binding contract!

  2. I would expect that the salesman/sales manager at Liberty Chevrolet is going to get bitched slapped by Chevrolet. I had ordered a 1974 Corvette in October of 1973. The car was shipped to my “Corvette Headquarters” dealership in April of 1974. During that 5 to 6 month waiting period, my salesman called me (3) times to try to get me to absorb (3) different price increases during that inflationary period of time. I politely and calmly informed the salesman that I was not obligated to absorb any increases above my contracted agreement because of the delay in delivering my car. I wrote a check for the contracted price of the car and drove it home.

  3. I posted this info on FB asking anyone who knows of this dealership to boycott them. I also emailed the dealership saying I hope they lose their license to sell cars.

  4. Corlew Chevrolet in Clarksville TN tried doing something very similar to me. Tried placing a $8,500 “Allocation Aquisition Fee”, as well as a $3,900 “Destination Charge” on the purchase order. This is not the way. Took my $2,000 deposit and walked out!

  5. Happened to a guy I know here on the West coast of Florida . His car was almost 100k with all the options. When the car arrived, they called him to come pick it up, and when he arrived to pick it up they added 15k to hit. After the dealer refused to sell the car at the original price he walked.
    He went to my dealer and ordered a 21 convertible, and left a deposit for a Z06.
    Don’t shop at the place with the “e”

  6. Corvette sales in Florida: The Chevy dealers in Florida are doing something similar. They are posting cars for sale on different sites and when you inquire about them they are pre-sold units. The ones that are still for sale have about a 30% mark up on them. Several I have inquired about have a “Newly Listed” included in the add, but there reply is that they are pre-sold units, but you can order a 2021 if you hurry!

  7. These extortionist Chevy dealerships are EVERYWHERE!!! Here’s another one called Lynn Layton Chevy in Decatur, AL. I insisted on something in writing before handing over my “Non-refundable” deposit. The inventory manager at Lynn Layton Chevy in Decatur, AL gave me the runaround and wouldn’t give me anything in writing. I then asked him what planet he lived on and he called me, and started yelling at me. I told him where to go and hung up on him.. A few minutes later I received this email:

    From: Jody Lewellen
    Sent: Friday, July 31, 2020 10:49 AM

    To: XXXXXXX
    Subject: Re: 2021 C8 2LT Convertible Order?

    Wow, that’s original!

    Classless and chicken shit. Hang up on somebody. Come to the dealership and
    tell me that face to face.

    Don’t need your luck, been doing this 25 years and have done quite well.
    Still doing quite well. You’ve had ample opportunity to order a car but all you’ve done is TALK about it. You want to talk to me more about what planet I’m from and how inept I am about selling a car and say screw all of us. Then please come to the dealership and talk face to face with me. Now you have a nice day.

    Jody Lewellen
    Inventory Manager
    Lynn Layton Chevrolet
    Decatur AL

  8. PS: GM will DO NOTHING about these scumbag dealerships who operate as a GM franchisee. I constantly hear that GM can do nothing about the way in which THEIR independent GM dealerships prey upon customers and the way in which they do business. This excuse is a bunch of BS!

    A franchise agreement is a legal binding contract between the dealership and GM. This franchise agreement should clearly state how a franchisee conducts business just like the McDonalds burger joint around the corner. Ask yourself: If GM can do NOTHING about a dealership why does it bother to send out the questionnaire after a sale? GM CAN stop this kind of crap if it wants to… Problem is…. It doesn’t want to. Simply put… GM has but ONE customer…. That customer is the dealership!

  9. we need to tell Chevy about these slimy dealers so they pull their licenses for Corvettes, if nothing else. WE Corvette lovers can make or break dealers if we stand together. Lets go ofter Decauter Al now!

  10. We Corvette owners and buyers need to make GM stop allowing this abuse. I get that increased costs happen, but not after the fact. We need to contact GM and each dealer to stop this crap.

  11. I’ve called GM, sent written complaints to GM and it’s simply a waste of time. GM doesn’t care what a dealer does as long as the dealer moves the merchandise. Given that GM doesn’t care the only way to fix these scumbags is to get the word out on every social media platform and hope that it hits them in the wallet. GM and dealers only understand one thing: $$$$$$

    Best thing to do is share your experiences on Yelp, Google reviews and other car dealership review platforms.

  12. I bought my 2019 Z06 from Mike Furman at Criswell Chevrolet In MD. The transaction was completed over the phone, it was quick and a pleasure. We drove down to MD from Queens and drove our new Vette home. I would definitely buy from him again. The deal was the deal.

  13. It’s unfortunate that we live in these crazy times of corruption from business to government and vice versa. Money does corrupt people. I hope this Liberty Chevy dealer gets their butt handed to them. When I bought my 2019 Grand Sport I was charged $500 for Nitrogen (air) and window tinting. Really could not argue to take these off the car. A couple of months ago I had a shop do a stinger stripe. They also did tinting. He showed me how to tell if windows are tinted. They were not. I normally don’t deal with that dealer but they had the car I wanted. Never again. Thank God that there are 4 other Chevy dealers in the Raleigh NC area.

  14. I was out on the internet yesterday, and on the website F40 Motorsports (Wayne Carini) has his 2020 Corvette with 1300 miles, and he is selling it for $ 129,500. Same as the dealers you have mention above.

    Not quite right, it the almighty dollar that counts.

  15. GM cannot legally dictate pricing levels to its dealers. If it did this would be regarded as unlawful price fixing under federal antitrust laws. GM years ago lost on this issue in a court case where it attempted to punish price cutting dealers after it had recieved complaints from non-price cutting dealers.

  16. Pursuing remedies against a dealer for its breach of contract by failing to deliver a car at the contract price is a clear legal basis for obtaining the dealer’s delivery of a car at the contract price.

  17. So Wayne Carini is a fleabag used car salesman too, everybody knows that! I think Criswell Chevy, Mike Furman charges an additional fees also. Felix Chevy in Los Angeles is at 10K over for 2021’s said they have five allocations left approx wait, 1 year.

  18. charging extra fees or over MSRP is not the issue, as long as the fees are explained BEFORE the deal is made. It is the after charges that I think stink.

  19. I’m not paying a dime over MSRP! GM and Chevy can choke on their flying frunks, broken valve springs, defective seat belts, leaking trannys, etc, etc… IMHO anyone who would pay anything over MSRP is enabling these scumbag dealerships and the GM machine that encourages their behavior. If you want to pay $20k over MSRP go for it and enjoy that additional $20k you lost the minute you drive it off the lot! lol!

    Smart folks are NOT letting their inner three year old take over.

  20. Mot much different in Canada especially on the West Coast. 1 dealer specifically is doing it is on Vancouver Island. They call it mechanic training charge however they won’t write that on the invoice just chnage the price 10K from the MSRP . That also means that you also pay 15 % tax on the added 10K. Sadly GM allows this .

  21. Does anyone know if Mike Furman marks up over sticker??
    He’s always being shown making deliveries on this blog.
    Wouldn’t seem to me that he would get all this press, if he did!
    I live in Illinois, but ordered my car from Burtness Chevrolet in
    Wisconsin, because of all the bullshit from a couple of dealers I went to.
    Like Ziegler in Schaumburg wanted a $5000 Non-Refundable Deposit!
    Salesman knew nothing about the car or options! Told me to talk to
    someone in parts. NOT!

  22. Mike at Criswell sells at invoiced MSLP. Criswell adds a $500 doc fee. Straight up deal with all written contracts. Bought ours from him with Fed EX overnights, and National Corvette Museum Delivery.
    Go to : Midengine Corvette forum and learn how to buy a Corvette from the the Forum dealers. Out of state buyers, is not a problem, with several ways to get your C8 delivered to you.The top 4 Corvette dealers are on the forum and if you call them , they will gladly walk you through the process with No BS.
    I have purchased 4 cars over the web with zero problems.

  23. Best approach to all of these idiot dealerships is to simply wait them out. BG is going to produce 50k cars in 2021. The C8 new has worn off. Don’t believe all the hype. In July 2021 you’ll see C8’s sitting on lots all over the place. Right now there are 300+ advertised on the online sales sites and THEY ARE NOT MOVING even though the pricing is dropping every day!

  24. GM should cut allocation to zero Corvettes for any Dealer that is selling for extreme over market prices. As far as Liberty Chevrolet in Florida GM should pull the Dealership agreement so that they can nobler do this. Not sure if any of this is legal,however something needs to be done. Only thing consumers can do is report this to the Consumer Protection Agency in the state that this occurs, and of course Social Media and Boycott.

    Love my 1995 C4 Bright Aqua Marine Metallic with Light Gray Leather. Excellent value.

  25. The fact that GM lets this bs go on is just that BS!!! GM needs to get it’s shit together.

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