Buying&Selling – VinaMotors.net

Rick Hendrick, Call Your Office…

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

When Rick Hendrick purchased the very first C8 Corvette for $3 million in January 2020, he famously quipped that he’ll never drive it.

Now his dealership in Atlanta, the Number 8 Corvette dealership in the country, is ensuring that some of their customers will never drive the new 2023 Corvette Z06 when it goes on sale in the summer of 2022.

Check out this email from the Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Duluth dealership to a customer on the Corvette Forum who was assured in writing in October 2020 that his only dealer markup fee on the 2023 Corvette Z06 would be a “$749 dealer administration charge.”

Instead, just 13 months later, he is being offered the mandatory option to take an “accessory package” that costs $13,000.

Are we going to watch a great Corvette enthusiast and friend to the Corvette team spend millions of dollars to own the very first 2023 Corvette Z06 at Barrett-Jackson in January, knowing that his dealership in Atlanta is gouging customers who were promised MSRP pricing over a year ago?

It really leaves a bad impression in our opinion…

Is City Chevrolet marking up Z06s? How about any of the other Hendrick Chevy dealerships?

Here is the email from the CorvetteForum.com:

From: Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Duluth
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2021, 9:00 AM
To: raduziub
Subject: RE:Re: Re: RE: C8 Z06 dealer tours news & do you still take deposits for the C8 Z06?

Our dealership will be requiring an accessory package with each of our Corvette orders, will include items such as paint protection film, ceramic coating, window tint and a few other items

Total cost for it will likely be ~$13,000

Best,
Justin Cochran
___________________

From: Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Duluth
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 3:23 PM
To: raduziub
Subject: RE:RE: RE: RE: Corvette

No worries! We have a dealer administration charge of $749.
Best,

Justin Cochran
Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Duluth
3277 Satellite Blvd
Duluth, GA 30096

Demand for the new Corvette Z06 is such that shitty dealership practices like this will go unpunished because these cars will be going for $20K over the purchase price on the secondary market anyway. But you can at least hit the dealer in the end with a 1-star rating on their dealership surveys that follow the sale, especially if they promised you MSRP IN WRITING.

We might expect these games from a Joe Schmoe dealership, but a Hendrick dealership pulling this crap? Seriously, screw these dealers…

UPDATE
Check out this great response from the Hendrick customer who is now saying the dealership’s management has reached out to him and will be making everything right:

WOW, Keith and dear fellow members, thank you for all of your posts and actions!
I’ve just got off the phone with the General Manager from Rick Hendrick in Duluth, GA where I made my deposit in 2020, and I was informed that there was a little mistake and miscommunication from their end.
Because I made my deposit so long in advance, I was grandfathered in for no extra charges, so no, the $13K will not apply to my allocation.
Not sure if that $13K package fee will apply to anybody else that made a deposit recently, or if it is something that is going to be implemented and communicated to all new deposits from a certain date, but I wanted to share right away what I’ve just learned.
Thank you again awesome Corvette Forum Community and best wishes to all!
Happy Holidays!

Source:
CorvetteForum.com

–

Nearly 70 Percent of 2021 Corvette Buyers are Selecting the Z51 Performance Package

69 Percent of 2021 Corvette Buyers Selecting Z51 Peformance Package

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

As we continue our deep dive into the 2021 Corvette order statistics as presented last Friday by the Corvette Team at the National Corvette Museum’s Bash Event, we have the breakdown of the four different chassis options that customers are choosing for the 2021 model year.

According to the Corvette Team, there are a total of 19,362 Corvettes in GM’s Order Bank for 2021 which represent pending orders and those that have already been completed.

The results so far are very surprising and I actually did a double-take as I saw that both the non-Z51 base car (FE1) and the (FE3) Z51 performance package had been ordered by the same percentage numbers (23% each). But what puts the Z51 package far and ahead out front are the 46% of customers ordering the FE4 suspension which includes both Z51 and Magnetic Ride Control. Only 8% of non-Z51 customers are taking advantage of the standalone FE2 Magnetic ride control which was a new option for the 2021 models.

2021 Corvette Chassis Selection

FE1 – 23% (Base)
FE2 – 08% (Base with Magnetic Ride Control)
FE3 – 23% (Z51)
FE4 – 46% (Z51 with Magnetic Ride Control)

Photo Credits: Keith Cornett

The Z51 Performance Package is the track-capable option and recommended by GM if you are planning to track your Corvette. The package features additional engine cooling, a beefier suspension and larger brakes, Michelin’s summer-rated Pilot Sport 4s tires, and an aerodynamic front splitter and rear spoiler. The Electronic Limited Slip Differential and Performance Rear Axle Ratio are also included. By default, when you check the Z51 box, you also get the NPP Performance Exhaust. The Z51 package isn’t cheap with Chevrolet increasing the cost of it for the 2021 model year by $995 to $5,995.

The FE4 suspension Magnetic Ride Control option adds $1,895 on top of the Z51 package price for a total of $7,890. The fact that the FE4 is on nearly half of all 2021 Corvettes shows the importance that customers put in these two key options.

Photo Credits: tenneco.com

In addition to the four different chassis options, GM also tells us that 87% of all 2021 Corvettes are equipped with the NPP performance exhaust system. While only 8% of non-Z51 base Corvettes are selecting the FE2 Magnetic Ride Control, a total of 18% of base cars are equipped with the NPP. So what does that tell you? One take would be that Corvette owners care more about the sound of their cars, than they do with enhancing the ride, but the other part of it is that the NPP offers the additional 5 horsepower. Base customers may be passing on the cost of the Z51, but they still want that 495-hp and yes, they want the tunable sound that comes with it.

Lastly, the E60 Front Lift Option was selected by 58.4% of 2020 Corvette buyers at a cost of $1,495. For the 2021 model year, Chevrolet increased it to $1,995. Instead of the price increase being a deterrent, the E60 option penetration has increased to 61%. That will show ’em!

Source:
Chevrolet.com

Chevrolet Has Built and is Now Testing Right Hand Drive Corvettes for Export

The Corvette Team couldn’t be at Carlisle this year, so they offered a Virutal Corvette Presentation hosted by Lance Miller of Carlise Events. We touched on this Sunday but wanted to share the entire conversation about the Right Hand Drive C8 Corvettes.

During the Q&A session, the question was asked to Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles if the team has built any pilots of the right hand drive Corvettes for export to Australia and the U.K.

While we were expecting to hear that they can’t talk about future product, Tadge answered the question by saying, “Yes, some of us are actually driving them around…it’s very strange to be driving a Corvette with the steering wheel on the right hand side. We’ve built some and we’ll be doing some of our preproduction testing now in the US.”

With the moving of the engine to behind the driver and the lack of a manual transmission, the clean sheet redesign allowed the C8 Corvette to be offered as a factory-built right hand drive model. The markets for right hand drive models include Australia, New Zeeland, the U.K., Japan, India, and South Africa.

The first export market for the right hand drive Chevrolet Corvette will be Japan, which saw the number of orders triple following its debut at the Tokyo Auto Show back in January. “The car sold out almost immediately in Japan when we introduced it. That will be our first foray into right hand drive,” said Tadge.

The first photo of the right hand drive Corvettes was released during the media rollout back in February and shows a near mirror image of the traditional LHD Corvette. Tadge explains some of the processes behind the new model:

“In our car, everything is driver-focused, everything is angled towards the driver, the cockpit wraps around you, and so when you do a right hand drive, we didn’t want to dumb that down, we wanted those customers to have the same exact experience whether it’s Japan, U.K., Australia. We wanted them to have the same driver-focused interior and so what we actually did was tool-up all those unique parts that are kinda mirror shaped so that we can flip them over to the other side and it would just be an exact mirror of the rest of the world’s car, the left hand drive cars.”

Harlan Charles also enjoyed driving the early prototype right hand drive cars at the Milford Proving Grounds and shares which country’s RHD model he liked the most.

“I really like the Australian car because it’s all localized and so the navigation, the voice, she has that cool Australian voice that comes through…A lot of fun.”

Chevrolet has previously stated that that the mid-engine Corvette will be available in Japan and Europe starting in the second half of 2021 with both the Coupe and Convertible versions of the Corvette Stingray offered as a right hand drive model.

You can watch the entire presentation here. The discussion on the RHD Corvettes starts at the 43:40 mark:

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Corvette Delivery Dispatch with National Corvette Seller Mike Furman for Aug 9th

Criswell Chevrolet’s Mike Furman delivers new Corvettes to his customers who come from all across the country to work with the nation’s top individual Corvette seller.

After taking last week off, we have another exciting edition of Mike’s ‘Sunday Post’ which we may just refer to as Red Corvette Sunday as five of the seven new 2020 Corvettes he shares deliveries of were either Torch Red (4) or Long Beach Red (1). However, we do get a look at two new colors for 2020, Rapid Blue and Accelerate Yellow. Mike shares a story that helped set the stage for being the Corvette sales expert that people turn to whether they are ordering from him or not. This week’s collection of vintage and throwback photos is outstanding so make sure you comment on your favorite(s).

Visit Mike’s facebook page for even more photos and videos of his new Corvette deliveries: CorvetteFurman.

~It sure is fun delivering new Corvettes on a steady basis. Patience is difficult at best when waiting for America’s #1 Sportscar especially because of the mid-engine design. The 2020s are getting produced through the end of November and it’s been a long wait and plenty of start and stops. Having never experienced a world event such as a pandemic it’s been trying at best. But the common thread of all that has taken delivery of their new C8 is that it’s so well worth the wait! That’s my customer’s words, not mine!

**~** Now for the Corvette story that I have never told anyone and it will explain why I assist everyone, not just my customers or dealership for that matter. Back in 1984, I was looking at buying a 1967 Corvette but I needed help as it was a lot of money (at the time) and I was only 24. I had heard/known of a guy from NJ that had a Corvette buying service that would help people buy old Corvettes and he would charge $100 for his experience, knowledge, etc. Everyone looked up to this guy and he had known me from the dealership and car shows so I thought I would give him a call. As soon as I called him and he heard what I wanted to talk about he asked for my credit card… I am sure I was nieve thinking because we knew each other that he would answer a few quick questions…but that ended that conversation quickly and we never spoke again. I was a pure hobbyist and enthusiast seeking info but quickly learned not everyone is so kind. From that day on I vowed to assist every car hobbyist/enthusiast in every way possible which has branched out over the decades to many fellow salesmen, GM’s, and dealers across North America and Europe for that matter. I’ve been on the forums since 2002 with an alias account and have over 35,000 responses to people before I became a sponsoring member in Feb 2012 as [email protected] I don’t look at other dealerships as my competition and never have, I actually have great professional relationships with dozens of Chevrolet dealers and I certainly count every Corvette enthusiast as a friend. There is a reason why I have sold and delivered 4,600 Corvettes and 8,000 other vehicles. www.corvettefurman.com

~Next Saturday the 15th I will be attending (with my C8) the Vettes for Vets Corvette show in Haymarket, VA. Held at the Willing Warriors Retreat 16013 Waterfall rd.

-Aug 27th-29th I will be at Corvettes at Carlisle. Carlisle Fairgrounds Carlisle, PA. I will have my Blade Silver C8 on display at the Spring Mountain Race Track tent on the Midway infield.

~Pretty cool sighting in our Criswell Corvette service lane the other day. Two(2) 2019 ZR1’s in Sebring Orange with the Orange design pkg. I delivered 54 total 2019 ZR1’s but it’s rare to see two back to back like this.

~Not a Chevrolet Corvette but…my customer/ Michigan friend works for a very large insurance company and had my name put on the hood of Martin Truex Jr’s #19 race car for the next two weeks! C8 delivery time…

~Adam Pitale of Colorado is the Founder of Adam’s Polishes which is the official Products of the Corvette brand…I’ve attended many events all over the USA with Adam and the one constant is he reminds me so much of my long-gone brother it’s incredible. So to say we have a friendly bond seems to come up short in my description. This week he picked up his new torch Red 2020 Z51 and “gifted” it to his Father, Tony. Adam flew from Idaho to California as I had it drop shopped for courtesy delivery in Carlsbad, California where Tony lives. The two of them called me as they were driving and they sounded like two little kids on Christmas morning. I couldn’t be happier for both of them. My only regret is not being able to hand them the keys myself! Adam attended my C7 corvette owners school at Spring mountain race track with his college friend and this October he and his father are attending my C8 corvette owners school in Pahrump, Nevada.

~James B. of Stillwater, Minnesota placed his factory order for a 2020 Corvette Z51 in Torch Red with the two-tone Natural/black interior with microfiber inserts. 3LT pkg, tan seat belts, a visible carbon-fiber roof, red calipers, and black wheels are a few of the options that make Jim’s new Corvette stand out. Jim wanted to have Criswell do the PDI and he thoroughly enjoyed the 1,100-mile ride home to Minnesota. Jim wrote me a glowing letter upon returning home. His first new Corvette was in 1967! ~Bill K. Splits time between Florida and Urbanna, Virginia. He had owned a Red/red 1964 Corvette for 37 years and sold it for a 2009 Corvette…this past week he drove away in his new torch red with adrenaline red 2020 Corvette Stingray coupe. The red calipers match up perfectly! The common theme among my C8 customers at delivery is that they are so glad they waited! Words from Bill…”Mike,

“Can’t even begin to thank you for all you have done for me with this 2020 Vette. From the very beginning getting me on your list 2 years ago and all the follow-up calls and emails supporting my delivery today, you have been a total professional. It was a pleasure to communicating with you!

About the car. I took the country way rt 117 through Boyds, and rt 28 all the way to Point of Rocks and then south on 15 and 17 home 200 miles instead of 145. What a car. It is like on rails! It feels like it only weighs 1500 pounds. It is very agile, maneuverable, and powerful. It is such a pleasure to drive! I flew fighters for the Navy off the carriers, (F4s and A4s) I felt right at home, in the cockpit. I really like the non-mag ride, it gives plenty of feels and takes care of the harshness at the same time. The car is a dream in all respects.

Please celebrate and let all know when #5000 arrives, that will be so special….

Thanks for giving me the advice to hang in there 3 weeks ago. Your advice was spot on! This is one hell of a car!

Thanks for the advice to ignore some of the stuff in the car, during the drive home. There is a lot to learn.

I think you were just as excited as I was today, during the delivery. You gave me just what I needed to know to get down the road and be safe.

Thanks for all the photos, ( and the FB post) AND the poster which I will frame.”

Bill Kurz

~Sean F. of Leesburg, Virginia has bought 6 Corvettes from me now as this week he took museum delivery of this stunning Rapid Blue 2020 Z51 coupe with 3LT and two-tone Blue interior. Sean brought his father along for the experience in Bowling Green, KY…in Sean’s own words” Hey Mike. Thanks again for making this purchase and trip for my father and me possible. We got back late last night and I have to say that the C8 has really exceeded my expectations. I was able to get in Sunday afternoon to see the car staged at the museum and all I could say was wow! Pictures do not do this car or the Rapid Blue color justice.

I’ll admit that I thought several times about canceling my order, COVID, new house, new job, all had me questioning whether this was a good idea but now that I have the car I am so glad I didn’t. We drove the 640 miles home yesterday in just under 12 hours and what a great car to just clip miles off on. It was quiet, smooth, comfortable, and got ~25 MPG. Plus we had a room up front to bring a big box of Kentucky bourbon home. The car puts power down really well and with the short gears and the DCT, it is more than enough on the street. I can’t wait to get back out and drive it.

The ride went pretty smoothly and we didn’t see any rain, just some wet roads the last couple of hours. Everywhere we stopped (including the middle of nowhere in WV) people would come over to talk about the car and eventually you got used to people coming up next to you on the highway to take photos, video, give you a thumbs-up, etc.

I don’t know if I ever told you about my dad and I driving the C6Z back from BG in 2007 but we ended up running right over a deer carcass in the middle of the night and made a poor route choice which put us on some dark twisty mountain roads late at night. Well, we were doing really well yesterday but I didn’t realize that Waze had routed us all the way North to Cumberland and then down a bunch of dark twisty roads to Winchester. That made the last couple of hours in the dark interesting and I came up over a hill to find a deer carcass in the middle of the two-lane road. Again all I could do was straddle the carcass and while I felt a thump on the underside of the car everything seems to be undamaged.

I’m scheduled to be at Summit Point this weekend with Hooked on Driving. I’m bringing the C7 to drive but I’m also going to be doing lead/follow for the novice drivers. I’m going to bring the C8 up as well for the lead/follow and to show it off.”

Thanks and take care,
Sean

~Barry S. of Chattaroy, Washington has a tough choice between the Corvette he bought from me or the nostalgia of his bubble top Chevy! In his own words…”What fun, both of them rumbling in the driveway. Unsolicited comments: Obviously I love Corvettes, but I have been a critic for years on their paint jobs. Always felt they could do better, i.e. orange peel. Well, the GM investment in the new paint facility really shows. The paint job on my C8 is absolutely flawless, brilliant, and smooth as glass. The new interiors are much improved – again. I thought my C7 was so improved it moved into a new league of its own. The C8 is yet again improved into another league of its own. American at its best. Thank you for taking my order and following through. Now for the decision to keep or sell the ‘61 Bubbletop In order to get a 2021 Convertible.” ~Dan and Mary W. of Glen Burnie, MD bought their C7 from me and this week they took delivery of their C8. Torch Red Z51 2020 Corvette coupe with Adrenaline Red interior and code Q8S Sterling Silver trident wheels. I spoke with their son in law and they are over the moon loving this new C8. ~Larry J. of Livingston, Texas has ordered two Corvettes from me, a 2017 and now 2020. This past week he and his wife took delivery at the Corvette Museum in KY. Larry is thrilled with his Torch Red Z51 Coupe equipped with all the goodies!

~Bill and Marty L. of Cincinnati, Ohio placed their factory order for an Accelerate Yellow 2020 Corvette Z51 with Natural Color interior. Last week they took delivery at the Corvette Museum and were thrilled with the whole process. Bill drove his new mid-engine Corvette the 235 miles home from the museum. Lori and Shane did a great job handling the museum process! Equipment: Competition seats, CF full-length stripes, front lift, CF interior trim, red calipers, black wheels, engine appearance pkg, and 3LT pkg. I just called to follow up and Bill was beyond happy with their new Corvette. Hard to find two finer people! ~The Frank Class Corvette barn find and throwback section…post up your favorite picture. 2011 Lemans…pre race festivities.

Kai Spande filling me in on “Corvette stuff”

Stay healthy and drive safely!

Mike Furman
Criswell Chevrolet
Gaithersburg, MD
301-212-4420 desk direct
Off Fridays and Sundays
“I sell and ship Nationwide and have done so for 43+ years!
[email protected]
CorvetteFurman.com

Click on the link below for Cigar Aficionado magazine article that just came out:
Cigar Aficionado: The Legend of Mr. Corvette

…follow on Instagram: corvette.furman and Facebook: Corvette Furman

Mike can deliver new Corvettes at Criswell Chevrolet in Gaithersburg, MD or through the National Corvette Museum’s R8C delivery program. He can also deliver new Corvettes via covered transport direct to your door or a courtesy delivery to the Chevrolet dealer near you.

Corvette Delivery Dispatch with National Corvette Seller Mike Furman for June 21st

Criswell Chevrolet’s Mike Furman delivers new Corvettes to his customers who come from all across the country to work with the nation’s top individual Corvette seller.

Mike offers a historical perspective to the current situation as it’s not the first time that dealerships have not had new Corvettes to sell, but these times will be changing soon as everything comes back up to speed. As always, your attention is required below as another great collection of vintage and throwback photos is presented. Mike reads the comments, so let him know which is your favorite!

Visit Mike’s facebook page for even more photos and videos of his new Corvette deliveries: CorvetteFurman.

~That’s right, the 2nd coming of the C8. No one can plan for the world event we all are experiencing. The Corvette is a “want” item and our health is a “need” item. Now I will be the first to admit that sometimes a ride in my Corvette is certainly a help in the mental health area but everyone needs to be a bit more patient as there are no owners manuals for what the Corvette plant/employees, Jack Cooper trucking, or the parts suppliers are experiencing…or Chevrolet dealers for that matter.

I can remember the last 1982 Corvette was built in October 1982 and the 1984’s arrived late Summer 1983…now that was a long wait and GM’s General Manager Robert Stemple decided to skip the entire model year of the 1983 Corvette which made the 1984 model year a very long production run with the 2nd largest production in numbers, 51,547. This too shall pass and when it does there will be plenty of thrilled C8 owners. The mid-engine Corvette is an incredible ride. The 2020 Corvette orders that are at status code 3000 or higher will be produced through October 2020. The 2021 model year Corvette production is slated to start in November 2020.

~Please follow on Instagram: corvette.furman and Facebook: Corvette Furman … Check out my Corvette dedicated web site www.corvettefurman.com

Back then…C4 Summer 1983. The Konner family inside the Corvette showroom. Paramus, NJ

and now… C8 reveal July 18th, 2019. Tustin, California

*My event schedule is limited to what hasn’t been canceled this year.

June 27th Movie Night in Hagerstown, MD
July 23rd-26th C7 Corvette Furman driving experience at Spring Mountain race track in Pahrump, Nevada
August 15th Vettes for Vets Corvette Show in Haymarket, VA
August 26th-29th Corvettes at Carlisle event in Carlisle, PA…I will have my C8 on display at the Spring Mountain race track tent on the Midway next to the GM tent.
October 8th-11th C8 Corvette Furman driving experience at Spring Mountain race track in Pahrump, Nevada

I have had this driving experience class for my Corvette customers 2-4 times per year since 2015. The instructors at Spring Mountain are Top Flight Pros.

Even had many of my own local Corvette Club members join in together a couple of years ago.

Always a lot of fun at the Corvettes at Carlisle Event as Lance Miller and staff put on a terrific event.

*Good Corvette story … In 1989 I appraised a 1958 Corvette which at the time was a 31-year-old Corvette and the owner wanted to trade it in on a new vehicle. I just realized that was 31 years ago! Well anyway, it didn’t get traded as the owner wanted $35,000 and I had put $33,000 on it. Fast forward 22 years to 2011 and a lady visits Criswell and wants to test drive a new Chevrolet Traverse to her local home to see if it fits in her garage. She pulls up the driveway and in the garage is that very same Silver Blue 1958 Corvette! I asked her if she found the original engine for it yet as it was originally a Fuelie car? She couldn’t believe I knew that from 25 feet away and asked how did I know so quickly? I told her I had appraised that ’58 a long time ago. Time flies but my memory was still pretty good…having this picture helped too!

***Happy Fathers Day to all.***

The Frank Class Corvette barn find and throwback section. Post up your favorite picture(s). Drive safely and remember the Corvette wave.

Mike Furman
Criswell Chevrolet
Gaithersburg, MD
301-212-4420 desk direct
Off Fridays and Sundays
“I sell and ship Nationwide and have done so for 42+ years!
[email protected]
CorvetteFurman.com

Click on the link below for Cigar Aficionado magazine article that just came out:
Cigar Aficionado: The Legend of Mr. Corvette

…follow on Instagram: corvette.furman and Facebook: Corvette Furman