Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

[Terry M.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Is it fair that those of us (I did too) who take Museum Delivery pay the same delivery charge as someone buying a Corvette in Alaska or Hawaii? One can, as you have, argue that it is not. Unfortunately the time and place for that argument was long ago in Washington DC = long ago and far away. I think we can all agree that the political climate there today is not likely to get anyone to listen to the consumer's side of this debate, and the Corvette is probably the wrong vehicle to use for making that argument.

[Michael J.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Absolutely correct on all points Terry, just one more thing we citizens are powerless to do anything about in our country.

[John H.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Absolutely correct on all points Terry, just one more thing we citizens are powerless to do anything about in our country.

Michael -

We had factory delivery of Vipers also, and those pickup customers paid the uniform freight rate to their selling dealer as well, as part of the price of the car. Just as with Corvettes, every new car transaction/paperwork has to go through a franchised dealer, regardless of where the car is actually delivered. It's illegal in every state for a manufacturer to sell new cars directly to customers.

[Terry M.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Michael -

We had factory delivery of Vipers also, and those pickup customers paid the uniform freight rate to their selling dealer as well, as part of the price of the car. Just as with Corvettes, every new car transaction/paperwork has to go through a franchised dealer, regardless of where the car is actually delivered. It's illegal in every state for a manufacturer to sell new cars directly to customers.

Indeed it is John, and there was recently a big legal to do with Tesla over that very issue. Tesla wanted to sell their vehicle without a dealer involved. The customer was to buy it directly from the manufacturer. I am not sure to what legal level the fight got, but there are Tesla dealers -- so Tesla lost.

BTW: The National Corvette Museum IS an authorized Chevrolet dealer with a Zone and Dealer number that is on your build sheet. Having been involved in some of the negotiations that got that going I could tell you more about it than you would want to know. It is too bad we cannot buy the car from the NCM as well, but I am sure that would be another major fight that there is no sense even beginning. I assUme that the Viper factory also had a dealer designation in the Chrysler sales system.

[John H.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

I assUme that the Viper factory also had a dealer designation in the Chrysler sales system.

Terry -

Yes, we did, but only as a "ship to" location, not a "bill to" address.

[Michael J.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Thanks John and Terry, interesting info for sure. I had heard about Musk's attempts to tilt at that windmill. BTW John, if a person were interested in the new Viper they have started making again, what would you say to them? Yes or No?

[Duke W.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

I don't think the "flat rate" delivery charge became law until the seventies. I know my St. Louis delivery SWC had no destination charge.

I'm sure it burns a lot of people that not only does museum delivery cost extra, but you still have to pay the flat rate destination charge for driving the car across the street.

Duke

[Terry M.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

I don't think the "flat rate" delivery charge became law until the seventies. I know my St. Louis delivery SWC had no destination charge.

I'm sure it burns a lot of people that not only does museum delivery cost extra, but you still have to pay the flat rate destination charge for driving the car across the street.

Duke

While it would seem driving it across the street would be the simple solution to get a Corvette from the Assembly Plant to the Museum that is not the way it is done. The Museum Delivery cars are loaded on a transporter, just like those going to BFE, and the transporter is driven to the Museum and the cars are unloaded. It isn't quite as close as literally across the street, but it is close to that. It would be a whole lot closer if one could go as the crow flies, but the lot exit gate at the plant is not conveniently located to the Museum and the cars are delivered to the rear of the Museum, so they circle three sides of it. I suspect they are unloaded by the driver since he is responsible for the cars until the "dealer" signs the acceptance papers.

I also suspect if they were driven across the street some buyers would object to that 1/2-mile addition to the odometer. As it is those with more than 3 to 5 miles on them cause a great deal of angst to some owners. Of course none of us would be like that, would we?

[John H.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Thanks John and Terry, interesting info for sure. I had heard about Musk's attempts to tilt at that windmill. BTW John, if a person were interested in the new Viper they have started making again, what would you say to them? Yes or No?

The new Viper remains a "torque-monster", but is far more refined than its predecessor.


2013-SRT-Viper-GTS-blue-Frt34.jpg

[Michael J.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

The new Viper remains a "torque-monster", but is far more refined than its predecessor.


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Thanks John, your opinion is very highly valued on that car by me. The 2014 Viper is very tempting since Corvette is years away from a real performance engine, if it ever happens again like the ZR1 that is.......

[Edward S.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

A few years back I wrote an article for the Restorer concerning the old factory pick-up program versus the new program. I reviewed the new program with a member of the Museum and one of the things I found out about was the new owner having to pay the dealer delivery price as if it were being shipped to the dealer. When I questioned that part I was told it had to do with the drivers union. When the original owner of the 65 I had at that time changed from a dealer pick-up to a plant pick-up it added nothing to the total cost - in fact a few weeks after he drove the car home Chev. sent him a check for $23.00 to cover the delivery charge written on the original order sheet. The day after I was on the phone with the museum I did get a call from them telling me I would not be allowed to include the double dip part in my article which I honored. I wonder what that was all about???????????

[Terry M.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

A few years back I wrote an article for the Restorer concerning the old factory pick-up program versus the new program. I reviewed the new program with a member of the Museum and one of the things I found out about was the new owner having to pay the dealer delivery price as if it were being shipped to the dealer. When I questioned that part I was told it had to do with the drivers union. When the original owner of the 65 I had at that time changed from a dealer pick-up to a plant pick-up it added nothing to the total cost - in fact a few weeks after he drove the car home Chev. sent him a check for $23.00 to cover the delivery charge written on the original order sheet. The day after I was on the phone with the museum I did get a call from them telling me I would not be allowed to include the double dip part in my article which I honored. I wonder what that was all about???????????

http://www.kbb.com/car-advice/articles/destination-charges/?r=120158123495333660

[Dick W.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

I would suspect that the carrier that delivers the cars has a clause in the contract, all vehicles produced by GMAD at what ever plant. That way the close dealers subsidize the furthest away dealers freight cost. Makes the list price the same in all 48 states equal, maybe all 50.

[Dick W.]

Re: Bowling Green delivery (stiil exist) ? Drive it Home ?

Just looking at a couple of window stickers from cars I owned in the '60's. 1966 $63.00 freight from Detroit to Balmer (that car went to zone fleet rep) 1969 freight from Detroit to No Wilkesboro NC $80.00 Danged expensive back then