A salesman at a local dealer tried to tell me this regarding the SS: one year only, limited production, I'd better shell out $5K to him right now or I would lose my chance forever.
I did not fall for it. But apparently some do; he told me he had about 15 people who had given him the money.

I went to another dealer and was told if I did not pay over MSRP there was no way I would ever get one.

I'm taking my chances. If these guys aren't being more reasonable and realistic and honest in a few months I may have to go out of state.

 

That's what I did....the internet is a wonderful thing. Don't wait a few months to make that decision, though. Even if they come down in a few months, they're giving you a line of bull now. Buy from someone who isn't marking up and make sure they know why they lost the sale. The way I look at it is that they want my money. They compete for me, they're not doing me any favors. The person with the best numbers wins (with a little leeway for good service), and that goes for financing as well as dealerships. No one says we have to shop locally, be it for a loan or a car. Unfortunately, there are people who will pay..and it will be a pain in our butts to deal with.

 

Agreed with Ceiling Mod.

 

Unfortunately, this scenario is as old as the hills. Seems like every time a desireable new model of any car (new Camaro, GT500, Z06 vettes, and on back for 20 years) comes along, there are always dealers who charge as much as they can until supply meets demand. The reason they keep doing it is that there are usually people willing to pay extra to be the first to have one, and the economy / GM instability is just another excuse. It's dumb enough on limited production cars, but I really never understood it on volume produced cars (05 Mustang, for example). With the 05 Stang, dealers were offering discounts within a year.

Owners that are convinced that their cars will be "collectible" and will somehow not depreciate (Ref recent GT500, Z06, etc) add to the issue.

They best way you can express you disapproval if you don't agree with these tactics is to vote with your wallet. Buy from a dealer that dosen't gouge and let the rip off dealers know the choice you made.

 

+1

That's what I was getting at.

I will say that I have no problem whatsoever with making a profit...if people are willing to pay, take them to the cleaners. No one's forcing them to pay markups. This limited edition / low production fear mongering needs to stop, though.

 

Yea, thats something I would like to rant about. People that buy a car based on depreciation..... Its almost always going to lose value, so buy it for the cause.

 

Jason also Ebay does have standards. Remember the "Places in line" that were being sold in 2006 with pics of the concept and Camaro renderings? I got a hold of Ebay and got them removed because Ebay doesnt sell services and for products you do buy from sellers need to be delivered within like 3-6 months if I remember correctly. I contacted Ebay via chat and the representative also thanked me for helping point this out.

Point is if the seller is lying, there may be something in Ebays policy that doesnt allow it to protect the buyers. If so, we(us camaro nuts) may actually be able to do something about it in the way of helping Ebay Identify it because it looks bad for them also....

 

same feelings here over markups. remember going to clear lake dodge back in november to look at challengers. only to take a peek. the dealer then started pressuring me to buy. and kept on pushing the issue. they insisted that the 5k$ markup was a bargain to have a real muscle car.
fast forward to yesterday when a dealer called me about preordering a camaro from them. the conversation was good up until the point the sales manager said that he is marking up the sticker 5-10k$ on the camaros. at that point i said have a nice day , and hung up the phone. luckily mines on order with a dealer for 200$ over invoice.

 

Last year the local Dodge dealer wanted $5K over MSRP for an SRT8 Challenger. Right now there is one on his lot advertised for $6k under MSRP. I have a suspicion the same thing may happen with Camaro.

 

This totally depends on the state of the economy. Once all of the excitement calms down from the enthusiasts(ie 14k + preorders) then the life of the car will depend on your average car buyer to start buying the car.
If they got the money then they will. So lets hope the economy starts
heating up soon.

 

One dealer in NJ has 2 Camaros listed on ebay, both with 6 speed manuals. one has a buy it now price of $44,900 and the others is $47,900. In the ebay listing it says "6 speed manual transmission (This Transmission is used in Corvettes)" If I'm not mistaken Corvettes have transaxels. I sent a message pointing this out and the reply I got was "I read an article that stated the 6 speed transmission is the one used in Vetts" Shouldn't a dealer know whats in the car he is selling?

 

I dont know how many dealers youve talked to but everyone Ive ever talked to was full of it and then some dont ever believe what someone who is trying to get into your wallet has to tell you they only want your money and if they were car savvy they would be in the back working on them not up front hustling

 

same story here too. now those same cars that were so hot they would be gone in a day are still sitting on that lot rotting away 6 months later .

 

To me, it's the same thing as paying $4 for a coke or $6 for a beer at a ball game. I just refuse to pay it if it's not a good deal, or unless I really want it bad. I don't think paying a big markup is going to buy exclusivity for too long, though. There was a bunch of that going on when I bought my Corvette, and I ended up buying from a place out of town.

 

The Camaro will probably follow along the same road, but hope not.