Dude174

Exact same Chevy attitude when I bought my m3 in '12 and then when I bought my 911, dealer acted like the new stingray was a Ferrari. That was it for me, gave them several serious attempts, I don't care how fast they are anymore - there's too much other competition for other spaces in my garage.

Jabs1542

6. Maybe they know the car is a bit too much to handle and that the average driver will probably lose control the first time they stomp the pedal.

Google "ditches love Corvettes", note I'm not a Corvette basher btw, it's an awesome car for the money. However I am a firm believer that a 75% driver can get 8/10 out of a Porsche and only 7/10 out of a Corvette. I have several friends with vettes and have yet to have one of them hang with me on country roads (or the track).

porsche42

Yup been there. Actually owned a Vette and tried to trade up, asked to drive a new one and the answer was no. So much for brand loyalty. Ok off to buy a Porsche , Porsche deal just throw you keys and say take our time. I don't get it.

clutchplate

In all fairness to the dealers, the policy probably came from one too many test drivers crashing the dealer's new cars. Also guessing everyone that stops in to buy a Malibu also wants to take a Corvette for a spin.

STG

Closest I've come to stepping foot in a Chevy dealer is Disney's Test Track ride. They have some cars on display when exiting including a Vette. Boring ..... Wasn't even interested.

JoshuaKM1

Can I please clarify the issue for everyone. I owned a 2015 corvette stingray and ultimately traded it in. Before making the purchase I was allowed to test drive for 20 minutes. They made an exception for me but typically do not allow test drives. The reason is that Corvette buyers (historically) have stretched their budget to finally buy one and are extremely OCD about mileage. I get it ... Porsche makes much better cars (which is why I now drive a 911) so why does Porsche allow test drives? Well this may be a controversial opinion but I truly think the conversion ratio from prospective owner to actual owner is higher in the Porsche brand. I guarantee that there are a lot of jokers that are buying a Chevy Malibu who ask the sales associates if they can take a test drive. Just my two cents. And another thing - Corvette performance is off the charts. The reason why I fled to Porsche was that the build quality was far superior (like in a different league) in the 911.

clutchplate

Now that I think about it when the C6 came out the local dealer wouldn't allow test drives but a buddy and I stopped by another dealer in our golf grubbies. They pulled two off the showroom floor and gave us the keys. Guess it depends on the dealer.

STG

Ok guys. The Vette to Chevy is like a GT3RS or 918 at a Porsche dealer. Probably wouldn't get a test drive in those.

The 911's and Cayman's, etc. are the everyday cars at a Porsche dear. If you can't drive those, then what can you drive? Equivalent to driving the Malibu at Chevy.

All relative on where you're shopping and what you can afford.

Noah Fect

I had no trouble test-driving a C6 Z06 at a dealer on the Seattle eastside, probably the same one who told beaverlake to pound sand. The secret? It was right in the middle of the housing bubble implosion. The Z06 was "market adjusted" several thousand dollars below MSRP, and I could tell there was room to tighten the screws even further.

So yes, it probably comes down to the dealer wanting to minimize mileage on their inventory at all costs. This helps them justify the markups that they usually tack onto late-model Corvettes when the economy allows them to get away with it. Just wait until the next serious economic downturn, and they'll let you drive anything on the lot.

mmblz

That's crazy. Before I got my Porsche I thought about test driving anZ06 just for fun with no intention to buy. Glad I didn't make the drive to the dealer! On the other side, I got to drive my '16 turbo s with 7 miles on it on the mass pike, no problem...

Zucc

Dealers are independent business men and women. Some are great and some suck regardless of the brand.

fast1

I think you are being too harsh on Chevy dealerships. A typical Chevy showroom is full of cars priced from the low $20Ks to upper $30Ks, and then there is the lone $60K+ Vette. So let's not confuse a Porsche customer with a Chevy customer; entirely different demographic.
I would expect that most of the customers in a Chevy dealership are stretching their budgets to be able to afford a $25K Chevy Nova. So if you were a Chevy Sales Manager would you allow anyone to test drive your flagship product? If you did I would expect that there would be lines of teenagers waiting to test drive a car that they couldn't possibly afford. On the other hand if you were highly selective and allowed the SA to make a subjective judgment as to whom you allow to test drive a Vette, then you risk antagonizing those who were refused a test drive and can in fact easily afford a Vette. So for most Chevy dealerships, the simplest and fairest solution is to allow no one to test drive the Vette.

Sir Crisp

I couldn't disagree more. The entire purpose of the C7 was to attract new younger customers to the Corvette brand. Targeting the same young executives who are buying Caymans. That was Chevy's bullseye target. Chevrolet corporate knows darn well that if Porsche buyers are cross-shopping, that's a success for them.

It's the dealers who didn't get the memo. If we're being too harsh on Chevy dealers, they why are so many would-be buyers having the same experience, and walking away frustrated?

I saw the Chris Harris comparison and was intrigued. The styling on the C7 isn't half bad. And you can't argue with that value proposition! I wanted to give them a chance. Went into the Chevy dealer and they had quite a few in stock, and a previous generation ZR1 that was new and had been sitting collecting dust since 2013. I though, "Wow, this is great. They have a good selection."

I tried to open one. The door was locked. Then another. Locked as well. Looked around, and the showroom was empty. The place started to feel a little like a museum. Like someone previously mentioned, they treated the cars like they were $400,000 Ferraris. A salesman walked over. I explained that I was cross shopping Porsche. Test drive? Nope. I felt awkward even asking to sit in one. I thought, "Aren't you guys in the business of selling cars?"

Contrast to the Porsche salesman who actually encouraged me to floor the accelerator, and seemed confused as to why I didn't want to push the car harder during the test drive.

This is yet another reason why the American auto industry is in trouble. Decades of success, followed by bailouts made them arrogant. Hubris. We're too big to fail. Attachment to old ways. The car industry is about to change again over the next decade, big time, and if they can't evolve, they're done.

The C7 is a great piece of engineering and a fantastic value for what it can do, but the dealers need an attitude adjustment. At the end of the day all that matters is how you make people feel, and that experience didn't make me feel excited to be a Corvette owner.

Hothonda

My understanding is just the opposite how Corvette buyers pay for their cars. Approx 40% pay cash.

http://wardsauto.com/f-i/muscle-car-...dodge-chargers

chuck911

There's a very simple reason they would want to limit the number of test drives: the more people actually drive a corvette, the more they realize its not all that.