[Zack46]

This is the first time I have ever ordered a NEW car. It's a little nerve racking to say the very least. I just want my car to come in the way that I ordered it on the workbench worksheet. I understand that there can be delays along the way.

Questions For Camaro Nation:

1. For the people who have ordered new cars in the past, did you receive your car the way you ordered it?

2. Do you have any horror stories to tell about what the experience was like when ordering past new cars?

3. Ordering Previous New Cars, Was it a SUCCESS Story?


I just want to know from you experts out there, What I might be in for.

Thanks Everyone!

[Kingluis91]

I ordered my Challenger scat pack last year on Sep 30 and I got it delivered on 11/15. I came exactly how I ordered it, I just realized that when you order a car you pay more because you pick more options than when you go buy a car from the lot. I'm glad I ordered my camaro because I know I'll get it the way I want it

[Curr]

Ordered my 12 5.0 GT Premium from the factory, got it at Londonderry Ford in NH and everything was perfect. Great dealership, if the new SS wasn't so awesome, I'd have gotten another 5.0 there. Overall a great experience, and I'll be looking into local places this winter to order my 2SS convertible come March.

[Zack46]

Originally Posted by Kingluis91

I ordered my Challenger scat pack last year on Sep 30 and I got it delivered on 11/15. I came exactly how I ordered it, I just realized that when you order a car you pay more because you pick more options than when you go buy a car from the lot. I'm glad I ordered my camaro because I know I'll get it the way I want it

See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I don't mind paying extra. Because I want the car HOW I want IT. All the other times I have gotten new cars it's been off the lot. Or maybe they don't have the color I want. So you just settle for something without several options that you really want.

[dragonZ28]

We ordered a 2010 2SS/RS when the 5th gens were announced.

I'll say this:

1 - Educate yourself on the car, so the dealer (who most likely won't be up to snuff) can learn from your knowledge. This includes options, pricing, etc.

2 - Know what you want when they get ahold of it. This means tell them NO DEALER EMBLEMS and NO FRONT LICENSE PLATE BRACKET unless your state requires it. Sometimes, these mean holes will be drilled into your brand new car; no bueno.

3 - Tell them you want the window sticker intact, and unfolded. It is a great idea to get this laminated after purchase.

All in all, it's a great experience. The nerves are just anticipation.

[Zack46]

Originally Posted by dragonZ28

We ordered a 2010 2SS/RS when the 5th gens were announced.

I'll say this:

1 - Educate yourself on the car, so the dealer (who most likely won't be up to snuff) can learn from your knowledge. This includes options, pricing, etc.

2 - Know what you want when they get ahold of it. This means tell them NO DEALER EMBLEMS and NO FRONT LICENSE PLATE BRACKET unless your state requires it. Sometimes, these mean holes will be drilled into your brand new car; no bueno.

3 - Tell them you want the window sticker intact, and unfolded. It is a great idea to get this laminated after purchase.

All in all, it's a great experience. The nerves are just anticipation.

Dragonz28, That's exactly what I did. EDUCATED MYSELF! All the information I got was from this AWESOME forum and the AWESOME people on this forum. When I went to the dealer I showed him all my print-outs with every option, trim level and code number. They pretty much knew nothing. I thought that was amazing to me. But, so far my dealer and I are on the same page in terms of what order status number I'm currently at, 3400.
I will mention to him I want the window sticker INTACT next time I speak to him. And to make sure that he writes it down.

[laborsmith]

Expect to know more about what you want than your sales person will. Becky who posts on this forum is an exception. Expect to go through all kinds of anxiety, even an order placed after production has started can be nerve racking. Order come in correctly but you will want to check just in case. If you are willing to wait a bit and are eligible for Program Pricing than it will not cost more.

Experiencing the roller coaster ride that comes with doing a retail sold order is worth the price of admission and I recommend doing it at least once, but bear in mind most retail sold buyers are repeaters, which makes me think it can be addictive.

Laborsmith

[Zack46]

Originally Posted by laborsmith

Expect to know more about what you want than your sales person will. Becky who posts on this forum is an exception. Expect to go through all kinds of anxiety, even an order placed after production has started can be nerve racking. Order come in correctly but you will want to check just in case. If you are willing to wait a bit and are eligible for Program Pricing than it will not cost more.

Experiencing the roller coaster ride that comes with doing a retail sold order is worth the price of admission and I recommend doing it at least once, but bear in mind most retail sold buyers are repeaters, which makes me think it can be addictive.

Laborsmith

Laborsmith,
I do have question. When I spoke to my dealer about the available code numbers, and ALL the available information about the 6th gen. etc. he asked me, "Where did you get all that information?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that.
What is a good answer for me to tell my sales guy?

[laborsmith]

Ask them to google Camaro6 and if they can't do that run, do not walk, away. There are some excellent people selling cars but way more who look at the process as a zero sum game. I do not know where you are in Ohio, but if Rodgers Chevrolet is within your willingness to travel, Becky Doyle certainly has the knowledge and experience to set you right, and you do not even have to ask her to google Camaro6 as she posts here often and is a source for a lot of the info we have.

Laborsmith

[SSport16]

Originally Posted by Zack46

Laborsmith,
I do have question. When I spoke to my dealer about the available code numbers, and ALL the available information about the 6th gen. etc. he asked me, "Where did you get all that information?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that.
What is a good answer for me to tell my sales guy?

The new cars sales manager at my dealer who is doing everything for me for my order said the same things to me. He even asked me if I worked for GM, and he was dead serious! I told him that I read "forums", disn't want to give him too much info, want to have the upper hand so he will not try and screw me over...sad that it has to be this way, but like Laborsmith said a lot of dealers really want nothing to do with it and don't pride in it, even though in my eyes it is a dumb business/customer retention move....and thank God we have Becky here!

[Zack46]

Originally Posted by SSport16

The new cars sales manager at my dealer who is doing everything for me for my order said the same things to me. He even asked me if I worked for GM, and he was dead serious! I told him that I read "forums", disn't want to give him too much info, want to have the upper hand so he will not try and screw me over...sad that it has to be this way, but like Laborsmith said a lot of dealers really want nothing to do with it and don't pride in it, even though in my eyes it is a dumb business/customer retention move....and thank God we have Becky here!

Yeah, I know. I just want to buy a cool asz looking car.

[BRMike]

I'll share my two stories. One bad, one good. Warning, this may be a bit more than you care to read.

On a Saturday in January of 2014 my wife and I walked into one of the local Chevrolet dealerships (I had bought two vehicles there previously) to place an order for a 2014 Stingray 2LT Z51. We sat in the sales manager's office and selected all of the options. He would not accept a deposit until an allocation became available. The following Monday I received the GM Workbench order complete with my information. I was well aware that there were three customers ahead of me who were also waiting for a Z51 allocation (Z51 cars were heavily constrained for nearly the entire model year). None the less, I was prepared to wait. Over the next few months I visited the Chevrolet website to track the order. Everything seemed to be good. Periodically the sales manager would contact me to see if I wanted to drop the Z51, because he'd get allocations for non-Z51 cars. I didn't want to settle so I stayed the course. As June rolled around, I was told that all Z51 orders ahead of me had been fulfilled. However, he could not promise me they would get another Z51. So again, he asked if I wanted to change my order. Again, I told him to let it ride. If it slips to 2015, no big deal. Within a few days of this conversation, I logged onto the "track your order" section of Chevrolet's website. To my surprise my order showed that it was queued for production! There was just one problem. I ordered a Blade Silver Metallic 2LT Z51 with a manual transmission. The Stingray shown on the screen now was a Arctic White 3LT Z51 with the automatic. I entered and re-entered the order number. I even had my wife try. So the next day I contacted the dealer. He said he was unaware of the situation, but he would contact "the order center" and find out if it was too late to correct it. After a day without a response, I called and left a message. I received an e-mail response stating that my order had been changed to fulfill an order "ahead of me". And just like that it was all over. Needless to say I was not happy, but there wasn't anything I could do. It still bothers me, because if there was a customer "ahead" of me, they'd have had their own order number.

By then, I decided to wait on the 2016 Camaro and buy my wife a car in the interim. That brings me to the second (and much shorter) story.

In January of this year, my wife and I walked into one of the local Ford dealers and placed an order for a 2015 Mustang GT Premium convertible. Same as the C7 order, we selected all of the options and waited. On April 1, my salesman sent me a picture of the freshly delivered car. Two days later, we went into the dealership and picked it up. Everything was as ordered, with sticker still affixed to the passenger side window (I requested the dealer not remove it). It was a fun experience all the way around.

I plan (hope) to place an order for a 2017 Camaro 2SS in about a year. Needless to say it will not be from the dealer I ordered the C7 from.

[DBNSSNH]

I joined this site, educated myself and when I was ready to order called Becky. Her enthusiasm , knowledge only added to the excitement. We did a factory order and I was kept informed EVERY step of the way.
My Camaro was railed from Oshawa to MA ( I was even able to track that!) and then trucked to a courtesy delivery at a NH dealer. My car showed up exactly as ordered except for the dent in the passenger side door. After a panicked call to Becky she calmed me down and assured me all would be taken care (it was!).
While a little nerve racking I found the experience exciting and fun! I even visit and read the tracking threads to relive the excitement that people are currently experiencing and cant wait to do it all over again for my 6 Gen next year ....Of course through Becky again!

[RatBoy]

I have ordered several new cars/trucks in the past several years, including a 2013 ZL1 - no issues or complications whatsoever.