Problem arranging courtesy drop of new Viper

[Bob K]

Has anyone here been successful in buying a Viper from one of the Midwest dealers and having it drop shipped from the factoery at a local dealer? I thought I had this all arranged through my Viper tech but apparently he hadn't cleared it with his boss. Result: they refuse to accept it. I have since contact 3 other local dealers with the same results. It's starting to look like I'll have to arrange other shipping for my Final Edition GTS.

Dismayed in Seattle,

Bob K

 

[Wing King]

Bob, the thing is.... there is also a courtesy delivery "fee". Used to be $500 back in 97, but I don't know now. Did you offer to pay a fee?? Can't imagine that your local dealer is so poor in customer service that they would take that "no way" attitude, since they appear to have the required Viper tech to pull it off. Did YOU actually talk to the GM of the dealership yourself?? Do so if not. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Bob K]

Wing King,
The dealership that I take my Vipers to for service is fairly new and has not ever sold a Viper. My Viper tech recently moved to this dealership so I followed him there. I have not spoken to the GM myself but plan to (Viper tech thought it would be best if he handled it).
I did talk to the General Sales Managers at 2 other dealers and they both gave me the same story: "If you would have come to me I would have matched the price from the guys back East". Ya, right! They have a sticker with MSRP and a second sticker with another $20,000 dealer markup. If I walked in and said will you sell me a Viper for $400 over dealer invoice they would show me the door. With all of the Microsoft money around here and the low number of Vipers allocated to the dealers they often get big prices when they sell.
Still working on it.
Bob K

 

[Bob K]

Update,
The 5th dealer I contacted accepts courtesy deliveries and it is all arraneged. The fee is $800 and includes dealer prep and Viper tech inspection. They are only about 5 miles from my office so I can pick it up after work when it arrives from CAAP.
Now I can move on to other things in life.

Bob K

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I ran into the same problem in 2000. Refused the drop. The local dealer would have sold me the car much cheaper than I paid, but couldn't guarantee delivery when I wanted. Solution: flew to Detroit and did a factory pick up. Excellent thing to do if you can. Bought the extended warranty from the local dealer. He matched the best price I found on the internet at that time. Max Care 6/60 for $1630.

Steve

 

[XS TORQ]

On the dealer prep - I would suggest (and I'm sure many will agree) that you should NOT allow them to wash/detail the car. 99% of the time, you will have a ton of fine scratches/swirl marks that you will work endless hours removing. Pay the fee for the drop-ship, and clean the car yourself.
My $.02

 

[Bob K]

Mark,
RE: dealer prep
I agree on the exterior prep and that is what I plan to do. I always request that the dealers never wash my Vipers after service. I would rather drive them home dirty than end up with swirls and scratches from a minimum wage lot boy. I've seen some pretty sorry results.
Bob K

 

[Jason-Middle Tennessee]

Most Vipers (90%) that I have saw unloaded from the trucks have been spotless, not to mention had a car cover over them in the rig. Does anyone know if they still do this or not? The cover that is. This was back in 95'