How To Navigate the World of GM Incentives When Buying a New Corvette

Trying to navigate the world of GM incentives when it comes to buying a new Corvette can be a bit of a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.

Last week, we published an article here entitled “Chevrolet Rolls Out Largest Discounts of the Year on 2019 Corvettes“. Some readers who had purchased a 2019 Corvette prior to this month responded back to us expressing their feelings of getting cheated out of additional savings.

This tends to be a common issue with some customers who feel they should receive any additional discounts from the current month, on a Corvette they purchased last month or before. As a result, we decided to put together some information on how GM incentives work and how they relate to purchasing a new Corvette.

Below is one of the responses we received which I’d like to address here:

“I just purchased a 2019 Corvette, I was not allowed any discounts, even though I have owned nothing but GM vehicles since 1963, and I have owned three prior Corvettes  including a 1967, a 1988, and , a 2008, now a 2019. I ordered my first new car in 1965, a Malibu, I’ve been ordering my card and tricksters since. I think that makes me a pretty loyal GM customer and a solid previous Corvette owner.

I currently own three GM vehicles, a 2004 Silverado, a 2017 GMC Canyon, and my 2019 Corvette, yet my dealer did not consider me to [be] qualified as a loyal GM customer or a Corvette owner, or anything else that would have qualified me for a discount on my new Corvette. I paid near full sticker price. Then after the deal is done and I have been delivered the car, you have the nerve to offer a discount if I purchase another 2019 Corvette.

This is not the first time I’ve been denied these discounts when buying a new GM vehicle and it’s not the first time that after the fact I’m offered these discounts if I buy again, yet you never offer to provide the discounts on the vehicle I just bought. (That would have to be in the form of a refund at this point). You know, it’s amazing I keep buying GM the way you treat me, but I’m die hard GM , I tell everybody i know that GM are the best vehicles. So, thanks for the offer but you’re too late, I’ve already bought my new Corvette. If you really cared about me as a lifelong customer you’d give me a refund for year end closeout pricing on my new Corvette and for being a very loyal lifetime customer.

I bought it in August, [and] it was too late [to] order one and this all started for me because I was investigating the 2020 C8. I decided I’d prefer the front engine car…”

Types of Incentives That Could Apply to a New Corvette Purchase

At the beginning of each month, GM rolls out new incentives toward the purchase of a new GM vehicle.  Each incentive comes with its own set of rules, restrictions and expiration dates as dictated by GM.  Chevrolet dealerships cannot interpret these incentives in any way other than what GM has specifically outlined in their documentation to the dealer.  Most of these incentives run month to month, while some incentives, such as financing incentives, can run for up to two or three months.

Basically, there are 3-5 main types of incentives that might be applicable at any given time toward the purchase of a brand new Corvette.

Corvette Loyalty Incentive

This is the big one and most popular among Corvette customers.

The Corvette Loyalty incentive states that a dealership can take $3,000 off the MSRP toward the purchase of a brand new, in-stock Corvette.  However, you must currently own or lease another Corvette regardless of model year.

If you happen to own a an older Corvette (any year) that is currently registered in your name (for at least 30 days), you can get $3,000 off purchasing a brand new Corvette.  However, this incentive does not come without restrictions.  You must bring in either a copy of your current Corvette’s registration, title or lease agreement.  The new Corvette that you’re buying, must be purchased and titled in your name and address that is listed on your other Corvette’s registration, title or lease agreement.  Exceptions can be made if the customer owns multiple properties and the new Corvette will be registered at a property that the current Corvette being used for the incentive is not registered to.

If you don’t own another Corvette, but a family member does – you are not eligible for this incentive.

Even though the Corvette Loyalty incentive is the most common incentive that GM uses to energize Corvette sales, GM doesn’t offer this incentive every month. This year, they offered the incentive several months in a row and November was the last month they offered it.

That means that if you held off buying your new Corvette until this month, you signed the paperwork and took delivery of your Corvette on any day after December 2nd, you cannot take advantage of this incentive.  It expired on December 2nd.

GM Loyalty Incentive

This incentive is similar to the Corvette Loyalty incentive, but slightly different.

With this incentive, you must currently own or lease a 2005 or newer GM vehicle.  The same restrictions apply here as they do to the Corvette Loyalty incentive.  Here, you can bring in the current registration, title or lease agreement to any GM vehicle, and receive a specific dollar amount off the purchase of a new GM vehicle.  However, if the vehicle is older than 2005, not currently registered or leased, or the ownership documentation you bring to the dealer is for any other make (Ford, Ferrari, Dodge), you cannot take advantage of this incentive.

Chevrolet Loyalty Incentive

This incentive is almost identical to the GM Loyalty incentive above, except you must currently own or lease a 2005 or newer Chevrolet.  If you try bringing in the registration, title or lease agreement for your 2010 GMC Denali – you cannot take advantage of this incentive.  It is a GMC; not a Chevrolet – regardless of it being a General Motors vehicle.

Conquest Incentive

Like the GM and Chevrolet Loyalty Incentives above, the Conquest Incentive has some similarities, but usually targeted toward foreign automotive companies such as Honda, and Toyota.  With this incentive, you must currently own or lease a 2005 or newer competitive automobile from one of the other companies specified by GM in order to take a certain amount of money off the purchase of a brand new GM vehicle.

In some instances, GM may require that you trade-in the vehicle that you’re using for the Conquest Incentive, and in some instances, this is not a requirement.

What If I order a Brand New Corvette From the Factory?

Let’s say for example, you ordered a 2020 Corvette last month and you have a Target Production Week (TPW) of February 3rd, 2020.  You also currently own a 2018 Corvette Grand Sport that you’re keeping as your daily driver.  Last month, the Corvette Loyalty Incentive was available.  Because you ordered your 2020 Corvette last month, can you still get the $3,000 off MSRP with the Corvette Loyalty Incentive when you take delivery of your new Corvette in February?  NO.

You are only eligible to take advantage of any incentives that are currently active at the time you take delivery of your new Corvette.  If the Corvette Loyalty incentive is available during the month you take delivery of your new 2020 Corvette, you may or may not be able to take advantage of it.  If GM states that you can only take advantage of the Corvette Loyalty incentive if you’re purchasing a brand new 2019 Corvette off the showroom floor, you would not be eligible for the incentive because you purchased a 2020 Corvette.

Remember:  incentives always come with a long list of details, rules, and restrictions.  ALWAYS check with your dealer regarding available incentives and what you are or are not eligible to receive at the time you take delivery of your Corvette.

Click on the image below to see some of the Corvette incentives that were available back in 2018 along with their respective rules and restrictions:

So What About the Gentleman Who Bought a Corvette in August?

Back in August, the Corvette Loyalty Incentive was available toward the purchase of a brand new in-stock 2019 Corvette, however, GM Employee Pricing was not available.   Had he bought his Corvette this month, he could have taken advantage of the GM Employee Pricing, AND a $2,000 Purchase Bonus Cash offer which was not available in August.

For example, right now, MacMulkin Chevrolet of New Hampshire is advertising a 2019 Grand Sport Corvette as follows:

Stacking GM’s Employee pricing incentive on top of the dealer’s own discount, and the Purchase Bonus Cash offer, yields an incredible savings of $14,514 off the MSRP of a brand new 2019 Grand Sport.  That’s the biggest discount we’ve seen on new Corvettes all year!

Chances are, the customer above was not able to get that much of a discount off his Corvette when he bought it in August, because the same incentives were not available back then.

Regardless of how much of a loyal GM customer you are, if the incentives are not available at the time you purchase the car, you can’t expect GM to go back and offer you additional money off your car months after you bought it.

Let’s say you went to your local grocery store 6 months ago and bought bananas that were $0.39/lb.  This month, they’re selling bananas at $0.29/lb.  Would you go back to that same grocery store and ask them for the difference off the bananas you bought 6 months ago because they were $0.39/lb back then vs. $0.29/lb this month?

If you do, please contact us and tell us about your experience.  We would love to write an article about the response you received from the grocery store! ~laughing~

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