If you’ve ever dreamt of a Corvette under the tree with a giant red bow on top, Costco may be your best bet for making it happen. The discount membership club has long offered an auto program through which members can get pre-negotiated deals on cars, but this winter, for the first time, the deal extends to America’s supercar.
There’s been a mixed response on whether Costco’s deals are better than what any regular Joe can negotiate on his own, but at the very least the Costco price saves a buyer the hassle of negotiating.
To be clear, buyers don’t actually purchase cars through the warehouse. They must still buy through a dealership, but typically work with a salesperson familiar with Costco’s program to get the Costco-approved price. Trade-ins can still be negotiated as part of the deal.
How good of a deal is buying a new Corvette through Costco?
Costco Services director John Conlon said,
We are excited to be able to offer an additional value with General Motors on the distinctive Corvette. This opportunity for Corvette enthusiasts to be able to purchase their dream car at a great value is almost unbelievable. If you’ve been waiting for the opportune moment to buy a Corvette, there’s no better time than now.
People certainly love unbelievable values. The base price of a new Corvette is $55,450, which could already be considered a good value. Of course, prices rise pretty fast as you go up the options list.
Costco doesn’t publicize its members-only prices, so I took the liberty of inquiring on a 2016 Stingray Coupe 3LT Z51 model to get an idea of what kind of deals are out there. The MSRP of the car, according to the window sticker, was $76,000. The model was on the floor for a sale price of $69,999. The dealer-offered discounts—including the Costco discount—totaled $9,120, which brought the final price down to $60,879 before taxes, title, and license. That’s without any negotiation at all and $15,121 off original MSRP, which could definitely be translated as a deal worth pursuing if you’re already in the market for a new Corvette.
Could you or I go into any Chevy dealer in the nation and negotiate the same deal without Costco’s backing? Probably. In this case, though, getting a car with the performance and capabilities of the Corvette Stingray at such a substantial discount could be a smart move.
Unless, of course, you’d rather wait for the rumored C8 mid-engine ‘Vette, which we have a feeling won’t make it onto Costco’s list of discounted cars.
Will you go through Costco for your next new car purchase?
-tgriffith
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