CT5-V Shopping: So discouraging!

[BimmerFan]

Let's skip over the fact that no local dealer can/will order me a car, and that the only dealer that has been semi-responsive still hasn't given me any real answer about my order, so I'm trying to find a car in inventory.

Here's an example from our friends in Wilmington, DE. This car is on it's way, presumably not pre-sold. It's black. I like black.

Base price plus transportation is $93K. That's really all I need, but I'd upgrade the seats on my order.

This particular car has an MSRP of $113,295. Well, that's a lot of stuff, but I could work with the CCB and the nicer leather. PDR is nice, etc. I could justify most of that stuff if I had to.

But then they go and slap on their ADP on top of that.

So my $93K car is now $128 and change. In other words, the car is $35,000 more expensive than it really needs to be. $35K!!! My first house was $48K for goodness sakes. I could buy a brand new (slightly lesser) car for $35K!!!! I could take a killer vacation, and while on vacation, buy a new Rolex watch and still have money left over to stop in Vegas for a wicked weekend.

Yeah, yeah, I know, you can't get a new Rolex these days either, not at MSRP. The world has gone crazy I tell you, just crazy.

Natch Cadillac is somewhat to blame, as they are restricting production. Perhaps due to supply constraints, perhaps because they want to keep it semi-exclusive, perhaps because they don't want to do the typical GM nightmare where they over-produce the cars, have too much inventory and then have to discount the crap out of it (remember back to the last year of the SS).

The real culprits here are, of course, the dealers. Greedy little f****s, most of them. Not just Cadillac, of course. Some BMW dealers are also asking for many tens of thousands of dollars on top of their rare cars. Ford and the GT500, ditto. The only way that we can stop this, is to refuse to pay the upcharge.

 

[Lpe385]

Feel your pain and these discussions have been had many times over. My point of view on this might not be the favorite but it’s another point of view.

I waited over a year for my car at MSRP, almost paid over when base price went up $7,000 in 23. When they raised base price $7,000 does that make the manufacture Greedy too? They can see the car is under priced due to consumers paying way over.

Ran into many dealers over these 3 past years of crazy car prices that blamed the consumer and said why can the consumer get $20,000 over MSRP and he’s made a good flip but the dealer running a business with 50% less inventory on the ground are scum bags for asking over? I see and understand his point I don’t like it but I understand it. Also brought to my attention no one was upset the vehicle they bought in 19, drove for 20,000 miles went up in value or barely went down “due to low inventory” at the dealers.

You mentioned Rolex I know several dealers that black list you for flipping hard to get Rolex’s. They want them to go to the end user. Had many dealers tell me the same on hard to get inventory.

 

[daviddi92]

Have you tried looking on Cadillac's website under the new car inventory? I found more cars there than the standard Cargurus, autotrader, cars.com route.

 

[TwinSkrullDesign]

Best route is to search country wide on cars.com and then start calling dealerships. You may have to travel a bit to get the best deal.

 

[VDrifter1500]

Let's skip over the fact that no local dealer can/will order me a car, and that the only dealer that has been semi-responsive still hasn't given me any real answer about my order, so I'm trying to find a car in inventory.

Here's an example from our friends in Wilmington, DE. This car is on it's way, presumably not pre-sold. It's black. I like black.

Base price plus transportation is $93K. That's really all I need, but I'd upgrade the seats on my order.

This particular car has an MSRP of $113,295. Well, that's a lot of stuff, but I could work with the CCB and the nicer leather. PDR is nice, etc. I could justify most of that stuff if I had to.

But then they go and slap on their ADP on top of that.

So my $93K car is now $128 and change. In other words, the car is $35,000 more expensive than it really needs to be. $35K!!! My first house was $48K for goodness sakes. I could buy a brand new (slightly lesser) car for $35K!!!! I could take a killer vacation, and while on vacation, buy a new Rolex watch and still have money left over to stop in Vegas for a wicked weekend.

Yeah, yeah, I know, you can't get a new Rolex these days either, not at MSRP. The world has gone crazy I tell you, just crazy.

Natch Cadillac is somewhat to blame, as they are restricting production. Perhaps due to supply constraints, perhaps because they want to keep it semi-exclusive, perhaps because they don't want to do the typical GM nightmare where they over-produce the cars, have too much inventory and then have to discount the crap out of it (remember back to the last year of the SS).

The real culprits here are, of course, the dealers. Greedy little f****s, most of them. Not just Cadillac, of course. Some BMW dealers are also asking for many tens of thousands of dollars on top of their rare cars. Ford and the GT500, ditto. The only way that we can stop this, is to refuse to pay the upcharge.

Sewell Cadillac in Dallas, member of the Cadillac V-Club and usually have some in stock, or a pipeline of orders. Call and ask for the V-specialist Dustin Callaway.

 

[ukcats12]

You'll have to put the legwork in, but you can find dealers at MSRP. If you're willing to wait, find a dealer who will order you one at MSRP and get the price in writing. Unfortunately if the wait is long you may be waiting for a 2025 model (if this car is even still in production by then) with a higher MSRP. If you find one in inventory you like call them up and say you can buy it immediately if they'll sell at MSRP.

Even if you find a dealer with an ADM they're almost always negotiable. But check the pinned thread about dealers selling at MSRP. There are dealers out there who get a good number of allocations who will sell at MSRP. If not, find one you like in stock somewhere, and if it's local drive to the dealer and tell them you'll sign on the dotted line today at MSRP.

 

[BimmerFan]

You'll have to put the legwork in, but you can find dealers at MSRP. If you're willing to wait, find a dealer who will order you one at MSRP and get the price in writing. Unfortunately if the wait is long you may be waiting for a 2025 model (if this car is even still in production by then) with a higher MSRP. If you find one in inventory you like call them up and say you can buy it immediately if they'll sell at MSRP.

Even if you find a dealer with an ADM they're almost always negotiable. But check the pinned thread about dealers selling at MSRP. There are dealers out there who get a good number of allocations who will sell at MSRP. If not, find one you like in stock somewhere, and if it's local drive to the dealer and tell them you'll sign on the dotted line today at MSRP.

I've been doing that, and so far although all of your suggestions are spot-on, it just ain't working!

Have you tried looking on Cadillac's website under the new car inventory? I found more cars there than the standard Cargurus, autotrader, cars.com route.

That I have not done yet, thank you for the suggestion!

Best route is to search country wide on cars.com and then start calling dealerships. You may have to travel a bit to get the best deal.

Travel doesn't bother me, but so far this has not worked.

Sewell Cadillac in Dallas, member of the Cadillac V-Club and usually have some in stock, or a pipeline of orders. Call and ask for the V-specialist Dustin Callaway.

I did, everything they have with a manual is pre-sold. I'm waiting to hear back from Dustin on an order.

Thanks everyone!

 

[rhobbyj]

Andrews Cadillac in Brentwood, TN (Nashville area) is where I got mine, granted I walked in and picked a 4BW from their stock so have no experience with their ordering process. Give them a call and ask for Andrea, she was great to deal with. I can also PM you her direct line if you'd like.

 

[floatingbarrel]

If you like black there will be some cars available in month or so time. every other dealer ordered cars are black. With some patience Sewell should have one turned up and available to sell.

I almost bought one in May from Sewell Huston They had a black one lightly optioned manual available but they didn't want to sell out of state yet. So I went ahead and bought a black M5C instead. A week later they changed my mind and asked if I wanted to buy the car that day (end of the month). Too bad since I don't want 3 black cars ... Now orange, red or blue are much harder to find on the lot, lol.

Didn't they even mention in the MSRP thread last month (I think one of their San Antonio franchise) that they had a few available for MSRP? I recall the manual one was black too and why I held back again.

 

[Badillac]

Got a notification from this dealer on Monday in Idaho for a 2023 black on black 6MT. Used but only 875 miles. $107k. Appears to Have: Mid-tier seats, sunroof, parking package, red belts & red calipers, base wheels, alcantara wheel/shifter. Lacking CF & PDR.

%VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS_CAP_FIRST_LETTER% Vehicles for Sale in %CITY%, %STATE% | %DEALER_NAME%

Search %VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS% vehicles for sale in %CITY%, %STATE% at %DEALER_NAME%. We're your preferred dealership serving %DEALER_GEO_ONE%, %DEALER_GEO_TWO%, and %DEALER_GEO_THREE%.

www.georgegeecadillac.com

 

[BimmerFan]

Have you tried looking on Cadillac's website under the new car inventory? I found more cars there than the standard Cargurus, autotrader, cars.com route.

Thanks again for the suggestion... I'm so used to BMW, and their car search "feature" limits you to 200 miles, so I have to constantly adjust the criteria with a different zip code, and it gets tiring. The Caddy site is nationwide and indicates if the car has landed or is in transit, and often can give you an indication if they are asking over MSRP.

I wrote "often" because after spending the day asking about every single landed car in an acceptable color for under $110 (I don't need all of those fancy options) not a single dealer would sell me their car at MSRP or less.

It's gotten to be just a matter of principle now. I can afford it, but I choose not to be cause I don't want to! Now, I'm going to take my pity party inside and sit alone in the corner.

Three dealers have said that they'll order me a car, but I haven't gotten any confirmation from any of them, and this morning it hit me that none of them have promised to sell it to me at MSRP either. So I guess I'll just take a day next month and try again.

I really think that as you folks who have already bought your cars and the few remaining enthusiasts get there's, the buyer's market for a $100K+ car is going to dry up, and we'll start to see more available for MSRP or lower, just like the CT4V-BW.

A boy can dream, can't he?

 

[BimmerFan]

... several dealerships that weren't willing to compromise on the price of their Sebring were in fact willing to offer their on-lot inventory of CT5-V Blackwings at sticker with no markup.

Thanks neighbor. I probably forgot to mention that I must have a manual transmission, which makes the search a little more limited and may perhaps be a more desirable option, hence the unwillingness of dealers to bend.

 

[IMSA_Nole_95]

Thanks neighbor. I probably forgot to mention that I must have a manual transmission, which makes the search a little more limited and may perhaps be a more desirable option, hence the unwillingness of dealers to bend.

You're welcome! I failed to mention that as well, but a manual was also a must for me

 

[Dirkbg]

It seems dealer inventory are 99% autos, except for a couple 4 BW Track Editions I found.

 

[njech7]

Andrews Cadillac in Brentwood, TN (Nashville area) is where I got mine, granted I walked in and picked a 4BW from their stock so have no experience with their ordering process. Give them a call and ask for Andrea, she was great to deal with. I can also PM you her direct line if you'd like.

The 4BW seems much simpler to buy than the 5BW. I bought my 4BW last week from Wilmington, DE dealer and they were great to work with. Got it for under MSRP and I was like, my guy is the man. Brought that up here on the forum and folks rightfully said well, the 5BW are all at at least +$10k over MSRP. Whoops!

 

[ukcats12]

Got a notification from this dealer on Monday in Idaho for a 2023 black on black 6MT. Used but only 875 miles. $107k. Appears to Have: Mid-tier seats, sunroof, parking package, red belts & red calipers, base wheels, alcantara wheel/shifter. Lacking CF & PDR.

%VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS_CAP_FIRST_LETTER% Vehicles for Sale in %CITY%, %STATE% | %DEALER_NAME%

Search %VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS% vehicles for sale in %CITY%, %STATE% at %DEALER_NAME%. We're your preferred dealership serving %DEALER_GEO_ONE%, %DEALER_GEO_TWO%, and %DEALER_GEO_THREE%.

www.georgegeecadillac.com

MSRP for that was $99k. Seems crazy to me that people are still selling used ones for over MSRP, especially almost $10k over.

 

[jbawden]

It's not the sellers, its the buyers that boggle the mind. Plenty of folks paid $20k (and more) over MSRP when new. I'm not here to judge how adults use their money, but I was fully committed to getting one at MSRP, as the majority have done.

@BimmerFan As you may know, we call the BW procurement process the "goat rodeo". As a recent participant, I can assure you it's the perfect name.

Coming into the competition as a manual MSRP buyer, you're destined to pull the card for the meanest goat in the rodeo. There are so many fun and jazzy layers and then when you think you're home free it ramps up exponentially to the point of a nervous breakdown. We've lost a few participants in fiery meltdowns, but if you can hang on you'll finally be rewarded with you're very own BW 3-6 months after the rodeo started.

Now if you're rich (or just choose to ignore the opportunity costs) you can buy you're way out of the rodeo by paying WAY over MSRP (new or used). I trust you're not that (over MSRP) person, so it's going to require tremendous patience and resetting your expectations. MSRP allocations are out there and once you let go of the idea that this is going to be easy and short lived, you'll be in a much better mindset for success.

 

[ChiBW]

I know it can be hard to find a car at MSRP but it's possible! The first dealer I talked to January 2022 kept me for 3 hours at the dealership to tell me he wants 25k extra. Only good thing was the he had a regular CT5 customer car on the lot for service that I could sit in. Only deal breaker for me would have been rear seat space. I have a 2014 5 series BMW and no adult, hardly any kid can sit behind the driver seat. The Blackwing in contrast has plenty of legroom. One reason for sure is that I sit closer to the steering wheel in the manual Blackwing, especially after Spring Mountain.
I called a couple other dealers without success. A friend of mine suggested to call Cadillac hotline and I did. He had good experience in the past with other issues. They connected me with a local dealer that claimed not to charge over MSRP. They tried to sell me on a PPF package for $2000. I declined. A week later I got a call back from them, putting down $1000 refundable deposit and ordered the car at MSRP.
Never set a foot in the dealership until I picked the car up in July last year. Awesome experience with that dealership!

 

[BimmerFan]

I know it can be hard to find a car at MSRP but it's possible!

I'm getting closer... found a car in Atlanta and I got the dealer to knock off all of their customary b.s. add-on's and ADP except for about $1200 worth of crap. Natch it's a bunch of crap I don't want nor need, so it's a deal-breaker for me. Plus, the car is white, which is not in my top 5 preferred colors. But perhaps there is light at the tunnel's end...

 

[Exia]

Welcome to the goat rodeo!

If someone gets a car without going through the rodeo we don't like them! Once you have your car Rob will send you a commemorative placque!

I would suggest waiting it out at Sewell with Dustin and browsing auctions like Bring a Trailer and Cars and Bids. Used Manual 5-V Blackwings don't seem to be auctioning for over MSRP on these sites.

Also keep doing what your doing, you seem willing to travel so I don't doubt you'll find a used one for a reasonable price that ticks 80-100% of the boxes for you somewhere within the time it would take to get a new one from Sewell.

I wish I had the option of buying a used one for close to MSRP and skipping the bulllshit but here in Canada you will wait 15-25 months for a car or you will pay 30k ADM on 3 used ones, so many options!

Good luck!