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Sitting in a Deep Ocean Blackwing might damage it if you own a pre-refresh Blackwing

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ArnoldJudasRimmer

Active Member
Joined
May 16, 2024
Messages
42
Location
CA
V-Series Cadillac(s)?
'23 5BW
I posted about my less than pleasant dealer experience at blackstone cadillac on the vseries subreddit, but figured I’d post it here in case any of you have better stories and partly because I’m still kind of annoyed at the whole thing.

We were in the area when we drove by aforementioned dealer, wife suggested we stop by. Our ‘23’s bumper to bumper warranty is ending late January and she loves the car so much that she wants to either look at extending the oem warranty or maybe look at a new one to trade in for. That’s big because she normally, at best, has tolerated the cars I’ve owned. We pulled up in our 5Blackwing, I DD it everywhere in VMode so it wasn’t quiet. As we started to get our kids out of their car seats, a red CT5 that was pulling out stopped almost in front of where we parked. I thought it was a customer and he either recognized the BW or was wondering why our white CT5 sounded so funky compared to his.

We walked the lot briefly to look at a Typhoon CT5 then headed inside. They had a Deep Ocean BW in the showroom. Guy from red CT5 works there and walked in and asked how he could help us so I told him I was considering extending the warranty on my BW. I noticed the Deep Ocean BW was locked and asked if I could take a peek inside to which the answer was flat out no. I wanted to feel if there were any changed to the clutch or shifter and finally see what the new upgraded interior was like in person. I explained all that and reiterated that I have a BW (he literally saw me pull up in it) and wasn’t asking to drive it. Answer was no, they don’t want to damage the car because it’s soooo rare and valuable and blah blah blah.

Not that it would make it any more justified to blow me off like that if I showed up in a beater or a rental Nissan…but damnit, I literally pulled up in the exact same car! Do I need to pull up in a McLaren F1 to be granted the privilege of unlocking the rare Deep Ocean Blackwing (no precision pack or ceramic brakes on this one!)

Anyone else have any similarly idiotic dealer experiences?
 
I think it is great the dealer took that approach. It might be different if you were a serious buyer, but they don't want a bunch of people sitting in the car and potentially having rings or jewelry accidentally scratching leather and such. The actually buyer of that car will want it pristine. If you come in acting entitled then I'd imagine they'd be less willing to let you as well.
 
brewski said:
I think it is great the dealer took that approach. It might be different if you were a serious buyer, but they don't want a bunch of people sitting in the car and potentially having rings or jewelry accidentally scratching leather and such. The actually buyer of that car will want it pristine. If you come in acting entitled then I'd imagine they'd be less willing to let you as well.
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Are you being serious? Asking to see the inside of a refreshed vehicle I already own is entitled? My ‘23 has 28K miles and the interior is immaculate. Do the ‘26s have subpar materials that scratch and damage easily?
 
I wonder if the response would have been different if he didn't see the kids climb from your existing. We have a local restaurant that has a phenominal menu but we are convinced they won't seat people with little kids. We were denied more than once when we had our little ones with us. Both times were during the week and the parking lot was almost empty. The OTB was the only area with patrons. Went back once without kids on a busy weekend and literally were placed at a table minutes from entering.
I'm sure the new owner of the blue one will be happy they treated it that way and I'm sure you'd be happy IF it were yours.
 
that very well could have been it, which if so was still handled poorly. I genuinely had no intention of them getting in the car because the back seat is identical and they’re in car seats anyway.

Honestly unless it was a car I custom ordered or had already fully paid for and was just waiting to pick up, I really wouldn’t mind.
 
ArnoldJudasRimmer said:
Are you being serious? Asking to see the inside of a refreshed vehicle I already own is entitled? My ‘23 has 28K miles and the interior is immaculate. Do the ‘26s have subpar materials that scratch and damage easily?
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If it was a normal 2026 5BW then yes I think the dealer is being ridiculous, but because you were asking about the special edition I'm not too surprised. Its just a color package, I think all special editions are paying more for very little, but a lot of customers hold special editions on pedestals. I do agree its off putting to put a car on the showroom floor you won't let customers sit in. The point of the showroom floor is to sit and get a sense of the feel.
 
brewski said:
I think it is great the dealer took that approach. It might be different if you were a serious buyer, but they don't want a bunch of people sitting in the car and potentially having rings or jewelry accidentally scratching leather and such. The actually buyer of that car will want it pristine. If you come in acting entitled then I'd imagine they'd be less willing to let you as well.
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Come On What GIF by MOODMAN
 
As a future potential owner of that car (I'm not) I love the policy. You didn't come in as a buyer and they know that, you know, because you said so. I think if you came in under a different pretense (something like a buyer) then they may have proceeded differently. It's just basic practice of qualifying, its not that deep.
 
To me this is easy: If it is a sold unit...lock it up. I'd want my sold unit locked to keep people out for fear some knucklehead will mess it up. If it's for sale, I guess you let folks in....especially if they show interest.....or put it just outside the showroom, locked.

EDIT: It could also depend on how the conversation went too. The sales guy probably should have said something to the effect of: "Oh, sorry sir. That's a sold unit and we keep them locked as a courtesy to our buyer. I'm sure you understand." Then redirect to another BW or a CT5 on the lot.
 
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literally the second sentence of second paragraph.

Our ‘23’s bumper to bumper warranty is ending late January and she loves the car so much that she wants to either look at extending the oem warranty or maybe look at a new one to trade in for.

Just because I didn’t walk in yelling that I have a cooler full of cold hard cash and asking who wants to sell me a car doesn’t mean I’m not a buyer. I don’t know how I feel about the refreshed interior because I haven’t sat in one yet.

And proper qualifying would include asking leading questions or making assumptive statements. “I’m not allowed to unlock it, but my manager might be able to while he appraises your current Blackwing if you were looking to trade it in for this super duper mega rare one” like it’s not that hard.
 
It will be a sold unit, so what is the difference? If you're REALLY interested in making a deal, or breaking the unlock code, then get a babysitter and you and your wife go there with an agenda to make a deal, even if you just want to see the interior. I hate dealerships, but it's just a business transaction not a pen pal interview, so you have to play the same bullshit games back on them.

I'll give you that it's a slightly odd thing not to let you in, but on the other hand, to them it's a coveted special edition that will likely generate some nice ADM profit. They don't want to risk a tire kicker scuffing up a seat with a rivet from their shorts, or myriad potential negative outcomes.
 
It seems pretty simple. It’s a privately owned company and there appears to be no discrimination intent (at least you did not mention it). They can make the rules, if you don’t like them, go to a different dealer.

if you're hell-bent on sitting in this car, claim you are an ethnic minority refugee illegal alien, non-binary, trans woman, furry. Their DEI policy will kick in and you'll be driving the car in no time.
 
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I don't see anything wrong with this. Someone who is going to be dropping that kind of money on a "special edition" (for whatever that's worth) car is going to be looking for absolute perfection. They don't want any chance of ANY ding or dent or scratch beyond the chance they already take by keeping it sitting in the showroom. So they keep the doors locked. I would probably do the same. But that said, at some point, you need to let a real potential buyer pick inside.....Its a catch 22.
 
As an alternative dealership approach, I was side-eyeing the Celestiq on the floor at my dealership while my '23 IMSA Sebring was getting service. They asked me if I wanted to sit in it and I said no.

Different kind of situation since this was some kind of Celestiq tour and maybe they had guidance from Cadillac to be accommodating to idiots like me who shell out for sticker packages.
 
We have a local group with an amazing collection of Hypercars. You may have heard of them. What I appreciate the most about them is their natural propensity to encourage folks to sit in the multi million dollar cars at local shows. I've even seen them offer random people to start them and rev the motor some. They'd laugh at the thought of a BW being this precious. The Hamilton Collection knows what's up!
 
1Evil55 said:
We have a local group with an amazing collection of Hypercars. You may have heard of them. What I appreciate the most about them is their natural propensity to encourage folks to sit in the multi million dollar cars at local shows. I've even seen them offer random people to start them and rev the motor some. They'd laugh at the thought of a BW being this precious. The Hamilton Collection knows what's up!
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It’s all proportional. Someone with $100M net worth doesn’t think of a $500K car as expensive. Worst of all are nepo babies. Some of us work hard for our car and don’t want it fucked with. Both situations are valid just different. In addition, I submit that someone that revs their car in the parking lot has size issues.
 
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rubberduck said:
It’s all proportional. Someone with $100M net worth doesn’t think of a $500K car as expensive. Worst of all are nepo babies. Some of us work hard for our car and don’t want it fucked with. Both situations are valid just different. In addition, I submit that someone that revs their car in the parking lot has size issues.
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I couldn't help but picture in my mind the meme of the lifted white truck bros with a flat bill hat, white shades, ungodly awful proportion of wheel and tire all while they fog a bicyclist.
 
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