Some U.S. dealers are auctioning Corvette Z06 build slots

When General Motors announced that it intends to decline to transfer warranties of Corvette Z06s that are flipped within the first year of ownership, we were happy. The threat would surely put a stop to both private flippers and dealers who sell the car to themselves and then charge more for it as a used vehicle. But, as we’re now learning, that policy doesn’t mean you’ll have an easy time securing a Z06 for anything near MSRP.

As a CorvetteForum user pointed out, one dealer in Texas is auctioning off the allocation for the car rather than a Z06 itself. Instead of waiting in line to pay market price, buyers are being asked to bid on the right to buy the next Z06 that the dealer gets. So, if that auction goes for $10,000 or $20,000, all that secures is the right to buy that Corvette. What it doesn’t include is the Corvette.

Notably, the language in screenshots of the email posted by Twitter user Zerin Dube does not rule out additional markups. The winner of the auction will have to pay, in addition to the bid, the MSRP, taxes, delivery, title fees, license fees, and “MSRP adjustments.” Put another way, additional markups. A similar program from a dealer in the Northeast is auctioning off Z06s as well, this time including the price of the car but with bidding starting $10,000 above the car’s MSRP.

Hopefully, as production ramps up and initial demand is fulfilled it will get easier to get a Z06 at an approachable price. But given that standard C8 Corvette values are still inflated, don’t expect to snag one for a discount anytime soon.

We’ve reached out to both dealerships in question to verify the authenticity of the emails and get information about why they’re going with the auction format. We’ll update this post if we hear back.