- A Chevrolet dealership reportedly marked up a Corvette ZR1 to $500,000.
- Internet sleuths blamed the wrong dealer for the outrageous price markup.
- Multiple parties appear involved with a car located on the opposite coast.
As examples of the Corvette ZR1 begin trickling into dealerships, eye-watering markups are starting to show up alongside them. Over the weekend, it appeared that one dealer was bold enough to ask a cool half million for its example.
Whether or not that’s true isn’t clear, but what we uncovered in the midst of our search was surprising. Markups are happening, but it might be brokers driving prices up as much as dealers are.
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The post that lit this story off featured a yellow ZR1 listed for sale in Miramar, Florida. The asking price was $206,280 plus a dealer markup of $293,720. Yes, some 120 percent above MSRP and a total price of $500,000. Understandably, people on Facebook, Reddit, and other social media platforms were outraged.
They immediately began bashing the ad. “Over double MSRP is insane,” said one. Others began searching for the dealer in question so that they could take them to task for this kind of greedy price gouging. Lots of folks on Reddit were convinced that the dealer in question here was Stingray Chevrolet – probably because it does have a very similar bright yellow ZR1 featured in recent posts.
The Internet Points Fingers
As the online pitchforks came out, so did the memes and accusations: “Scam dealership, major L”, “Shame this dealer is such trash they add a 120% markup” – you get the gist . Just your average, measured discourse.
In response, Stingray Chevrolet maintained that it wasn’t them. “That’s not us. We aren’t selling the particular vehicle, but we have a long list of ZR1s on their way that were ordered for customers at MSRP,” the dealership stated. To double-check, we reached out.
Dealer Responds
Their response to Carscoops was clear: “We have not ever sold a new Chevrolet over MSRP, and have no plans to change that. Plus, we have no dealer fee, but our waitlist is closed.” Kudos to them not just for responding, but for taking such a stance against markups in an industry rife with them.
So, if Stingray Chevy didn’t sell the car, where did the rumor start? Online posts apparently traced the listing back to a social media account under the name K. Parrish on Facebook and Instagram. Based on available evidence, this could be the same individual who originally shared the Corvette post.
They also appear to have a white ZR1 listed as of this writing with a $100,000 markup. Notably, they redacted the dealership info on the window sticker and obscured most other identifiable markings on the car and dealership space on both posts. They missed one key thing, though: the stock number, D90658.
Found On The Wrong Coast
A Google search leads us to a VIN: 1G1YJ2D77S5800022. Combine the VIN with the stock number, and we get another hit, and it’s on the coast, just a very different one then expected.
Instead of seeing this ZR1 pop up in Florida, it shows up in San Leandro, California, at F.H. Dailey Chevrolet. A quick online search of the dealer itself shows that yes, they have a bright yellow Corvette for sale. The base price is identical to the $206,280 from the original window sticker in the post.
In fact, further research shows us a salesperson at the dealer showing it off, and it looks like it’s in the same exact space as the post put up by Mr. Parrish. A ‘Golden State Warriors’ banner sits in the same lobby along with two other Corvettes behind the ZR1 in red and gray. We reached out to the salesperson, Jasmine Salinas, but also haven’t heard back about the situation.
Where Does This Leave Us?
Well, here’s the situation in a nutshell. The most powerful ‘Vette ever is going to end up marked up to high heaven in some places. Shady characters do lurk online and try to get their own piece of the markup pie wherever they can. However, we cannot independently confirm whether F.H. Dailey is asking $500,000 for its ZR1 at this time.
We did leave a message for the general manager there, but as of this writing, they haven’t returned our call. As for Mr. Parish, we can’t point any fingers since he didn’t respond to our request for comment – and ethics dictates that we must hear both sides.
He could’ve heard about the ZR1 and simply posted it for sale in Florida, knowing that there are potential buyers there, too. If anything, the lesson here is not to jump too quickly to conclusions just because the details sound so wild.
Yes, we’re very likely going to see a dealer mark the ZR1 up to $500,000. Dealers did similar things with the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, for instance, and the ZR1 is arguably a far more impressive car. At the same time, let’s save the vitriol for dealers that deserve it – not the ones that go on record as selling at MSRP only.
Lead image: K. Parrish / Facebook
