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TrailBoss

Chevrolet Deals: Rating the deal offerings for September

Edit: Deals are out of date. See updated deal rankings by following this link. September deals are about what you would expect from a company struggling to keep up with demand due to a crippled supply chain. However, that doesn't mean there aren't some good deals. We will walk you through this month's sales. Quick tip to help you read this. We give our customers all available incentives and our Donohoo discount to provide you with our best price. So when you see something say $5,000 off MSRP, that is usually a mix of Chevrolet incentives and our additional discount. more There is an unusual incentive this month offering a $1,000 accessory allowance. We don't think this is a great incentive. You have to give up $500 customer cash (meaning your final price goes up $500) to qualify. You must spend at least $1,000 on accessories, and not all accessories qualify. The allowance doesn't cover labor or tax. We think the customer cash is what most people should choose unless there is an accessory you have to have that costs over $1,000. The Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado 1500, Heavy Duty, and Colorado qualify for the accessory allowance. Silverado 1500 - Shop Inventory - Shop On Order We are offering 2021 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Bosses at up to $6,000 off MSRP. In this market, that kind of deal is almost impossible to find anywhere else. So why are we doing this? Well, they are for sale at $48,605 and have an MSRP of $54,605. What is a little unusual about these Trail Bosses is they have cloth interiors. So if you are looking for a truck with a cloth interior, you better jump on these deals before they are gone. If you want leather, we can install it for an additional $1,500. Shopping for Trail Bosses can be confusing. Check out our shopping guide here. Tahoe and Suburban - Shop Inventory - Shop On Order The large SUV market continues to be one rife with shortages. However, our price of $600 off MSRP is one of the best around. Please read our blog about why dealers are adjusting their prices above MSRP to learn more. Also, if you see a Tahoe or Suburban online or on order, please let us know as soon as possible. These vehicles won't last long. We are finally getting some with the Luxury Package, check out our blog to learn more. Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD - Shop Inventory - Shop On Order Like the Tahoe and Suburban, our $600 off price tag makes this month's sale very strong. There is a national shortage of trucks, and we have a decent number in stock or on order. We still expect inventory to be tight for a long time to come, so if you see what you want, please jump on it. Camaro - Shop Inventory - Shop On Order Chevrolet has dramatically reduced the number of Camaros they have built in the last couple of years, which is great for resale value. As a result, used Camaro prices are solid, and that helps with purchasing a new Camaro. Given the market, $250 off MSRP is a good value for a Camaro. Colorado - Shop On Order Check out the on-order Colorados here. Unfortunately, we don't have any units on the ground, but we have a number on order. You can order from us or shop around. As long as you don't pay above MSRP for a Colorado, you should be ok. The Colorado holds its value well used. Traverse, Blazer, Trailblazer, Equinox, Malibu, and Trax - Shop Blazer/Traverse On Order - Shop Equinox/Trailblazer On Order - Shop Trax On Order - Shop Malibu On Order Like last month, rebates are NOT very high, but inventory is ridiculously low. It is a seller's market. The plus side is that the used market value for these is high, but no one knows if that will be transitory. Be thorough shopping for these vehicles to make sure you get the best deal available. It would be best if you made certain resale value doesn't hamper you years down the road. Best Chevrolet Financing Deals: 2021 Chevrolet Blazer: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Equinox: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Spark: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Traverse: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Trax: 0% financing 2022 Chevrolet Trax: 0% financing

Tahoe Loading Bikes

The Luxury Package is Back on Tahoe/Suburban! Updates on the new 2022 model year features

This post wrote about the Tahoe and Suburban vehicles lacking fancy technology features was true about a month ago. However, with the 2022 Tahoe and Suburban ordering opening up, Chevrolet has, at least for now, lifted some of the tight restrictions surrounding the LT, RST, and Z71 models. The Luxury Package is a big one. The Luxury Package* option is needed to get an array of safety features, HD surrounds vision, power-folding third-row seats, and more. Unfortunately, ordering this was not possible for several months due to chip shortages, so there are virtually no Luxury Package Tahoe/Suburban vehicles out there to buy. GM also tightly constrained the Premier and High Country packages, though some have leaked out of the factory. The Premier and High Country trim levels are still pretty tightly constrained upon opening for 2022 models. more *Luxury Package options include: Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert Rear Cross-Traffic Alert Front and Rear Park Assist HD Surround Vision; Rear Pedestrian Alert Memory settings for the power driver seat, outside mirrors, and power tilt, and telescoping steering column Outside heated power-adjustable, power-folding, and driver-side auto-dimming mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators Power tilt and telescopic steering column Automatic heated steering wheel Second-row outboard heated seats Second-row power-release 60/40 split-folding bench seats Third-row power 60/40 split-folding bench seats Z71 Off-Road Package The Z71 Off-Road Package** is another popular package with some people who could not be ordered for many months, and it is now back and available. It includes multiple packages together. Notable Changes to the 2022 Tahoe/Suburban Front and Rear Park Assist and Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning are now standard, so you do not need to get Luxury Package to get those options. Standard equipment is Buckle to Drive. It prevents the vehicle from being shifted out of park until the driver seat belt is fastened, times out after 20 seconds, and encourages seat belt use, which can be turned on and off in Settings or Teen Driver menu. The Driver Information Center on LT, RST, Z71, Premier, and High Country is now a 12 inch diagonal multi-color digital display that includes analog speedometer and tachometer gauges. That replaces the 4.2-inch display on all but the High Country and Premier, which had an 8-inch display. On the Z71, you can now get a 6.2L engine with the Off-Road Performance Package. That does require the Z71 Off-Road Package to get the 6.2L engine. In the RST, you can also get a 6.2L engine, but it requires the Sport Performance Package that has Magnetic Ride Control. The 6.2L engine can be added as a standalone option on the Premier, and on the High Country, a 6.2L engine is standard as it was last year. There is a new option for Reverse Automatic Braking on the Premier and High Country, included with the Enhanced Display and Alert package. Say goodbye to Shadow Gray Metallic and Graywood Metallic. Say hello to Auburn Metallic, Dark Ash Metallic, and Evergreen Gray Metallic. The 22-inch wheel options have been changed up, so you will need to check them out once you see them on Chevrolet.com. Pricing on 2022 Tahoe/Suburban The LS, Premier, and High Country trim had MSRP price increases ranging from $100-300 on the base trim. The LT, RST, and Z71 all had MSRP price increases ranging from $800-900 on the base trim. But, if you are shopping for a new Tahoe/Suburban, buying a current 2021 versus a new 2022 is probably a wash. The rebates have been zero for a few months, and in September 2021, it is $500 on a 2021 as part of the Accessories program. Whatever you lose on price The LS, Premier, and High Country trim had MSRP price increases ranging from $100-300 on the base trim. The LT, RST, and Z71 all had MSRP price increases ranging from $800-900 on the base trim. But, if you are shopping for a new Tahoe/Suburban, buying a current 2021 versus a new 2022 is probably a wash. The rebates have been zero for a few months, and in September 2021, it is $500 on a 2021 as part of the Accessories program. Whatever you lose on price from the price increase and lost rebates will be made up on the resale value of having a 2022 instead of a 2021. So, these price increases are not too alarming for someone looking to keep the price down, given the slim rebates on offer. Advantage of a Sold Order With Tahoe/Suburban vehicles getting bought so quickly upon landing or getting deposits while in transit, a customer’s choice becomes super slim. You may end up waiting just as long to find one on the lot as you could wait to get an order in right away. Additionally, if you order with us, we can lock in the pricing on a 2022 if GM institutes another price increase. They upped the price once in 2021 on a 2021 Tahoe and given inflationary issues, another price increase in 2022 sooner than the one in 2021 wouldn’t surprise us. But, if the order does not get in before the price increase, the price cannot be locked. Seek the Dealer with Lots to Order – the Tahoe King! In 2019 we finished 14th in the United States in retail Tahoe sales amongst all Chevrolet dealers and have continued on since. We outsell the rest of the state of Alabama’s dealers by a lot. Therefore, we earn lots to build. For the start of the 2022 year, we are already filling orders waiting on Luxury Package from 2021, but we anticipate additional orders being available. Check out the orders we haven’t allocated to customers either on order or in transit by going to this link. On that link, you will see a contact us form where you can provide the details on the type of build you want for your 2022 Tahoe or Suburban. If you would like to read more about the Z71 Tahoe, check out one of our staff’s blog entries about his experience owning a Z71 Tahoe. We think the Z71 is an incredibly sharp-looking trim, but the RST is a close second with a great look itself.

BOLTRecall

BOLT Owner? We Understand Your Frustration

If you are a BOLT EV or BOLT EUV owner right now, let us be the first to say we understand your frustrations. We know that GM plans to add an 8-year 100,000-mile warranty and improve the range on all BOLTs that get the recall complete. We know that GM set up an EV Concierge department (833-382-4389) to help current BOLT owners and work on solving their complaints. We know all of that, and we still understand how frustrating it is. more People sometimes think because we are a Chevrolet dealer, we ARE Chevrolet. That isn't the case. Please think of us as a partner to Chevrolet who gets told updates from Chevrolet around the same time the public hears them. Trust us; if we knew these BOLTs had this problem and that there eventually would be a nationwide stop-sale, we probably wouldn't have almost 150 of them sitting on our lot. While these BOLTs await their recall, we are trying to make the best of the situation. Check out our EV Chevy bowtie; it is made entirely of BOLTs. As a reminder, GM is overly cautious on this. There have not been many fires, so for something to happen to your BOLT, you would need to have a rare combination of the two manufacturing defects AND not follow GM's recommendations. We have around ten employees who own BOLTs, and all of them have opted to keep driving them. They understand how rare this defect is and are following the recommendations of GM. These recommendations are. Set your vehicle to a 90 percent state of charge limitation using Hilltop Reserve mode (for 2017-2018 model years) or Target Charge Level (for 2019-2022 model years) mode. Click here and scroll down to the videos that explain how to do this. Charge your vehicle more frequently and avoid depleting its battery below approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) of the remaining range, where possible. Park your vehicle outside immediately after charging, and do not leave your vehicle charging indoors overnight. If you cannot make these changes successfully or do not feel comfortable making these changes, GM is asking you to visit your dealer to complete these adjustments. When it is available, the recall will consist of replacing the defective lithium-ion battery modules with new lithium-ion modules. Thank you for your patients while GM gets everything ready to complete the recall. We do not have a timeline for the recall. As soon as we know more, we will let you know. In the meantime, please reach out to the EV Concierge (833-382-4389) or visit https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/bolt-recall. Before all of this, we were one of the nation's top EV dealers, and like GM, we stand by our commitment to electric vehicles. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Again, thank you for your patients.

Trail Boss Family

Your guide to shopping for a Trail Boss after COVID disruptions

September 2021 Trail Boss purchasing guide LT Trail Boss Options and Packages Severely Limited Due to microchip issues and other manufacturing constraints, many options on an LT Trail Boss became unavailable to build. The Leather package requires the Convenience II package*, and the Convenience II package was not able to be ordered for a significant period of time this year. So what does that mean? It will be difficult to find an LT trail boss with factory leather, and you will find it difficult to get the multi-flex tailgate or sunroof as they require Convenience II to order either of them. Advanced trailering and the Safety Package with front and rear park assist, lane change alert, and rear cross-traffic alert were unavailable due to manufacturing constraints. That has only left a few options to really add to the LT Trail Boss. We have added on most of our 2LT Trail Bosses the Bed Protection Package with an MSRP of $685 as it gets you rear wheelhouse liners and a Chevy spray-on Bedliner from the factory. Some of our LT Trail Bosses have 20-inch black wheels instead of the 18-inch black wheels for an additional $500 MSRP. The 20-inch wheels have Mud-Terrain Goodyear® Wrangler Territory® instead of the Mud-Terrain Goodyear® Wrangler DuraTrac® on the 18-inch black wheels. The tires on the 20-inch wheels are less “grippy” and maybe a bit less noisy to ride on the highway. more Custom Trail Boss Option You may notice there is also a Custom Trail Boss that is different than the LT Trail Boss. Below you can see the differences between the Custom and the LT. In our opinion, the MSRP on the Custom Trail Boss has been set way too low relative to the LT Trail Boss. For that reason, you will see a large number of LT Trail Bosses available at our dealership with a greater discount from MSRP than the Custom Trail Bosses. We believe at $3,000 off MSRP including rebates that the Custom Trail Boss is a tremendous value. In order to provide another comparable great value, we have our LT Trail Bosses (mostly cloth with bed protection pkg) at $6,000 off MSRP including rebates. We think that bridges the gap between the two trim levels and provides more affordability for someone looking to get a Trail Boss with a just few more bells and whistles. For many of the LT Trail Bosses, that brings the price below $50,000 before taxes and fees. So what about our customer that wants the leather package and many of the goodies on the LT Trail Boss? Reach out to us about ordering one with more features as the constraints are just now loosening up. It will likely be a 2022 Silverado 1500 Limited ( click here for our discussion on the 22 Silverado 1500 Limited) that will be very similar to the 2021. If you really like the multi-flex tailgate, that is available on the Custom Trail Boss. Click here to see available Silverado 1500s we have coming that will include any Custom Trail Bosses with Multi-flex tailgate and any LT Trail Bosses with leather package. Finally, if you’d like to get leather installed in the LT Trail Boss with cloth, we can get aftermarket leather installed for $1500 and achieve at least some part of the missing options you might want in an LT Trail Boss. Click here to see all of the Trail Bosses we have in our inventory, either in transit from the factory or at the dealership. Remember, all pricing runs through September 30, 2021. Major Differences Between Custom and LT Trail Bosses at Base Configuration Custom with 5.3 V8 LT with 5.3 V8 Base MSRP before Rebates 47140 53145 Transmission 6 Speed 10 Speed Rear Axle 3.42 3.23 Front Grill Chevrolet Black Bowtie Door Handles Black Body Color Climate Control Manual Dual-Zone Automatic Front Seats Bench Heated Bucket Seats w Console Power Driver Seat No Yes Floor Liners Available Standard Keyless Open and Start No Yes Steering Wheel Manual tilt steering column Mounted Controls / Leather / Manual tilt and telescoping steering column Driver Information Center 3.5 inch monochromatic 4.2-inch color Height 78.35 inches 75.49 inches LED Fog Lamps / Reflector Headlamps No Yes *included items in the Convenience II Package that is not available on many LT Trail Bosses. Universal Home Remote; Rear sliding power window; 120-volt power outlet on the instrument panel; 120-volt bed mounted power outlet; Chevrolet Infotainment 3 Plus System1 with 8" diagonal color HD touchscreen; 2 USB ports; SiriusXM®3 with 360L trial subscription; HD Rear Vision Camera; Bose® Premium Sound System, 7-speakers with subwoofer

Market Adjustment

Why are Dealers Pricing Over MSRP on Vehicles? And Why We Aren’t

So you may have seen an advertisement like this for a new Chevrolet vehicle. Then, you are stunned and ask “What is a $3995 market adjustment?” That means the dealer is taking MSRP, adding the market adjustment, then subtracting the rebate. In other words, the price before rebates is OVER MSRP. The other advertisement you might see is this one. The dealer crosses out MSRP, shows the available rebate from Chevrolet, and then says to please call to get a price. That means the dealer is likely charging over MSRP but doesn’t want to put how much over MSRP it is on the website. more The final thing you might see is MSRP and the rebates and nothing else but when you contact the dealer, the dealer tells you that is just the MSRP and rebates on the website, but our price is reflective of current market conditions. You won’t know if this is the case until you contact the dealer. Are these dealers bad people? They are competitors of ours, so it would be easy to label them as bad people, but that isn’t the case. In the marketplace, since GM isn’t making enough of these vehicles, there is much more demand to purchase them than supply to sell them. By raising the price above MSRP, these dealers are not handing over a “consumer surplus” in economic terms, or not giving away value the market says they can charge the customer at the price, in real-world terms. That is one way to handle a shortage of something. Use price to ration the shortage. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that – nothing unethical or illegal. Why aren’t we pricing above MSRP? In super rare cases, like one time when we got a stock unit Corvette that was not pre-sold, we did price above MSRP but below market price and still got hammered with customer requests to buy it. But if you order a Corvette with us, we charge you MSRP on the order. And, for our precious Tahoe, Suburban, Camaro, and Silverado HD inventory, we are anywhere from $100 to $250 under MSRP, so approximately priced at MSRP. So if we could price above MSRP, why don’t we? Here are a few reasons. We recognize that many people wonder why they can’t buy directly from Chevrolet instead of using a dealership. And we know we perform all kinds of vital services that Chevrolet would find more costly to do than we do it, and we are more knowledgeable about our local market. We won’t get into a tangent on the pros and cons of a franchise system. But if the manufacturer suggests a retail price, and they obviously sell the vehicle to us for some amount below that, we are exposing ourselves to an argument that we are in the way of buying from Chevrolet and making things worse and more expensive. Not entirely true, but certainly casts us in a poor light. Unless we start to experience hyperinflation or sustained bad inflation, the equilibrium in the market will rebalance. When you buy from us today, you are not selling that vehicle in today’s market. You are using for personal use. So, you are exposed on average to 2-3 years of value movement on that vehicle outside of normal depreciation from use. When the market rebalances, we are concerned about your trade value and financial position at that time. There is no escaping a value hit when you buy at the top of the market, but we want to scale ourselves back some to provide a little protection to the consumer. We do that because we want you to be able to afford the next vehicle. There has been a lot of economic damage from COVID, and our business, while thought initially to be exposed to major losses and had major losses for a short time, has done well financially from the supply issues. We don’t want to price gouge, so we try to stay under MSRP. We have been one of the top sellers of Chevrolet in the state of Alabama, and by doing that we have not been as hurt on supply as other dealers because we have continuous earned more product through our high sales. Therefore, we aren’t in danger of having nothing to sell for a model for 3 months. That gives us the flexibility to price more moderately and deliver better pricing to the consumer than competitors in the marketplace because we have enough inventory to sell that way. What are the lessons for you as a consumer? If you really want to purchase that vehicle for $4000 over MSRP, and you really need it, and you cannot find a better alternative, then that may be the purchase you need to make. But, if a dealer is pricing over MSRP, you may want to tone down your impulses and do more research. We have vehicles on order we can allocate to you. You can find them here if you are unable to find a built vehicle on a lot you can buy today. You also may want to hold out in the vehicle you have longer if you can do so.

Tahoe Z71 Exterior

2021 Tahoe Z71 - An Owner's Review

My experience with the 2021 Tahoe Z71 has been an overwhelmingly positive one. I am not going to talk technical specs or anything like that. Instead, I want to talk about what I have liked and disliked about the new Tahoe. First impressions are always superficial. The outside of this Tahoe is eye-catching. I would have to take my shoes off if I wanted to count the number of people that have complimented me on this Tahoe. The aggressive front end, offroad tires, and black running boards set the Z71 apart. I thought I would dislike having off-road tires, but after driving this all over the southeast, I can say the road noise is not noticeable, and the gas mileage is still excellent. I got 23 mpg on my way up to Illinois. I think the looks are worth the loss of a mile a gallon. more My Tahoe's interior has black leather, and I love it. I have a black dog, and the leather makes trips to the dog park or a friend's lakehouse a breeze. The only thing my pup complains about is how high the rear door is from the ground. To help him out, I got a ramp that gives him easier entry and exit out of the SUV. I pretty much live with the third-row seat down and a dog bed in the back. Surprisingly that doesn't impact my day-to-day at all. I still have plenty of room to go to the COSTCO and stock up for the month or ferry friends around. We recently had a couple of friends, the dog, food for a weekend, and everyone's luggage in the Tahoe to give you an idea of space. We weren't cramped, and the trip to the lake was a breeze. The changes Chevrolet made in the driver's seat are noticeable and worthwhile. The drive selector has changed from a lever to buttons, and at first, I didn't know if I would like it. It turns out I like it a lot. I developed muscle memory with the buttons surprisingly fast, and the infotainment changes are great. The larger screen that is more in line with my line of sight and running Apple Play to play music and use Google maps is invaluable. The other technology worth mentioning is the MyChevrolet app. Starting your car before you get in it is fantastic whether it is hot or cold outside. Doing it from your phone while you are getting ready in the morning is even better. The last bit of owner experience I can draw on is towing. I have a 12-foot utility trailer that I use for projects and moving furniture. I have loaded it down with wood and gravel to the point I was worried I might be pushing the Tahoe's towing capacity. Tahoe handled it like a champ. Gas mileage goes way down when towing, but the most important thing about towing is getting you to where you need to go safely. I also put a massive pontoon in the water with the Tahoe. The launch ramp was slippery from mold, and having the option for 4x4 was helpful. The electric emergency brake helps because it automatically engages when you put the Tahoe in park on a hill. That is a nice little safety feature. I know this review is probably overly positive, but there is a reason for that. My experience with the Tahoe has been overly positive. I hope my experience with my Tahoe helps you in some way. I will see you in the next post!

SUV Lineup

Chevrolet Deals: Rating the deal offerings for August

Edit: This post is out of date. See updated deal rankings by following this link. August's deals are sizzling...if you compare them to their used counterparts. It is rare in the auto industry to say that a new vehicle offers a better value proposition than their used counterparts, but this August, that statement is true - at least for Chevy. Quick tip to help you read this. We give our customers all available incentives and our Donohoo discount to provide you with our best price. So when you see something say $5,000 off MSRP, that is usually a mix of Chevrolet incentives and our additional discount. more Silverado 1500 - View Inventory We are offering 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 at up to $6,000 off for purchasing customers. To put that in perspective, we have seen used Silverado 1500s going for above MSRP at the wholesale auction with 20,000 miles on them. The craziness on used Silverado 1500s is softening some, but these trucks have traditionally held value really well, and that will mitigate some of the slimmer rebates on offer from Chevrolet. Our really strong pricing offering is the high country at $6,000 off MSRP. We start the month with a handful of them, and we expect they will go quickly. We have a tremendous selection of Trail Bosses. A recent search within 250 miles of our store found we have about 15% of the trail bosses available. That distance covers Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. The custom Trail Boss is an incredible value at its MSRP levels. We believe Chevrolet has priced the MSRP a little too low on that trim level. We are selling that vehicle for $2,750 below MSRP including Chevrolet rebates. The LT Trail Boss has a few more creature comforts, and we have those priced at $5,000 below MSRP – an outstanding value in today’s market. Click here to see our Trail Boss Shopping Guide. BOLT EUV and BOLT EV - View Inventory The 2022 BOLT EV and BOLT EUV are both listed for "MSRP," but in reality, we are offering them at $2,000 off MSRP. Chevrolet is particularly aggressive on lease deals this month, so check out our leasing pricing here. The deal on purchasing a Bolt isn’t quite as favorable, but we’ve done our best to make the price attractive given the incentive support from Chevrolet. Tahoe and Suburban - View Inventory The 2021 Tahoe and Suburban market is a weird one. Like the truck market, used Tahoes and Suburbans are going for well above MSRP at the auction. So our discount of $250 off MSRP is excellent compared to our competition. We know this doesn't make much sense, but that is the market we are in with these inventory and chip shortages. We don't expect prices to get much better until later 2022, so if you find the Tahoe or Suburban you are looking for, we suggest you jump on it. Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD - View Inventory Like the Tahoe and Suburban, the HDs are a great buy because of the market. Used trucks are selling at ridiculous prices, so buying one of our new ones at $250 off can save you thousands. Inventory will be tight for a long time to come, and our selection is better than most. If you see what you are looking for, be sure to jump on it. Traverse, Blazer, Trailblazer, and Equinox - View Inventory We have plenty of these on order, but a really limited number on the ground. The rebates aren’t particularly high on these, so you aren’t in an advantageous position shopping for these. It is a seller’s market. The plus side is that the used market value for these is high as well, but no one knows if that will be transitory. Camaro - View Inventory Chevrolet has greatly reduced the number of Camaros they have built in the last couple of years, and that is great for resale value. Used Camaro prices are very strong, and that helps with purchasing a new Camaro. Given the market, $250 off MSRP is a good value for a Camaro. Colorado – View Inventory Check out the on-order Colorados here. We are offering $1500 off MSRP, and given how well a Colorado holds its value used, that is a decent buy in today’s market. Malibu, Trax – View Inventory The rebates are poor, and the availability is poor as well. Neither of these vehicles traditionally performs that well on depreciation as used. We have some on order – you can see the Trax here, and the Malibu here. We would be happy to reserve them for you. Spark – View Inventory We only have one to start the month, but a rebate of $1000 on a vehicle in this price point is not bad in today’s market for less expensive vehicles. Best Chevrolet Financing Deals: 2021 Chevrolet Blazer: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Equinox: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Spark: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Traverse: 0% financing 2021 Chevrolet Trax: 0% financing

Tahoe and Suburban Action

Tahoe and Suburban Shortage and What That Means

Where are the Tahoe/Suburbans with the Fancy Technology Features? One of the popular packages to add to a Tahoe/Suburban is the Luxury Package* (see at the bottom of the page the options included). This can be added to the RST, LT, and Z71 trims. This is a technology-oriented package with lots of features that, unfortunately, given today’s supply chain environment, use a lot of microchips. Because of a massive microchip shortage, the ability to build and order Tahoe/Suburbans with this package has been severely curtailed for the past several months. Additionally, the Premier and High Country come standard with most of the features of the Luxury Package, so the ability to build those likewise has been curtailed. To make matters worse, the vast majority of buyers like the second row to have bucket seats, or captain’s chairs, as opposed to a bench seat. In the RST trim, the second row could not be bucket seats without also have the Luxury Package. As a result, if you have searched our website for new Tahoe/Suburbans over the last few months, you have noticed lots of LT and Z71 trims without Luxury Package but with second-row bucket seats. The good news is that some level of Luxury Package and Premier or High Country ordering has opened up with an improvement in the supply of microchips, but not a lot. That means fewer Tahoe/Suburbans with these tech features. I know our hope is that we will see improvement in the ability to order the tech stuff in the 2022 model year. more So with no luxury package, are these vehicles selling? They are selling, and that is why you find so little out there to buy. Most are pre-sold before they land at dealerships. These are great vehicles even without the Luxury Package. In a 2020 model year, the luxury package was required to get a push-button start – now it is standard on all models. The ride quality is greatly improved, and some of the special new trim levels have been separated as trims as opposed to option packages in the 2020 model year. The RST trim has great-looking wheels and red stitching on the interior seats. The Z71 has a fantastic-looking front end. This is early August 2021, and over the past few months, we have seen 21 Tahoe prices for used ones with thousands of miles bring significant amounts over MSRP at the auctions. Will 21 Tahoe values continue to hold strong over the next few years as you own them? Can’t say for sure. But in the current environment, our discount of $250 from MSRP delivers good value compared to market values in the wholesale market. How is availability looking? You can look at our orders outstanding by clicking this link, and it will provide some details on options available on vehicles we have on order. We do have some Premier, High Country, and Luxury Package RST trim vehicles available if you want those tech options. You can reach out to us to reserve the vehicle for you with a deposit. At the end of the list will be our Suburban and Tahoe vehicles that are built and either on the ground or on the way. While our supply on the ground and in transit is limited, we have tremendous supply to get built at the factory, so be sure to look at those for your needs as well. We were the 14 th largest retail seller of Tahoe in the United States for Chevy in 2019. Because of our large volume of sales, we get plentiful ordering opportunities. Reach out to us about getting your desired build specifically ordered for you. *Luxury Package options include: Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning; Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert; Rear Cross Traffic Alert; Front and Rear Park Assist; HD Surround Vision; Rear Pedestrian Alert; Memory settings for the power driver seat, outside mirrors and power tilt and telescoping steering column; Outside heated power-adjustable, power-folding and driver-side auto-dimming mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators; Power tilt and telescopic steering column; Automatic heated steering wheel; Second-row outboard heated seats; Second-row power-release 60/40 split-folding bench seats; Third-row power 60/40 split-folding bench seats

Silverado 3500HD

The Great Cab Chassis Shortage

Have you noticed that you can’t find a new Chevy cab chassis to purchase anywhere? Our dealership is in Ft Payne, AL, about 45 minutes southwest of Chattanooga, TN on I-59. Within 300 miles of us includes Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery. In that 300 mile radius of us, there are exactly two crew cab chassis showing at Chevy dealers on the ground. When we expand to include vehicles also on order from Chevy dealers as of 8/7/21, that total grows to 71. Donohoo Chevrolet has 23 of them. And if you want crew cab chassis that are gasoline instead of diesel, we have 6 – all of them. Not a single one on order with any other dealer. If you would like to see the available cab chassis, click here for our inventory. And, you can search for cab chassis in our HD inventory that is not built but on the way here. ( View HDs on Order) What happened? more Chevy needs to build all of the vehicles it can for retail purposes as the supply to retail customers has plummeted. Fleet ordering of heavy-duty (HD) trucks was cut off around January 1 of 2021. No order has been allowed since. Additionally, even before then, Chevy prevented many dealers from building cab chassis due to a need to direct them to build more retail desirable HD trucks. That has created a huge dearth of supply on cab chassis. Chevy has done this because it makes better money selling a high country 2500 than a less optioned out cab chassis for work purposes. And fleet-level pricing tends to have more discounts than retail rebates. There has been a massive restriction in the supply of cab chassis trucks. So how does Donohoo Chevrolet have so many? We are a high-volume HD seller, aggressively pricing our product to move so as to deliver great value to our customers. GM rewards high-volume sellers with replenishment of products, so we have built ourselves into a high-volume carrier of HD trucks. That means we can both order the High Country 2500 HD and order the cab chassis 3500 and have products to serve multiple sets of customers. Fleet ordering opens up in August, and we doubt GM will be able to supply all of the demand that will exist in the HD space. If you are smaller and do not have a fleet account number with GM, that option is not open to you, so a dealer must have stock units of cab chassis 3500s to service you. If you are large enough to have a GM fleet account number, we encourage you to contact our commercial fleet department ASAP about us utilizing that avenue to order these limited supply trucks. We have a very experienced fleet staff that works closely with GM Fleet Operations. We sold over 1000 fleet units last year, so we know many of the ins and outs. And though customers with fleet account numbers can order with us, how long that option will be available is unknown given manufacturing supply chain issues. What is the catch on these cab chassis? One of the ways to get these cab chassis ordered was to order LT trim instead of the work truck WT trim. Unfortunately, vinyl seats are not an option on an LT, and for many businesses, they would rather have vinyl over cloth. There is an option to add aftermarket leather if that helps along with floor liners. But there is no getting around the fact that an LT is going to be priced higher than a WT. Before you get too down, we are pricing all of our HD s at $250 less than MSRP before any GM incentives. And before you think that is high, we regularly see 2-3-year-old HD units with thousands of miles bring MSRP or more in wholesale auctions, so that is a pretty good deal. Sure, it is higher than in the past, but have you tried to buy lumber, dishwashers, vehicles, houses, etc. in the last 6 months. Everything is up. The real value is the availability to get the truck you need to run your business. We have partners that can provide multiple service body configurations for you. What is the urgency? Our best guess is that cab chassis volumes to build will be limited, and once these cab chassis have been sold, there may not be the availability to go back to the well to get more. That will be reflected in market prices for the ones that left and in the availability of them in the marketplace. With one of the gas cab chassis units from the 2021 model year, we had a customer come from the Bay Area in California to buy it because it was the only one he could find in the USA.

BOLTEVCharging

BOLT EV - Why are the Huge Discounts Gone and Why That's a Good Thing

What happened to $16,000 off MSRP! Remember $16,000 off MSRP on a 2021 Bolt EV Premier with a $43,795 list price? And $19,000 off with Costco contributing a $3000 rebate! That was available in April 2021 from Donohoo Chevrolet as one of the nation’s price leaders. In August 2021, we have been out of 2021 Bolts for 4 months, but we now have the 2022 Bolt EV and its new cousin the 2022 Bolt EUV. Let’s put the EUV to the side for a moment and discuss a more apples-to-apples comparison in the Bolt EV. If you are reading this, you are already aware that the charging speed and 259 miles on a full charge are unchanged from the 2021. The seats and suspension are more comfortable, the infotainment is different, and the front fascia is refreshed. So why are the rebates only $500 in August 2021? more That $43,795 list price 2021 Bolt has a similar equivalent that has a $35,790 list price. That difference is $8,005, so Chevy has anchored, let’s call it, $8,000 in rebates into the new MSRPs on the Bolt EV. Due to MAAP (minimum allowable advertised pricing) policies, we are not allowed to show in our math box on our website a price below MSRP less current incentives. We will not go on a tangent here about manufacturers and MAAP, but we bring it up so you understand why a lot of the strong pricing on Bolts has disappeared. But does that mean you can’t purchase this new Bolt for less than MSRP? No, Chevy cannot require us to sell it for MSRP. So we are offering $2,000 back of MSRP to those customers that reach out to us about a Bolt EV. Still, that leaves a price of $33,290 for this particular Bolt EV 2LT. And many of you were used to paying $27,795 for the 2021 Bolt EV Premier. So what else can you get with the 2022 Bolt EV? There is a pretty cool Chevy Charging Installation credit where Chevy will install a Level 2 charging capability in your home at Chevy’s cost! There are a few gotchas in the program. If your location is outside the house (separate garage) or you need infrastructure improvements in your electrical box to support the higher voltage, some of that cost will need to be borne by you, but for most people, Chevy is covering the full cost of installation. If you do not have Level 2 charging, that is a really good value delivered to you, so that bridges the gap some. The rest needs to be covered by your desire to have the fresh look. Additionally, your alternatives in the non-EV space have skyrocketed in price over the past year. How crazy is the price of a used Honda Civic or other OEM’s similarly sized vehicles? I don’t think we will see $16,000 off the 2022 Bolt EV because about $8,000 off is already embedded in the MSRP change from 2021 to 2022. So, at $33,290 with free installation of Level 2 Charging, is that compelling enough to buy a 2022 Bolt EV 2LT (similar to the Premier as 21 Bolt EV LT is like 22 Bolt EV 1LT and 21 Bolt EV Premier is like 22 Bolt EV 2LT)? What about 2021 Bolt EVs? Another note is to look at what a 21 Bolt EV that is left at a dealer would cost you. Chevy rebates are $8,000 with $3,000 extra for fast charge and $1,500 with GM Loyalty if you qualify. A quick search on Cars.com for all 2021 Bolt EVs available in the USA resulted in 188 units. Of these, 107 are Premier. Of the Premiers, the median price at a rough glance appears to be around $32,000. If we assume generously that the price doesn’t include the GM loyalty already, a median 2021 Bolt EV Premier is a little north of $30,000 if you qualify for a loyalty rebate. Additionally, good luck finding the color you want within a reasonable distance of your home. Vehicle supply and demand along with slightly reduced help from GM to dealers in cash to help move 2021 Bolts mean a 2021 Bolt EV is just more expensive than it was 4 months ago. Is the 2022 Bolt EV a good value? Ok, not as good as the 2021 Bolt EV was in April 2021. But think what you could have bought a Silverado 1500 crew cab for 6 months ago versus today? Some of this is general market inflation on goods and services that may or may not be transitory depending on whether you believe central bankers. With our $2,000 discount on offer and free Level 2 charging, we think our Bolt EVs are priced to bridge most of the gap. And that is our main aim – get our pricing to a place where good value for the current market gets delivered. Some of you may be worried about what your Bolt EV will be worth down the road should inflation be transitory or market conditions change radically. Please – Seriously entertain a lease We get it. In the southern United States, leasing is considered throwing money away. And it may be on some models where GM doesn’t support it well, but people lease like gangbusters in the Midwest and Northeast, and they can’t be that ignorant. A lease on a Bolt is a great opportunity to protect yourself from market movements on the vehicle as it ages. Chevy has stepped up in August on its leasing residual values. When you lease, you are trading purchase rebate cash today, $500 on a 2022 Bolt, for no upfront rebate on the price and a guaranteed trade-in value at the end of the 36 months of the lease. If you leased 10,000 miles per year, 30,000 miles total, Chevy has a residual value of 64% of the MSRP of a Bolt EV 2LT for August 2021. So, in the example earlier, $35,790 times 64% is $22,906. So here is the bet you are making. By giving up $500, you are betting that Bolt will be worth less than $22,906 in 36 months when you turn the Bolt back into Chevy. If that vehicle is worth $18,000 as a trade-in, then Chevy eats almost $5,000 in market value difference and it cost you $500. Of course, a lease versus purchase isn’t apples to apples because you have different APRs and fees between the two, but you can work out those numbers and should see differences that aren’t huge. If the vehicle is worth at the end of the leasing period $22,906, you buy it for that from Chevy through a dealer and only lost out on the $500 purchase cash. There are some additional upsides to the lease as well. If the vehicle is totaled, the lease comes with built-in GAP protection, so you have no worry about negative equity with your claim driving up your cash out of pocket on a totaled vehicle. If you get in an accident that shows up on the Carfax, that doesn’t impact the value of the vehicle when you turn it in. If you have ever traded a vehicle with an accident reported on the Carfax, you understand how that reduces the value. And if it says Severe Damage, lookout. If the vehicle is properly repaired at turn-in, there is no financial punishment for those accidents. Now, there is obviously some downside. What happens if you want out of the lease after a year. Yeah, that gets expensive to get out since you are committed to the remaining lease payments. And in some instances with leases, we have ways to minimize the financial impact at the dealership when you want to switch out as we want to keep you as a customer and make you happy. But that takes us to the next point. Welcome to the Privileged Lease Club! Chevy wants you to continue to lease vehicles from them, so they don’t like to leave customers flailing in the wind on a lease. One way to get out of the lease earlier is to take advantage of lease pull ahead programs that begin within a year or so of the end of the lease where Chevy will cover up to a certain amount of remaining lease payments to get you to lease again. Additionally, there are lease loyalty CCR (cap cost reduction) incentives – think of them as like cash off doing another lease. On current Bolt EVs, there is a $1,500 lease loyalty CCR for those that lease with GM Financial currently. That is a major reason why people in the Midwest and Northeast continue to lease. Once you start leasing, GM makes it financially attractive to continue leasing. So I am intrigued about leasing – tell me more We have another blog post that goes into deep detail about leasing a 2022 Bolt EV or EUV in August 2021. Click here to read greater detail about leasing examples of Bolts going on this month. Finally, if you have an interest in looking through our extensive Bolt inventory that blows away our competition’s offerings, please click here to see all of the Bolts on our website. And if you have a particular interest like the Super Cruise EUV units that will not get built until later this year, click here to see our orders that have yet to be built and will be available in the future. Thank you Bolt customers! Many of you are avid Bolt EV fans, and you have been through the experience of shopping for a Bolt and understand the incentives, rebates, and tax credits very well. How do we know this? At Donohoo Chevrolet, we have been stunned at the incredible knowledge of our Bolt customers. We sold more Bolts in 2021 out of Fort Payne, AL than any dealer in these major cities around us – Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Huntsville, Memphis, Knoxville, Montgomery, Jackson, and Mobile! And it wasn’t all that close. Our sales staff all have extensive experience with the Bolt, and many of you know more than our sales staff. Truly amazing enthusiasm and we appreciate all that you teach our sales staff in your interactions with us. And we thank you for doing business with us. We understand the importance of growing the electric vehicle market, and a big part of that is getting customers in the vehicles to try them. We have evangelized 7 members of our dealership team that all drive them personally, and a couple of those folks were big skeptics – including a couple of truck-loving country folks. They rave about the experience of driving a Bolt. If you are interested in one, we have a few in our service courtesy fleet that can be taken for an overnight test drive. Additionally, we welcome you coming to our dealership to test drive one. We have plenty to choose from.

Silverado Lineup

Two different versions of the 2022 Silverado 1500? How do you know which one you are looking at.

2022 Silverado 1500 Confusion Coming – How to Understand What You are Buying We all know that COVID has been massively disruptive to manufacturing operations. COVID also has made introducing new models and mid-cycle enhancements (otherwise noted as MCE - where the model gets a facelift and minor changes but is not completely new) difficult to implement as well. For the OEM, a new model, for example, the 2021 Tahoe, is great for excitement and new features, and the elevated demand enables it to reduce incentives and improve profitability. But, making changes slows the flow of product from the plant as various operations must be refined and set up to build a different vehicle. When instead of doing an MCE, the changes are less numerous, but they still reduce output temporarily as the plant must adjust. COVID has resulted in the slowing execution of many plans, and Chevy’s MCE for the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has been impacted likewise. more Expected Changes According to GM Authority, the 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 will break cover at 4 AM EST on September 9 th, 2021. (Link to https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/08/refreshed-2022-chevy-silverado-1500-to-debut-on-september-9th/). GM Authority also relayed information about expected changes, none of which we can confirm as we do not know the exact changes. GM Authority notes “The updated 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 will feature a revised front fascia with new headlamps, a redesigned tailgate, and different taillights. Inside, the truck will receive an overhauled cabin with a new dash, center stack, and center console, a larger infotainment screen, and a digital gauge cluster/driver information center. The traditional column gear shifter will also be dropped in favor of a new electronic gear select system.” That means we have about a month before we learn about the specifics of the new 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500. Here is where the confusion is about to set in. They are going to start taking orders from dealers for the 2022 Silverado 1500 within a few weeks. What? How can dealers order something that hasn’t even been announced as to what it is? That is because we will be ordering a 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTD. Huh? What is an LTD? That is an abbreviation for Limited. In the past, Chevy has produced vehicles with the name Limited at the end to denote they are the old model getting built with the same model year as the new model. There was the 14 Impala Limited that was the same as the 13 Impala and nothing like the 14 Impala that was a complete redesign. That was just for fleet purposes. There is a 19 Silverado 1500 LD which was the 18 Silverado 1500 and not the new model style, but that was only done on double cabs. How do I know the difference? In Chevy’s systems, they will have a different model code for the limited versus the newer MCE version. The way you will see this is through a slight change to the naming on websites and branding literature. You will see “Silverado 1500 LTD” on Monroney labels, website descriptions of the model, and the like. Let’s use the 2019 Silverado double cab for reference. In this screenshot from Cars.com, you can see a search for 2019 Silverado 1500 AND SILVERADO 1500 LD vehicles. The Silverado 1500 LD is the “limited” and only double cabs and looks like the 18 model year. While we are not positive the exact wording, our guess is you will see “Silverado 1500 LTD” in the search pane for 2022s that are pre-MCE and the regular “Silverado 1500” for 2022s that are post-MCE. And when you are shopping on a site for 2021 and 2022 Silverados, you will see Silverado for 2021 and Silverado LTD for the 2022s for quite a while. Here is a quick reference. Model Year Name What is this? 2021       Silverado 1500 -  the one on lots today, pre-MCE 2022       Silverado 1500 LTD - same as 2021, pre-MCE 2022       Silverado 1500 - post-MCE new model How do I keep up with what is going on here? We will provide updates on our blog regarding the 2022 Silverado 1500 and how soon they will start getting built. Additionally, we have many other great tidbits of information that may be a little more “in the weeds” as they say but dive deeper than the information you find on many automotive review sites. For example, read about our specific 2021 August guide to buying Trail Bosses. When we release new blog entries, you can be kept aware by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also bookmark our blog page and check back periodically. In the meantime, check out our Silverado 1500 inventory. And remember, given today’s shortage of products, you may want to also shop our orders that are in process and not on the website yet. View orders here.

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