This isnt a technical issue, but its a huge headache that maybe someone can help me with.

Heres the deal, or lack of, I love the black 2dr cobalt 2.4 SS w/ 5spd. The problem is every dealership i've gone to does not stock them, and is unable to locate any within 400miles. In addition to this, i get the crap service from these guys. I've finally lowering my list of dealerships I talk to on a daily basis from 3 to one near my house just because they ACTUALLY SPEAK ENGLISH!

After educating sales reps on what the SS trim level is (not the SS/SC! no, thats an LS, no, thats a 2.2 engine, see you hit the gas and go vrooom!), and waiting, and sitting in their offices waiting, waiting while they walk around and talk to people, and waiting some more after they finished talking, oh and waiting while they make photo copies of some random crap they just printed out . This goes on for hours and hours AT EVERY dealership. When a dealership does find a car they then screw you over with "oh we have to trade for it, so give us your money, then we'll get the car". This is suppose to be simple! I drive car, i like car, i pay for car and go home.

After all of this horrible service, I still want the car.

Dont get me wrong im not sitting idle waiting for someone to serve me, im seriously looking all the time on the internet and in person. Also, went to two honda dealerships and got AWESOME service, so much so i wish honda made the cobalt!

A coworker told me about carsdirect.com, so im going to look into this. But does anyone have any suggestions? Chevy doesnt sell these things directly do they?

 

If you really want it, be persistant and talk to sales managers. I was walked off 3 different dealerships, one of them twice, and left 2 others in my quest for a Cobalt SS Supercharged.

 

no the only way ull get a car like that is thorugh gm dealerships...all i can say is order one if you want a car that bad..get it exactly the way you want it

 

It seems the dealerships only have slight knowledge of the 2.2 and 2.0sc and know **** about the 2.4

 

check this site there are some there
http://carmax.com/dyn/search/quicksearch.aspx?newused=2

 

tenacity, hardheadedness, yea.. these all describe me.

If it didnt i would have broke down and bought the honda si =]

 

i went to the dealer i told the dealer what i wanted what color i wanted and all the stuff i wanted in it and they orderd it for me. couldint find a 5 speed or the color i wanted.

 

I think GM really screwed up making the SS and SS S/C names. It ends up really confusing for those that don't really know the cars.

 

Its a little easier in Canada,if you go pontiac, all you have to say is GT

 

If your local dealers are incompetent for some reason *cough*, go to carsdirect.com and look for an SS there. Prices seem pretty competitive, at least in this area, and they'll treat you fine.

 

It's true, the dealerships know very little about the cars they sell sometimes...don't the realize the best salesmen will be the one who knows (and preferably likes) the product he sells? When I was with my mother as we picked up her LS model, we noticed the front driver wheel cover was dented badly. Not from a curb-check - there were no scrapes, but like someone kicked it or hit it with a hammer.

It was Sunday afternoon, and they wanted us to bring it back to the service department, because they didn't have tools to do anything. I said, "The tool is in the trunk. I'll pull the cover off a different car and put it on this one."

They're like, "Well, you still need to jack it up to change it."

"No, it's just a cover. Takes only a minute to remove."

"Well don't you need a drill to get them tight enough when you put it on?"

"No, they're small plastic bolts. You can get them tight enough with your fingers."

Ugh...they finally let me fix the damn thing and go. Nice people, all of them, but don't know a damn thing about cars.

 

Aren't there dozens of Chevy dealers in the Oakland/Bay Area? Look at gmbuypower.com and see how many cars there are in your area. Maybe there aren't as many 5-speeds, but at least its a start.

 

ss 5 speeds are hard to find and like everyone else has said the dealers know little about them. when i bought my car i asked if they had an ss1 (which is what its called on chevrolet.com) in a manual. i sat around for a minute and then the guy comes back and says i dont think we have one but ill go check around a little more but this time i went with him and i was the one who found the car on the lot so with these cars you have to do alot of the work, unfortunately. also when i started asking specs that i already knew the guy didnt know and proceeded to show that the cobalts battery was in the trunk... sadly that was just about the extent of his knowledge on the car.

 

Nah, you're in between model years right now. the '06's aren't being made and they're starting production on the 07's this month (and they won't be available until august/sept. sometime.) So it's a matter of going out and finding one. You can use carsdirect or autobytel to find it but I wouldn't buy from them, you'll end up getting a better deal (more hassle) from the dealership me thinks. If you find what you're looking for just get the dealer's info and phone number where the car is and then head down to your dealer and tell them that's the one you want and to get it for you. :P You might have to specify how you want it transported though.

If the dealership is asking for a deposit before they do the trade, that's a pretty standard practice, they don't want to waste their time on someone who is not going to buy, but if you're willing to put down a couple hundred bucks, then they'll usually be willing to go through the motions.

About the honda dealerships, they're all nice and happy until you mention the Civic SI, and then all the see are dollar signs when they look at you. It's a bad time to be buying right now is all. All the manufacturers are switching over production and all that's left is whatever is in inventory.

 

Boy i really dont see why this is in the problems/service area, its being moved.

 

i probably went to the same dealers. bill heard didn't have any, and mike holley had an SS with a SS/SC spoiler.... weird

 

Don’t waste your time by physically going to dealerships. Work online with their internet departments and let them do all the work on their own. They’ll send you VIN numbers and vehicle descriptions and quotes, and even if they repeatedly quote you an SS/SC or LS and you have to say “No, SS NA please,” at least you will stay at home throughout the whole process. Just a thought.

 

You just need to find a good dealer. I told the guy at the dealership that I wanted a Black Cobalt SS with a sunroof, XM radio, the pioneer System and all that crap. He said, and I quote "I don't have one here, but I'll find you one"

He called me the next buisness day and told me he found one in New Jersey [ a good 120 miles away] and said I'm on my way for it now...He didn't ask me for money down, or anything. It's all about the dealers

 

that is weird... michael holley is where i ended up buying mine. i also went to bill heard and they had one 2005 ss/sc used w/15k miles on it and they wanted 25,000!!! so i said eff that. (this was when i was in my wanting to switch to ss/sc phase.

 

i ended up at fermann, they had what i wanted... colour wasn't perfect, but i like it over all

 

Thats what I like! But sadly, thats hard to find. All I know is SS's in general are easy to get here in CO but nobody wants them. My dealer a mile away has 2 SS/NA's (Coupe 5spd and sedan auto) and 2 SS/SC's but no G85. They hae been on the lot since I got mine from them, 5 months or so. keep looking.

 

i work at a car dealership and that sounds like typical sales men, here in canada we stock quite a few cobalt ss's it must be because your american(hahaha jk unless ur from carolina) but ya tell them exactly this "do you want my business today" he will say "ofcourse" , you say " then find me a fuckign cobalt or i go somewhere else" trust me it will work
good luck and happy hunting right now im looking for a used 2.4l or 2.2 (2.2l because they are creating turbo kits for the 2.0 and the 2.2 way before they make it for the 2.4 because of the vvt)

 

When I went to get my SS nonS/C I looked on chevy web site to locate the vehicle I wanted, then printed the sheet out and took it to my local dealership. They called to verify the other dealer still had the SS then we worked out the trade on my truck. I had the car the following afternoon. It was about 50 miles away.

 

Update on this:

I finally got my car!
The dealership i hadnt given up on yet in oakland finally came through! They drove the car down (90miles which im kinda unhappy about, but atleast i finally got the car) from sac-town.

picture me rolling.

 

Pics! Now! Congrats!