I wanted to contribute back to this great community with my CT5BW purchasing experience. This may ramble on so you can skip to the pictures if you prefer, as they say a picture is worth a thousand word.
I first heard of the BW from a buddy who is a car enthusiast a few weeks before the reservation site went online. I am a sucker for a manual transmission and have been looking for a new daily driver. The 5BW seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I was a little too late to get one of the first 250 reservation CT5 cars, I did not fully realize the cult following that there cars have developed. I could have gotten at CT4BW reservation as they were still available when I tried for the CT5BW, but the 4 isn’t big enough for my family. I did go on the waitlist and called the local dealer back in 2021 at that time. They never got back to me and I stopped pursuing the BW because the dealer experience was suboptimal.
Come November December 2021 when more information on the cars started to trickle out and the first reviews made their way out it became clear that this was a car that would be “worth the brain damage” entailed in trying to buy it, little did I know how difficult it would be. From late November to mid January I called about 30-40 dealers in the NYC tristate area (NY-NJ-CT) every dealer with the exception of 2 or 3 dealers insisted on an ADM ranging from a low of 5k to a high of 50k. On principle I refuse to pay above MSRP for a car. That left the 2 or 3 dealers, only problem they had waitlists a mile long. So I got on those lists submitted builds and just waited, to this day no allocations from those dealers (not surprised).
To kill time I followed the great 2022 order thread here, and thats were things got interesting. One short post by
@soulsea Blackwing Order Tracking - 2022 Model Year caught my eye. I recognized his handle from another car forum that we both frequent. His dealer had an active ct5BW allocation which everyone on their list had passed on because CF was on constraint. I sent him a PM that day, a Saturday, and he he got back to me right away. He gave me the email of his dealer with the allocation and I sent them an email right away. 15 minutes later I get a call from the sales manager asking if I had a build in mind (of course I had already spent hours on the configurator) which I did. He said email it over to him. 10 minutes later I got a GM order sheet to initial/approve. It was that easy, no deposit no nonsense. It seemed too good to be true. It was a perfect match because my ideal spec is carbon free (except for the brakes). I wanted a stealth/sleeper car, and the mid level sky gray seats not the highest tier seats because of the different amount of white to black leather. Only hitch was the dealer is in South Carolina about 700 miles from where I live. All that was left was to sit back sip a drink and enjoy the goat rodeo about to ensue.
Timeline below:
Order placed Saturday Feb 19, 2022.
Sunday Feb 20, 2022 1100.
Tuesday Feb, 22, 2022 2000.
Thursday Feb 24, 2022 3000 TPW 3/14/2022
Thursday March 3, 2022 3100 TPW 3/14/2022
Monday March 7, 2022 3100 TPW 3/21/2022
Saturday March 12, 2022 3400 TPW 3/21/2022
Monday March 28, 2022 3100 TPW 4/11/2022
Thursday March 31, 2022 3400 TPW 4/11/2022
Plant closed week of 4/7 parts shortage.
Monday April 11, 2022 3400 TPW 5/2/2022
Monday April 18, 2022 3400 TPW 5/2/2022
Monday May 9, 2022 3800
Monday May 16, 2022 4000
Tuesday June 14,2022 4300 delayed
Wednesday June 22, 2022 4B00 delayed
Wednesday June 29, 2022 4200 EDD 06/29/2022
Delivered to dealer 6/30
Picked up 7/5
I had financing pre-arranged with my CU, I did give the dealer the opportunity to beat/match or even get close. They could not come close and did not pressure me in anyway to use their financing options. They sent me a buyers order on the 30th when the car arrived, and true to their word it was for MSRP with no pressure for any added items or ADM. Was really impressed with their stand-up deal. Flew down one way with my 9 year old son on the 4th late at night and picked the car up on the 5th in the AM and drove back. Got to meet
@soulsea who came to dealer with his rift 5BW his car looked great and was very kind of him to stop by, really appreciate the hook-up. The car was delivered in great condition. There were only 6 miles on the ODO. Drove to VA on day one 550 miles so was fully broken in on the delivery day! Next day headed out to NJ to treat my son to a day at six flags and then final leg home. About 820 miles all in. Trip was smooth car is a sexy beast. Could not have had a better experience. The sales manager, Michael Anderson, at Baker Cadillac was a complete gem to work with, he made it very easy when virtually every other dealer makes it a three ring circus act. Would not have gotten the car without the forum so thanks
@Rob and of course most importantly the contribution of the forum members like
@soulsea without whom I would have never have known about the open allocation and would likely still be stuck in the ultimate goat purgatory: status code 1100.
Initial impression of the car are basically amazing. The thing is bonkers. Sounds amazing, drive is great, manual gear box is a delight once you get the hang of the clutch. I did stall it as I tried to pull away from the dealership, twice. The clutch catch point is fairly high and the clutch pressure is also heavier than my other manual cars. Once I got out of the dealership it was smooth sailing no more stalls. The carbon ceramic brakes are great no squeaks for me. Its amazing that a car like this is still being made in this electrified era we are entering. It is worth the wait. Don’t get annoyed by the goat shennanigans. The list of positives is a mile long but I was completely shocked at the gas mileage. I averaged about 24 MPG, yes twenty four miles per gallon on the ride home. I was expecting much lower. So far only a few minor negatives. The turning radius of the car is pretty bad. Careful if you try a U turn and parking is a bit more challenging. The interior materials are not befitting of a car of the CT5BW gravitas. The door cards and dash have too much plastic/rubber on them. Otherwise it its a pure joy to own thus far. Good luck to all those who have orders in and are trying to get a BW in this case as they say the juice IS worth the squeeze. Enjoy the pics.
Destination Autonation Cadillac, West Palm Beach,Fl. Update: Still in Goat Pen, Danessa at Accelerated informed me just now they are loading my car at Delta lot today 07/08 and should have it to me by next Sunday if all goes well. Yea! She’s a real sweetheart. With that said, I guess event should be 4200 with edd 07/17/22
