Would love for this to actually land in the lap of someone at GM that can do something.

Today is day # 30 of my car being at the dealership with no fix in site. I wanted to give the dealership and GM the opportunity to resolve the issue before posting the problem on a public forum.

I took delivery of the vehicle on March 16th in Jacksonville, Florida at Chevrolet of the Avenues (Coggin.). It was a very good process with them from ordering to delivery. They kept me well informed throughout the process.

I had ordered the vehicle in July of 2019 and prior to taking delivery moved to Chesapeake, VA. I picked up the vehicle and drove back to Chesapeake.

Around the 900 mile mark the radiator fans started coming on sporadically at strange times. The first time I really thought it was odd was on a 60 degree day where I drove 3 miles to the grocery store and the radiator fans were running at full speed. On June 14th when I was at 1,500 miles the radiator fans kicked on and wouldn't turn off while the car was running. When the fans were running the car was so loud that you couldn't hear the radio. At the same time I started getting transmission errors show up on the console. On June 15th I took the vehicle to Rick Hendrick Chevrolet in Norfolk for service.

On day # 1 of being in service, Rick Hendrick diagnosed the issue. They said the computer was reading that the transmission was overheating and it was kicking on all of the radiator fans at 90%. They thought it was a sensor in the transmission that was causing the problem and that they had a call into GM to discuss with them. On day # 2 I was told that GM was reviewing but had brought up the possibility of having to swap the entire transmission out and have the old transmission sent back to GM for testing to determine what went wrong.

I had started asking about rental/loaner calls on day # 1. It took 6 days of calling and e-mailing every day before they finally offered me a loaner. During that 6 days I also was getting the same "we are talking to GM" every day as the status of the vehicle. On day # 6 I went into the dealership and picked up an Impala. I complained about the lack of comparable vehicles and was told if anything better ever came available they would let me know. Of course they never contacted me on this subject again. Day 30 I still have the Impala while knowing they have had better vehicles come available. As a side note, we have been considering adding another SUV to our household and the experience with the dealership on this loaner has ruled out that I would consider buying from them. The initially told me they would give me a SUV as a loaner and then when I showed up gave me the choice of either a Spark or an Impala.

On day # 6 I was given a number for GM to open a customer care case. The best I can assume is that I was accidentally given the wrong number. I did call and was told I needed to work through the dealer and no case was opened.

Between days 7-27 I went to Florida so I could not physically walk into the dealership to check on a status. I called and e-mailed with no response for 2 weeks. For a week no one in the service department would even answer the line that was designated for checking on the status of a vehicle already in their department. After a week of no answers of the phone, or to e-mails I sent, I called to schedule a new appointment just to get someone to answer the phone. I did this two days in a row and ran through the fact I just wanted an update, and was told someone would call me back. No return phone calls. On day # 24 of the day being in service I called and was directed to the Service Manager's voice mail and left a voice mail. He did promptly return my call but it was the same generic "we are waiting on GM" message in regards to how to fix the issue.

On day # 27 I walked back into the service department to get an update. I was told that over the course of the last few weeks they had replaced some wiring harnesses, sensors and nothing had fixed the problem. I was told that GM may want to replace the transmission and receive the old transmission to test. I voiced my unhappiness at the fact that the day # 27 status was identical to the day # 2 status and that we are waiting on GM, they may want the transmission, etc... The dealership has no idea of how to fix the problem and the car is ultimately just sitting there with the "we are waiting on GM" status. They may request and send a field tech out. If they do this, it would be at least 3 weeks before a tech would show up, maybe longer. The tech would have no more knowledge than the dealership and there is no expectation that any different status would result from the tech being there. A waste of time. The service manager did give me the GM customer car number to open a case. I called the number and was able to open a case with GM. Since I got through and opened a case without issue, this is why I was thinking the number I had been given 3 weeks earlier must have been the wrong number. The GM rep I spoke with said that my case would be escalated to a senior representative and that I would receive a call by day # 30.

Well, today is day # 30. Hopefully I receive a call today. But, from the experience so far I am not counting on it.

Ultimately, I want the car back and fixed. It is the nicest car I have ever owned and driven. It is my 8th Corvette and the previous 7 don't compare. It isn't a financial issue, I don't need the money and have another car to drive. But, I have a real hard time of thinking about the cost / depreciation of a car if it ends up sitting at the dealership for 120+ days. 30 already, at least 3 weeks for a field tech, if they replace the transmission they are saying that is probably at least another 60 days, etc. The most frustrating piece again is the fact that in 30 days there has been little to no progress and the car is just sitting there and no one seems to care or have any urgency to resolve the issue.

So, that ultimately pushes me to look at Lemon Laws. And, it is a clear and easy path to file a Lemon Law claim.

That is not a good route as I know that ultimately the car should get fixed and I would not be able to get my hands on another C8 anytime soon unless I paid over sticker and took whatever I could get my hands on, versus the configuration I ordered and wanted. I wouldn't doubt that GM and the dealership would welcome a Lemon Law claim as the car is in such demand right now it would give another unit to be resold once fixed.

 

hmm, quite a predicament. I'd say there are wiser folks on here to give you some advice. Stay tuned.

 

Lemon law the car and get a 21.

It's your right and unless they get the car back to bbn you fixed immediately what you've explained is unacceptable.

I pm'd you the email of a person i have dealt with and have become friendly with over the years who is on the Corvette team that will be able to help you as they have done for me and so many other .

 

^^^ ordinarily I'd go with your suggestion. but he won't realistically be getting a car until sometime probably mid- to late '21. maybe that's too strong but give me another guess as to when he could realistically expect a new, ordered with his options, '21.

 

I would push GM hard. Just tell them no more troubleshooting, you expect a new transmission. They need to send a tech out to help install it and this is something you expect done in a week or less. They can overnight a transmission and it does not take more than a couple of days to swap it out. It's seems silly that they are just sitting on your issue.

At some point you may need to bring up a buyback and look at your states lemon laws. Typically if the dealer has your car for more than 30 days for the same issue many states have lemon law protections.

 

Thank you, really appreciate the contact info.

 

Yes, this is the dilemma. How long will it take to get another Corvette? My guess is that unless I am willing to pay over sticker or make it a full-time job calling dealerships looking for someone that backed out that it would take 12+ months to get another car.

 

unless, unless you hook up with one of the top 3 or 4 sellers of new Corvettes who may have models for themselves---their showrooms which they will sell. trouble is, you take what options they wanted (usually, pretty much everything on it), what color they wanted, etc. and then, YOUR number to buy it becomes pretty large, too, for items you may not want and potentially in a color you didn't want. not good.

still, as a suggestion, I might try what "thrill" is saying. I might also call and talk with the best of the best at Criswell, Kerbeck, etc. and see what they might have incoming or their "process" to get you into a car, maybe even the car of your choice! can't hurt to ask!

 

Over the past week I have talked to a few dealers, including a couple of very large ones. Every dealer I called was understanding and nice, felt bad about the situation, but to them I was a new buyer like any other buyer. My original purchase was at a mid-sized dealer and they also said they would help any way they can, but again, they have a long list of potential buyers. All of the dealers are sensitive to their existing purchaser base. One dealer specifically told me that GM could solve the problem if they wanted and that I should be having the conversation with GM. GM has in the past and has the ability to add 1 new car to their production schedule at some point in the coming planning weeks and swapping my car out under the Lemon Law stipulations.

Current problem I have is an inability to get in touch with anyone at GM that has any authority to have any of these kinds of conversations. I was given a good contact today, and hopefully will get a call from my open customer care case. But, to date, even though I have asked repetitively to multiple dealerships for a GM contact no one has been willing to provide me with one.

 

Is the car being serviced at Rick Hendricks or Coggin in Florida? I have always had great results with Coggin.

 

The car is at Rick Hendrick Norfolk. Hard to justify the cost I would incur to ship the vehicle back to Coggin and Hendrick told me that it would be completely on my dime to do that.

 

I would say if you cannot get any headway with GM to respond you can try Mary Barra. Others on this forum have had luck getting call backs from someone up the chain when they escalate to her.
Mary.Barra@GM.com

 

I have a good history with Rick Hendrick in Norfolk. Chuck is the head Corvette technician and knows his stuff. My one complaint is that the front end of service has a lot of turn-over and they're not user friendly. In the time I owned my C7 I had 3 different service advisors vs. the MB store down the street where my wife and I have had the same advisor for 7 years. Chevy you have to fight for a loaner and get a POS. Mercedes you walk in, throw them the keys, and in 5 minutes you're out driving something that's often newer and nicer than what you dropped off.

You may want to contact the GM of the store directly; Wes McCullar is his name. Seems like a straight shooter in my dealings with him and he's really been trying to drive Corvette sales at this store. I often joke with my sales rep that being able to service Corvettes and properly mange our expectations (the owners) is as important to sales as the front end sales experience. Peace of mind knowing I can drop off my car and it will be taken care of is worth a lot to me.

 

Good info, thank you. I have spoke to Chuck and he seems pretty good, but ultimately he is waiting on GM to provide him guidance.

I imagine if I don't hear from GM within a day or two I will see if I can get in touch with Wes.

Thanks...

 

So now when you go to sell the CARFAX is going to State you needed and replace the new transmission that alone is going to cost you a financial hit I tell GM do even trade you for a ZO6

 

I had my C7 in there for more than just basic oil changes and I'm a perfectionist and normally do my own work (built and raced C5s for years). I had an O2 sensor fail and my cooling fan failed. Not terribly hard stuff, but checking behind everything was tightened at spec, nothing was broken and the big one for me was on the O2 sensor. Normally you have to lower the cradle to drop the exhaust manifold to swap it. Chuck had a way to do it with the exhaust still in the car, but it's very tight. I track my cars so I requested they make sure they get the heat shielding on the wires all back in place properly. He had everything back in it's exact spot and every snap fastened... all in an area I couldn't even get my hand into. So after that experience and seeing they didn't just shove it back together I trust Chuck to work on my Corvettes for warranty work.

 

CDqD1KV_d.webp

 

Lemon law the car.

 

You're assuming these balloon heads are correct in their diagnosis that the issue is the transmission. What happens if they swap transmissions and it doesn't fix the problem? They'll have his car for a year!

 

Respectfully, I know the techs at this dealership and they're not "balloon heads". Sometimes strange stuff happens. The dealership has to follow GM's protocols so they can get paid for their work. You think they want a car tying up a service bay for a month? GM will probably need to send engineers out.

OP is in a pickle... under normal circumstances he should lemon law the car, but that will mean going another year w/o a C8. The car will get fixed and will end up sold.