cherrybombking

This is mostly for me to vent, but thanks in advance if you are reading.

I took delivery of a 24 2LT Z51 HTC on April 16th from Coughlin Automotive in Pataskala. Knowing what I know now, I would have made a different dealer decision. I chose them because they were in driving distance and could get an allocation pretty quickly. I would not call it a good experience, the salesman didn't seem interested in returning my calls or emails once the order had been placed. Questions like "what time would you be available for a call?" and "who do I have the cashier's check made out to?" went completely unanswered. I didn't expect to pick it up the day it came off the truck, however being ignored for almost 2 weeks was a frustrating start. But we (wife and I) eventually got the car and it is gorgeous and exactly what we wanted.

Got the car home, 206 miles on the odometer, and notice a check engine light. Which I thought had to be my mind playing tricks on me, I'd just picked up my dream car, perhaps I was feeling woozy. I woke up the next day and the CEL was still on. The Coughlin service department doesn't return calls either, apparently. OnStar confirmed the CEL, codes P0700, P0849 and P02715, all transmission.

I'd seen several of Horsepower Obsessed's videos and knew that Cochran Chevrolet had a corvette tech, so I called them. Unfortunately the woman running the phones didn't know despite me telling her what it was, and scheduled me for the local GMC service center. Which seemed weird, but I am brand new baby vette owner, maybe they knew something I was unaware of? They didn't. Upon arriving at the GMC service center I was looked at as though I had landed a spacecraft and given my keys right back, told "We can't work on this", they weren't able to tell me who could. So I drive the 12 miles back to my house, now in rush hour traffic, in rain, in my dream car that has less than 250 miles on it. Onstar was fantastic , when I asked them to find me a dealer with a Corvette tech they called Coughlin and waited through all the menus and transfers to finally connect me with the service manager at Cochran Chevrolet and I drove there immediately.

They admitted it and gave me a loaner for the day. A few hours they called, diagnosed it as "possible normal debris in valve body from assembly.", all fluids and circuits tested normal and asked if they could road test it, about 10 miles. Tested fine, worked great, I picked the car back up the same day.

40 miles later, 317 odometer, the CEL returns. Onstar gave me codes P0700 and P2818, transmission again. On my way back to Cochran the dash displays "rear axle system off" for the 3rd time but it continues to drive fine, acts as normal as I know it to be. Dropped the car off on 4/29 in the morning and as of 5/1 evening the only information I have is that Technical Assistance Center had them test circuits, which tested ok, and they are awaiting further feedback from the TAC, possibly elevating to a brand specialist.

At the moment I am feeling super disheartened. Of the 372 miles currently on the car, 280 of them are driving to or from a dealer or service center. I've wanted a corvette since I was 10 years old, spent the last 4 years researching, waiting, planning. It was a huge decision for me, one that I questioned myself a great deal on, justified it as "you only get so long, why not enjoy it?". To have it go sideways from the beginning and be having the exact opposite experience of enjoyment makes me think it was a mistake.

Anyway, I'll post updates as I have them. Finger crossed.

TallGuyCorvette

Painful way to be introduced to the brand, especially for a new owner. Hope everything works out for you man. Good luck!

C8Rob

Well, this really sucks for you and the Corvette brand. Sadly, plenty of other new C8 owners have had problems as well. Best wishes for a satisfactory resolve. Don't hesitate to elevate your complaints to GM upper management if you don't get the service you need.

rfkirk

I can only imagine who the salesperson was............

Sorry you are having this much trouble, I hope the the service dept and GM get this fixed for you pronto!

cherrybombking

You are hilarious and also correct. Thanks for the thoughts! I am definitely doubting many things at the moment, hopefully all works out.

rfkirk

Yeah, I used to follow him online. I sent him an innocuous question about my order (with another dealer) that had gotten held up for "constraints" after GM had accepted my order. He proceeded to cherry pick my words and blasted me in his weekly online posting. That was the last time I bothered to listen to him. As a people far wiser than me used to say “caveat emptor”.

peter pan

I am bummed for you and hope it all works out for you

photon arbiter

I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this. I had an issue at around 1,000 miles with my convertible top getting stuck in place. It was full sailboat through Long Island. It took two weeks to get it back, I haven't had a problem in the last 5,500 miles. Fingers crossed they can sort this out quickly.

JABCAT

Very sorry about your experience. I have to ask, in all your research did you happen to read the mountain of posts about transmission issues? Having owned many GM vehicles over the years, I hate to tell you that this isn't unheard of, and the fact that GM hasn't addressed the ongoing transmission issues 5 model years in is their typical MO.

I hope it's a quick fix for you & you experience no further issues.

Vetteman Jack

Hope you can get the issues with the car solved soon and can get back to enjoying your dream car.

Waterline

The first time mine even hiccups it's going to be sold. I can't believe the poor quality of American cars. I've never had a Toyota go back for warranty work of any kind. 2007 Toyota Tundra 4x4 and never one problem in 17 years. My wife commented the other day that she couldn't tell the engine was running, it was so smooth. A Lexus LC500 is my next weekend car. Has a 5.0 and only 17 HP less than the C8. Go figure.

I hope you get the problem solved quickly and best of luck with your GM product.

24RiptideBlue

Really sorry you are having issues… anytime I see a thread like this I’m indignant for you and want everyone to have “waited all my life” experience they always dreamed of. It may take a while but it will get sorted… but the most important thing is do NOT doubt yourself! You always wanted one. You made sacrifices to buy it. You will end up with an awesome car. No matter what you have to deal with (and I hope it’s very little) if you didn’t buy the car you have zero chance of achieving your dream.

They owe you a gorgeous corvette that you can depend on. It will happen. Sorry for the aggravation.

24RiptideBlue

The quality issues bother me…. My daily is a baby AMG and it’s rock solid. It hasn’t been perfect but real close. I also love the LC 500. My family abandoned gm for Lexus 20 years ago and not one Lexus has ever been back to the dealer for anything except the annual oil change. They never break. Ever. It amazing.

Kevin A Jones

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Hopefully you will get past this and never have another issue. These sportscars are very good quality for the most part.

Roadee

My story is almost identical to yours down to a T, The valve body solenoid was sticking a bit and originally said I may need a new valve body so well they ordered the parts I kept driving as the car seemed to drive fine and100 miles later CEL went off no more rear axle errors. I have about 1000 miles on it now and the car is working great so my advice would be stick with it before you let them tear it apart. It was just some debris that had to be picked by the filter im confident yours is the same.

C5racecar

Bummer dude. We picked up our 23 from Criswell in Maryland and drove to North Carolina, then west to Oregon. I'm glad we did not have those kind of problems on the road.
I have to say, Aundre at Criswell was awesome. Everything he said about costs was right on. His estimates about timing were accurate, and I could always reach him within a day or two.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a sales guy that did not communicate. It is stressful enough when everything is right.

After four years of production, you would think that they would have the bugs worked out of the transmission, but they keep coming back.
I think we all have those fears about ordering a new car. After years of planning, did I get the right options, will it be here on time. Will everything work right on the car?
Then to have a problem and a dealership nightmare really makes you question your decision.

One year and 6500 miles on my car and no problems. I hope they get your car fixed soon so you can enjoy the summer.
Once it is running I'm sure you will agree this is the best car you ever had.

cherrybombking

I absolutely did and knew it was a possibility, but logic only goes so far in purchases like this. Call me crazy but I'd had hoped to own it for more than 8 hours before having issues.

Too true! My other vehicles are a 2006 Accord, a 2007 and a 2010 Element, none of which have thrown a code in the combined years I've owned them. Knock on wood.


Thanks again for all the thoughts! Not the way I had hoped to introduce myself to the forum, but you play the hand you are dealt.

kong

I have a trouble free 2020. I feel like I have been lucky. Would like to get a Eray but just do not trust GM enough to buy another Corvette

jagtoes

I would have taken the car back the next day . Don't need to waste time calling. If service didn't take the car in I would look for the dealers GM and had a chat with him. Before I move on to another dealer which I have done make sure you let the selling dealer understand why. Good luck.

lion shf

I’m so buying a Porsche