Chevy Dealer Service Technicians Joyride In Customer’s C8 Corvette: Video
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It seems like everyone is trying to get behind the wheel of the new C8 Corvette these days. And for good reason – with its mid-mounted, naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 LT2 engine, the eighth-gen Corvette has the goods to deliver a lot of fun. That said, you should always ask before driving someone else’s car, something a few Chevy dealer service technicians failed to do before taking a customer’s ride out for a spin up to 104 mph, as seen in the following video.
The video is pretty long, clocking in at over 30 minutes, and includes commentary from the owner as well as the entirety of the technicians’ joyride. The video was posted by YouTube user Jaysmizle, whose videos GM Authority has covered previously. For those who may not remember, Jaysmizle has had more than a few problems with his C8 Corvette in the past, including an odd glitch in the car’s infotainment system that displayed the Cadillac logo on startup. Other issues have included a problem with the actuator for the hood latch, and various other electronic errors.
This latest issue, however, has nothing to do with the C8 Corvette, but rather the folks assigned to work on it. After getting his car back from some routine maintenance, the owner noticed that his car had quite a few more miles on it than expected. After checking the onboard Performance Data Recorder, he discovered that the Chevy dealer service technicians who worked on his car had taken it for a joyride, accelerating up to 104 mph on the highway.
For those that don’t know, the Performance Data Recorder captures high-definition video using a front-facing camera, with overlays displaying critical data like engine rpm, lateral acceleration, and vehicle speed. Designed primarily for track days, the system can also be used to document street driving – even if the owner isn’t behind the wheel.
Understandably, Jaysmizle isn’t happy about the situation. Check out the full video below:
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This is not a Chevy problem this is a Hendricks Chevy problem. The dealer is at fault and is the responsible party here.
#1 Cheech and Chong here need to be shown the door.
#2 the customer should be given an apology and should be compensated in some way.
#3 Note a reasonable compensation. Nothing was damaged here so it is not a fatal blow here but they owe him something for the miss behavior.
#4 The dealer needs to review management as to how things like this happen and take steps to make sure this is will not happen again.
The dealer could up grade him to a better Vette if he is willing to wait and take this one back and come out pretty even as used prices are high. This way he could get more options or even a O6. But that may take a while with all the back orders.
I appreciate the info from the video. Love my 2020 and I’m a 74 single woman that had no knowledge about the per. Hope for better luck at the next dealership.
Whats your insta?
This is why Dealerships need to go out of business across America.
This incident is just one in a long long LONG list of unethical, fraudulent, dishonest, and shady crap happening at car dealerships.
This is typical from auto work shops. At 18 I owned 58 impala convert. Drove out and wheel lug nuts snapped after the bozo’s over torqued the lug nuts. I am now 80 and still do my own maintenance and invested in a decent tool box. Had to take the car in fir new tires last year. Yep, screwed a simple task once again. Over tourqed lug nuts once again not by accident. Warped rotors by design to keep their business base up with rotor job or outright replacement once the warping gradually comes on. How many people are screwed the same way without realizing what they are doing to you. Invest in a good spanner wrench next time to check the bozos and confirm what my experience has been over the years. Bad news folks!
As far as the guys vette, have that Hendricks guy give that guy one of his collector corvettes that he buys at Barrett Jackson each year for big bucks. You know, those new ones with VIN 0001, and make the person good while Mr. HENDRICKS gets the message to hire ethical mechanics being paid something more than minimum wage and most likely a south american education (grammar school if they have it down there). Then we all get to see how that owner really is concerned about that vette owner and his reputation as a dealer for General Motors.
Sad state of affairs but not an isolated case folks.
Auto mechanics don’t get paid minimum wage.
Biggest problem I have seen over the years are repair shops who charge people who are not mechanically inclined for parts or labor for work that was not needed and was not done.
But most shops are filled with people who are like most – pleasant, they enjoy their work and like the satisfaction of helping people.
Two instances I experienced: Some locales require mechanics to offer return of replaced parts so the customer can see the work was done. I took my Oldsmobile for a tuneup (yes, this was decades ago), and the parts handed back were what one would expect: plugs, points, condenser, and I was told the car needed the distributor cap replaced due to carbon tracking.
Fine.
But, that was the first time I saw that diameter of thread on an Oldsmobile plug, breaker points from a Ford, and the distributor cap from a 6-cylinder Chrysler engine, when my Olds had a V8.
The second instance was when a Goodyear service department said I needed parts replaced in the front end that, on that make and model, didn’t even exist.
No need to bring your racism into the conversation
A C8 customer has faith in the dealer. A test-drive is one thing and to be expected. However, a Corvette owner expects and often receives a little extra. Employees of the dealership who had the car for maintenance/business services, however, took the car on a 104 mile per hour joyride, without permission. Perhaps this does not rise to the level of a criminal joy ride. That would take the determination of the police on whether or not they would take a report, and a prosecuting attorney as to whether they would prosecute. However, tradition and the fine print in the service contract would work together along with the Common Law to determine the obvious. Civil liability has been incurred here. Proper recompense for this conduct will ultimate be up to the C8/owner-victim and what he might expect from this dealer. The same goes for the employees who “stole” the car or misappropriated it for a time. This car is a magnet for whoever can get ahold of an example and further words to the wise likely need not be wasted to protect one’s pride and joy.
Are we sure? Could this not be an advertisement for a website? Great click bait – guys take out a C8 they have access to and look what it can do!
It is unpleasant when you take a car to be worked on, you pay a stiff bill, you take the car home and just before you arrive you discover the same problem is there or a new problem has appeared. Seems like that would be unlikely after this test drive. The car was in the shop for a week? So it had some issues. It was not a “random dude” who was driving the car, it was a mechanic who has experience and can smell problems. Fifteen miles is a reasonable test drive. Aside from the brief heavy foot.
I agree with jginNj, I didn’t see car abuse, and the normal way in which the car was driven shows he was just making sure it didn’t have any malfunctioning after driven for a few miles. That mechanic can test drive my C8 anytime, of course when I finally get it!
What did he take it in for?
Article said routine maintenance so I would assume nothing that required 104 mph test drive lol.
multiple lights and codes and he even said the center console needed to be disassembled and modules replaced. 15 mile road test is justified, 100+ mph not justified. passengers in the vehicle not needed at all.
This probably happens more often than we realize regardless of dealership or make. A service tech should have known better than to think he could get away with a joy ride in a car equipped with a data recorder.
It’s not just the PDR equipped cars, OnStar Smart Driver is a free feature on all recent GM vehicles. Excess speed, acceleration and braking is all logged and available on the mobile app. Both tech’s product knowledge is zilch.
I could make many comments about the idiots that work at this dealership. However the author’s speaking skills made it painful to listen to. I would not comment except that he states he has made many videos. If that is the case he needs to polish his commentary so it flows.
Not just a car, im sorry and frankly it doesnt matter if its a beater or a brand new corvette no one should be driving a vehicle without the owners PRIOR knowledge of it period
Read the repair order you sign, it authorizes them to drive the car at your risk.
Explain to me where it states they can talk trash about the owner and go over the speed limit. Didnt think so.
Clearly speeding is a traffic violation. It’s something the police should address if they were to catch the act. As for trash talking, that’s a protected 1st amendment act everyone in the US can enjoy.
Trash talking cuts both ways.
The dealership has much more to lose than the owner of this C8 vette
Uhh, no. ReD the 1st Amendment. CONGRESS shall make no law… There is nothing in that Amendment to prevent the dealer from sacking the employee over such talk. The employee represents the dealer while on the job.
This isn’t a joy ride but merely only mechanics checking their work as they do, everyday, everywhere. The driver appears to be abiding by most laws as well -aside from a little bit of a heavy pedal from time to time. Nothing unusual here. Owner is over-reacting. I hope this over-reaction didn’t get those guys fired.
Ok, throw me the keys to your ride then, see if you say the same thing. Did hear what they were saying also. No hablo Spanglish?
Corvette owners comparing their cars to Ferrari’s I’ve seen that way too much if you want it treated like a ferrari take it to the ferrari dealer and let them laugh at you! Those guys are trying to learn about an fix another chevy pos probably a little under trained an under payed to care much about there jobs seems like but that’s most dealerships why the boxes have wheels
Too bad Pontiac does exist this is a great fiero 2.0 an 80k can’t buy a good chevy truck any more you really think it buys a good sports car Mr ferrari want a be
get over it already,those guys did not abuse the car in anyway.i thought we were going to see burnout at six plus grand RPM and donuts in the parking lot for crying out loud. And far as the 103mph,I run mine up to around 150mph every time I get in the dam thing.that what its for. A high performance toy.
Ken, since your so nice, how about giving me the keys to your C8 or do u drive a prius? Everyone is all communist tree hugging when its not their vehicle, but get their latte wrong and they blow a gasket. Zero cares for personal property. Whatever happened to pride of work and ownership.
its a high priced toy, you cant afford one or your wife drives it. even if it is a track toy, its not theirs to drive it like that. Those POS need the boot ,
Dude, 4 comments blindly supportive of the mechanics posted in a row, 3 of them posted with legit sounding First-Last names, all written with the same language style. You’re falling for badly written fake posts.
Your a moron if you think they didn’t abuse his car. First, it was there for general service. There is no need for a test drive unless the customer is complaining about an issue that requires a road test. Second, the speed even though nothing for a vette puts other drivers at risk. Even though he signed a contract that would allow them to road test the car it doesn’t give them permission to break the law even if the customer says “my car makes funny noises above 100mph” so the dumb techs decide to drive it that fast or faster and let’s say lose control and kill themselves or another driver. No where in the service contract does it allow for that. Needless to say I’ve had my 2015 Z51 in for service and got it back with an empty tank, huge rock chip in the paint, and a warped set of rotors. Unfortunately mine didn’t have forward facing camera and the pdr is only active when I turn it on. Bringing this up to the service mgr they only turned the rotors and replaced the gas. They tried to use the crap white out they call chip repair but I declined. And last but not least, if this car was under the burn in period where your not supposed to drive it hard, the dealership may have just voided his manufacturer warranty. Not sure the milage limits on a 2020 though. So before you comment on how you feel someone didn’t do what they’re concerned about think twice. Mostly this driver feels betrayed and helpless. If it weren’t for his pdr he couldn’t find out why his car has extra miles or what kind of damage they may have done to his vehicle if he didn’t have the PDR. Either way I’m sure you wouldn’t want some asshats joyriding in your car after keeping it for a week because your cupholder was loose in your civic.
multiple lights and codes and he even said the center console needed to be disassembled and modules replaced. 15 mile road test is justified, 100+ mph not justified. passengers in the vehicle not needed at all.
burn in period? the car limits the rpms electronically until its broken in.
facts are facts, but you opinion is showing. they screwed up. they are dumb and will be fired. its not a wide spread issue. sorry about your rotors and paint?
Seemed like normal test drive after having the car for a week. If they didn’t test drive it, he would complain about that. Wants reimbursement for $4 gallon of gas ? Glad he’s not my customer.
Nope, As a former Chevrolet Tech myself, this is totally out of line. If the car was brought in for a long drive problem, that is different. These guys need to be fired.
I have a Chevy Camaro 2013 as 30000 miles have had it dealer services since new they have test drove my car I know because I wait while it’s serviced. Never any problems and could care less if the trash talk me. Excellent service every time.
The technicians in question did what just about any technician will do working at any dealership taking it on a simple test drive with a little bit of joy is part of the job if you don’t understand that you shouldn’t bring the car back to a dealer or anywhere else that you plan on leaving your keys
Discount social media reputation management firm at work!
How much did you get paid?
Love how everyone is not a big deal. The Hell its not!! Its $80k car with 25hr meatheads joy riding in it. Has anyone translated what they were saying? Not good at all. Calling the ower all bunch of bad words and “Oh WE WILL take care of it” was the icing on the cake. Fire those douche bags.
FIRED!! Instant firing is in order.. and they should give you at least one full year extra warranty coverage on that vehicle for free.
They didn’t appeae to damage the car. Sometimes police catch drivers doing this sometimes they don’t. No burnouts, no launching or hard cornering. The engine tires and brakes are all relatively unaffected.
Granted it’s your baby of a car, but it is built for speed and they merely did a check at a fraction of the cars capability.
I wouldn’t like it if they raced my car around. Generally speaking they didn’t drive it hard.
Yes a fraction of the cars capability, but I doubt it was a fraction of the tech who drove its capability to drive over 100 mph
As a technician I know for a fact that any customer who brings his car to me to fix I test drive I have to make sure that what is fixed is properly bolted no other noises no other shakes any complaints it comes back to me and I do it for free I don’t work for free
This happened to me when I bought my C6 ZO6. I happened to get one of the first ZO6 off the lot and so my car was still a novelty of sorts. I took the car in for ROUTINE service at dealership where I bought car. When I got it back it had 124 miles more on the odometer. I was so angry thinking back to the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off movie when the things take an expensive Ferrari for a joy ride. So, yep this happens all the time. No mechanic should take a car out for a joy ride. A joy ride is not a test drive. There is a big difference. So you guys (mechanics) commenting on here that it is an understandable thing to do need to be fired. Period. Long story short, I never got even an apology from the Brown and Brown dealership in Mesa AZ. Needless to say, they are no longer a dealership. You better take care of your customers or you won’t have them! This dealership too has forgotten this little fact.
Well said! I agree with you 10000%! The dealership is NOT Late Model Racecraft! They dont need to do 60-100 shakedowns.
I live in the Bay Area, and the utter disrespect for customers property is mind boggling. Also What goes for craftsmanship today is utter worthless, same goes for car mechanics. My good friend took his BMW 5 series in for heating issues cost about 3-5k and had it towed back the next day.
Was it brought back with an Ultimate Towing Machine?
Buy a Ford GT if you want a real supercar douchebag. Trying to be He-man on a super douche budget Those guys make less than 80k a year. Let them have some fun. I’m sure your kids scooters in the garage never tag the side of it either.
I have been a corvette mechanic for over 40 plus years u are a making this to be a beat your corvette to death thing it was a normal road test I have driven corvettes much harder that that also it was meant To run much faster and full throttle he did not do any burnout or slam the car into hard bends like I would of u should brought a Chevrolet sprint and I hope no one will ever fix your corvette again the Chevrolet dealer is knowing around the corvette world wiper your tears from your eyes wake and get a new job Take your corvette and trade it in on a Ford Mustang u will be happy have a nice day
I am a seven year certified mechanic I’m certified and r&r that’s rip out replace there’s nothing I do not know about vehicles you can hold up a boat or not just a screw from interior I can tell you exactly where it came from what year the damn thing come from I work in many shops or I always lead mechanic or supervisor I’m tired of training supervision employment behavior scheduling I came to the best of my building so that they make sure the customer and then come in the shops to the best of their ability because the name on the building is what matters that’s true that’s our paycheck that never mistreated a customer or a car I encourage all mechanics and my students to be mechanic soon a thorough test drive must be performed after every work completion that worked like it must not be signed until that test drive has been accomplished over checked work afterwards sign a ticket put it back in the box enjoy your conversation with your customer and go to the next one I will say that I encourage faster work ethics when it comes to nurses doctors and war vet these are people that perform duties for other people so if they’re late someone else is suffering because these people aren’t at work or can’t get there I will work all weekend long as my own time to make sure I nurse has her vehicle to drive to work on Monday I will leave my wife and kids for the weekend to do as I please and I will stay on that car or truck until it is completed to the best of my ability I see nothing wrong with the way these men took this vehicle for a test drive that is not where their fault the subject of conversation that is a different matter you do not fit on your table where you eat this company signs your paycheck whether you’re at work or on your day off around your home in the neighborhood everyone knows where you can work if you have any kind of correspondence with neighbors or owner association everyone around you who knows where you work do you work for you’re always the representative of where you work no matter where you are who you work for you should always conduct yourself in the proper manner of which that shows and inspires good expectations and behaviors from others the lessons of teaching those behind us the better way i so they don’t make things they learn much quicker and it instills good work ethic which in return passes to the next man to the next man on and on people come in and see that in your shops or supervising from a pool service company tomorrow his crew better be on their toes cuz there’s going to be a morning meeting that meeting is going to explain how he wants things now he wants to see them from now on because he came at your shop and sing the excellence in which your crew and staff exerted in his presence everyone understand how it passes on to the next man to the next man whether he works for you or another company and then his kids come for work day from school as a project his kids see how he’s highly respected and admired about the staff and customers alike everyone understand teaching from man to man to child you have a better society for workers who inspired greatness from each other police each other have your coworkers back student of eye drop this wedding ring down the intake of a motor one man makes a mistake four men pitched in their weekend time pull that motor disassemble it reattain the ring gave it back to the student unstratched and damaged because they never turned over the motor I happily can tell you the car went out Monday has scheduled to the customer has not been back since the boy is still married and now has three children with the same woman one is a boy who spent most of his time with his dad at his shop at home after school but not before homework has been done completely and checked by Mom and Dad then he may enter the shop the sun does not get good grades you may not enter the South during the specify time the punishment
I agree with most of what you said, but a 100 mph joyride in a 80k car is not a shakedown nor is
It justified. The dealership is not LMR or Texas
Speed. They need to be fired. Lack of respect for the customer & his private property is definitely
A friend In society as a whole.
I have one word for you paragraphs
Don’t forget commas and periods.
You like to hear yourself think toooooo much. STFU, next time darling.
You also have, apparently, been through menopause. Nary a single period in your rant.
24yr tech here. Your first 3 lines proved you don’t know as much as you think you do about vehicles. Some of the worst techs I’ve met had egos as big as yours. And for the love of god, use some punctuation!
That’s the longest “sentence” I’ve ever read.
You have just written the longest punctuation free, run on sentence in history !
Congratulations Mr. Slaten.
I had a Ford dealership mechanic take our new mustang out for about 40 miles when all they needed to do was drive around the building because my complaint was a squeaking noise front right when going slow and turning the wheel. They offered me a tank of gas. It’s just an eco boost with a nice package so not really sure why they drove so far. Maybe they went to lunch
Did you find fast-food wrappers, or greasey finger marks on the touch screen?
Sabotage?
If the person that posted this wasn’t a YouTuber, I’d believe this story. YouTubers/Social Media stars/Influencers always have these stories for views. If this truly happened, take it up with the dealer and shut up. Why would the World Wide Web need to know or care? Especially since nothing even happened in the video. I was expecting a totaled car or something worthy talking about. Again, they do this for clout, views and the money they make for posting this. Don’t believe any of it. #Staged
Exact reason why I refuse to touch corvettes @ the dealership I work at. I obviously don’t know the exact repair that was done to permit a 20 mile test drive but when I do large repairs on diesel trucks, and hybrid vehicles they get a 15 mile test drive. Trucks normally get hard acceleration up hill to simulate towing and hybrids/electric vehicles I try to create a maximum draw on the battery pack as well as decel with the most amount of regen braking to make sure everything is working properly and won’t present any further downtime for the customer. Complaining about the cost of fuel is mind boggling. The trash talk about the vehicle well everyone should know to not buy a first model year platform.
Some people, more than others, think of there cars like its there child especially a vet . these meat balls shouldn’t talk trash or drive above the posted speed limit . specially in a hypo .