Earlier in August, GM Authority brought you the story of a GM dealer tech who took a customer’s C8 Corvette for a joyride, even going so far as to engage in a street race with a Dodge Charger, hitting speeds of 148 mph on a crowded freeway. Now, it looks as though the customer will get a brand-new 2022 Corvette from the dealer.
First, a quick recap of what happened. As covered previously, a C8 Corvette Stingray owner brought their new ride in for service after hearing a strange engine noise. The issue stemmed from a loose spark plug, which was an easy fix. However, the GM dealer technician that performed the repair wound up taking the customer’s car for an “extended test drive,” speeding the mid-engine Chevy on public roads and even hitting nearly 150 mph on the highway while racing a Dodge Charger.
Unsurprisingly, the entire affair was captured on the C8 Corvette Performance Data Recorder, and was promptly uploaded to social media.
Now, however, the customer will receive a brand-new 2022 Corvette from the dealer. According to a recent report from The Drive, the customer was contacted by the dealer hoping to make amends for the tech’s wild test drive.
“The owner of the family of dealerships reached out to me…and I’m laying in bed and he texts me at 9 at night or something, just apologizing profusely and saying he wants to make this right,” the customer told The Drive. “And then [he offers] me a 2022 [Corvette], and that was pretty shocking. I followed up with [the dealership’s general manager] the next morning and said ‘hey, when can we meet?’”
After arriving at the dealership the next day, the general manager met with the customer and presented him with completed paperwork, ready to order his new 2022 Corvette.
“We configured my 2022 together, [and] he let me push the submit button so my order is in with GM,” the customer said. To sweeten the deal, the new ride will even come with the front lift feature and upgraded seats, two options his previous C8 Corvette did not have.
The customer says he’s very happy with the resolution.
“It’s not about the money, it’s not about anything else,” said dealer owner Inder Dosanjh in an interview with The Drive. “We do good [financially], we’ve got enough stores. This is about fixing the problem right.”
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Comments
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So some schmuck can’t even fix a loose spark plug in his own vehicle then gets mad when it goes for a test drive 🤣
What do you drive a Pinto? These are not inexpensive or easy cars to work on. No excuse for what the technician did. A friend of mine had a similar situation at a dealership with his Corvette years ago. After dropping his vehicle off, he waited for his ride home. One of the techs jumped in his car with his girlfriend and was taking her out for dinner. Test ride understandable, joy rides are not.
Lol Jesus you think a corvette is expensive 🤣🤡 you are broke have better ambitions in life
As a hard core track guy, whenever we have a track events, those who dare show-up with a Ferrari have a 50% chance of it going home on a flatbed trailer. This might be anecdotal, but it’s funny to watch. Almost never happens to Porsches or Corvettes.
You might be the 🤡🤡, because the average American new car loan is again creeping-up to 84 months.
You know the old saying “ a person who constantly talks and brags about money usually has none”
The B.S. ers are usually the ones which are broke or drowning in debt. They’re the first ones to blow-up when the economy goes South.
Blow up like GM did? And beg for money from the tax payer then not pay it back because Obama put $13.7B in a escrow account to pay all the legal proceedings but that’s the money GM used to pay back the tax payer loan. Is that what you mean by blow up?
Deeznutz,
Everything you just wrote is complete B.S. Writing such nonsense makes you either extremely gullible, uninformed or just plain stupid. Or all of the above.
Bert,
He is just upset that his raise at Walmart still won’t cover his Toyota payment.
It’s really amazing how much Walmart and Toyota are now part of many American’s lives now. And they were nothing in America 50 years ago. These outfits did their homework.
These days, the rage is for dollar stores which are growing like crazy in the US. I can’t believe that people are buying all their food from there.
Bert would you like to look it up? You really wanna claim Obama did not put $13.7 billion in an escrow account for them?
I love seeing you trashy trump supporters try to throw insults it’s very funny. Just a pleasant reminder of the human waste you all are.
What does Trump have to do with this page? WOW ! You need treatment for TDS !
A Ferrari is a poor mans Bugatti
I bet you have never even seen a bugatti outside of pix on the internet.
Considering the price of cars on the used market, benefits the dealer here
Agreed, no hit to the dealership, but a nice Win-Win scenario. We could use more of that.
Dealer should memorialize this situation and use it to his advantage as a marketing tool. Put this Corvette on display in his showroom with a big screen tv monitor behind it playing the drive action of the C8.
From all bad things come good things.
Kudos and accolades to the dealer for this jesture. Make some hay from this situation.
Inder Dosanjh and his Bay Area Automotive Group should also have an online auction of this C8 Corvette. With a reasonable reserve for this infamous, now famous Corvette. Maybe Jay Leno will add it to his collection along with a giant screen monitor behind it playing the road action. The car and video in combination would be a priceless display and real head turner at his car museum in Burbank.
I bet there’s a newly unemployed technician too.
He got a job the same day at another dealer due to Technician Shortage.
I doubt very much if there is another Chevrolet dealer in the country that would do this. Kudos to them for doing the right thing.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they are taking his old Corvette in on trade, it doesn’t become much of a net loss for the dealer, if any at all. Still a pretty nice thing to do, but definitely not a big loss for the store, and who knows how long the guy is going to have to wait to get the 2022.
The good thing for the guy is that they are letting him keep his car until the new one comes in. It’s a win-win situation for him.
A good deal.
doesn’t say if he fired the tech. I would have made that request number one in getting my 2022, if they ever build it, maybe you can pick it up in Europe, or China. At least this owner knows there was a problem but bet nothing would have happen if it had not made the internet
The dealer did the right thing
Something like that would NEVER happen at my local gm dealer–the joyride probably wouldn’t happen either, but there’s no way they’d go this far out of their way to make amends with a customer.
Great end to a terrible situation. Too bad there is no comment on the outcome of the technician.
I leave the PDR on in my C8 all the time – ESPECIALLY when I leave it at the dealership. While I have some other issues with the dealership’s service department – the PDR has always shown nothing but the most appropriate and respectful test drives.
I am a GM tech that took the C8 for a test drive.
I didn’t get fired but they had me take unpaid time off ( 2 week’s) till they decided to keep me on. I am very humble and even a bit surprised that management retained my service. I will never “test drive” a vehicle like that again.
😂🤣😂. Nice try!
You’re luckier than you know. The community of dealer techs is smaller than you think. Had your employer not decided to give you a second chance, you would surely have been tainted for future prospects. But if you’re sincere about your new found respect for a customer’s car – you may also turn out to be that one-in-a-million honest and capable tech.
“you may also turn out to be that one-in-a-million honest and capable tech.”
I think that is a very stupid and unfair castigation of all auto techs, especially
New Car Dealer techs.
OK. I would acknowledge that 0ne-in-a-million is very exaggerated. Perhaps you’ve had better experiences from dealership service departments than I. Can’t remember the last time something wasn’t botched. My most recent dealer experience was an oil change on my C8 Corvette at the Chevy dealership where I bought it. Got it home, checked the oil, it was a quart over full. One could argue that’s not a big deal with a dry sump engine – but it’s just not right. Rather than drive the 50 miles back to the dealer, I rigged up a siphon pump and tubing to suck the extra quart out of the reservoir. Sorry if you don’t agree and, I too, really wish my experiences supported a better critique. My best experiences have been with independent shops,and I really believe that a lot has to do with how they get paid.
I can’t understand how you, as an adult, thought it was OK to street race a customer car. It also blows my mind that you raced on crowded streets, endangering dozens of people You need to work on both your ethics and reasoning skills. Good luck to you. ..really!
Well it’s none of your business why I thought it was ok now is it? Do I need to explain my reasons to a person why has absolutely nothing to do with the situation?
zero chance this is a note from the tech.
Who won the race?
In my many decades I’d buying cars and hearing of dealer foul-ups, I have never seen such decisive and fair actions by a dealer to make a customer happy after a foul-up. Kudos to the owner of the dealership. I hope he sells dozens of cars in response to his actions.
To make things even better and the RIGHT thing to do is the customer should be able to keep his abused C8 until his 2022 arrives, which could take some time to get built and delivered.
Now, I just need to get me a SD Card and figure out setting up my PDR before my C8 goes in for its first oil change.
They are letting him keep it until the new one arrives.
I love the C8 PDR.
And in “Valet mode”, the screen locks with a big message telling him he is being recorded!
I watched the Valet park my C8 last week taking 2 spaces. ..he was SOOOO Careful!! ha ha ha
Good grief what a jerk to take 2 parking spaces. What was he worried about it’s just plastic
It is obvious you don’t own one, and have hatred and jealousy for those that do. You are most likely the guy that keys other peoples cars in parking lots.
Lol I’m the guy that doesn’t park in the handicap spot because I’m not handicap I’m also the guy the doesn’t park over the line or take up 2 Spaces
With an Old dented up Ford Focus, I wouldn’t worry either.
Ive never owned a Ford but by all means keep staying on my nuts
Jimmy the man isn’t going to give you a ride in his corvette just because you are all up on his nuts