Demand for the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is astronomical. That makes sense considering its unique powertrain, aerodynamics, and low production numbers. For one owner, the dream of ownership ended just 52 miles into the journey, and days after engine failure things are only getting worse.
A few days back we told you about Z06 buyer Marco Garcia who experienced engine failure on his way home from the dealer with just 52 miles on the odometer. Now, he’s providing an update and despite paying a big markup on this car, he has yet to receive much help from the dealer.
An update video details his struggle to get the car from one dealer, who has nothing to do with the car (but was available to accept the tow when the engine failed), to the one that sold him the car for some $180k+. Evidently, he had to work through the process almost entirely on his own.
More: Brand New 2023 Corvette Z06’s Engine Dies After Just 52 Miles
That hasn’t sat well with him. According to Garcia, he’s requested a full refund because he doesn’t want a “lemon”. To hear him tell it, the dealer has essentially ‘left him on read’ once he said that. He hasn’t heard anything back. We know that the car has finally made it back to the dealer but there’s little info on what’s happened since.
Among all of the other issues here let’s remember that this guy claims he paid the dealer around $50,000 in markup charges alone on this car. For all of that extra cash, the dealer is said to have told him to go somewhere else when he really needed them. Then, they informed him that they’d handle dealing with OnStar only to let him down.
“This is horrible service for a vehicle that costs this much,” says Garcia. He even makes fun of the shop for “trying to charge 100-grand markups on these things” and having a word-mark on their stationary that says “the store that saves you more.”
For those who feel like this is on Garcia for ragging the car out before the break-in period was over, here’s what he says… “I was not doing anything stupid in the car… I did a couple of small pulls with the sales guy in the car… nothing crazy… I know how to break these things in… it’s 500 miles… if you’re gonna take it to the track it’s 1,500 miles… so yes, I was just driving normally.”
We’ve reached out to him to get some more information on the situation. Chevrolet is certainly going to tear this engine apart to figure out what is causing the wild noise that it’s making. To our ears, it actually sounds like it could be an ancillary part though, and maybe not something inside of the block itself.
So, What’s The Deal?
Could it be that Garcia is over blowing the whole situation for likes or views? Sure, the Z06 does end up driving up the tow truck ramp under its own power, but it’s just as possible if not more likely that there’s a real problem deep inside of the drivetrain. The biggest question that we don’t have an answer to is whether or not this is an isolated incident or something that may affect more C8 Z06s.