Here’s How GM Knows That Someone Flipped Their C8 Corvette Z06

GM can indeed void the warranty on flipped C8 Corvette Z06 models, and methods for getting around that aren’t terribly appealing.

GM – and the rest of the world that knows anything about cars – was acutely aware that once deliveries of the C8 Corvette Z06 began, many people would take advantage of the slanted supply-demand curve and flip them for a hefty profit. Heck, we saw this happen numerous times over the years with the regular old Stingray, after all. Thus, GM decided to go all-in and actually warn potential flippers that participating in such activities could void their warranty, though that hasn’t stopped some from selling their cars for a healthy profit, regardless. In this recent CorvetteForum post, a member who goes by alekscpi admitted that they’re considering purchasing a C8 Corvette Z06 that would qualify as a “flip,” and asked a pretty interesting question – how does GM know that this has taken place?

“I’m looking to buy a C8 Z06 that is being ‘flipped’ before that 6 month window Chevy made the original owner sign. He claims not to have intended to flip and isn’t really price gouging so I’m believing his story but that isn’t important for this question. How is Chevy finding out that a sale took place in the 6 month window? Are they requesting info for every VIN sold from the registered state at 6 months? Is it a manual process, and if so, what is triggering them to look at a specific car/buyer? Is it an automated process? Anyone have actual facts other than guesses? Anyone buy a flipped car and it was flagged and lost warranty?”

It’s a pretty fascinating question, and one that spurs up quite a few responses. There are obviously ways around this, but none are what one might call appealing, as 19/C7Z points out. “You’d have to pay cash for it and not register the car until the 6 months is up,” they said. “So you’d own it but not that anyone would know. I don’t know of another way to do it. So if this guy owes money on the car there’s going to be a record of it somewhere and GM could potentially find it. It’s not worth it in my opinion. 6 month old Z06s are out there and I’m sure plenty in a spec close to or exactly what you want.”

However, others warn that GM can, in fact, find out when a C8 Corvette Z06 has changed hands, and it apparently isn’t difficult to do, either. “The title changes hands and GM can flag the serial number in their system,” said JALLEN4. “When the dealer writes up the vehicle in the service drive, this flagged serial number will be detected. Should the dealer make a warranty claim, GM simply turns it down.”

“Spoke to GM Rewards about this. The reason it takes 45 days to get your points after the 6 months is because they do VIN checks for registration changes, car for sale reports on Carfax, and will also check OnStar,” added John510. “While even if the seller may not have an OnStar subscription, they can still track the car. Also, if the seller signs a release of liability then you are screwed. Insurance companies also report VINs, names, and locations.”

Thus, it seems as if the only way to prevent a flipped C8 Corvette Z06 warranty from being revoked is to take some pretty extreme measures, and they aren’t ones that most will want to agree to. Eventually – as is almost always the case with a non-limited production vehicle – the new Z06 will be more readily available and selling closer to MSRP, nullifying GM’s need to crack down on flippers, but for now, we’d definitely consider taking this advice rather than risk losing our warranties.

Photos: Chevrolet

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