Central Ontario C8 Service suggestions?

[opmope]

Hello all C8 owners. This is for those of you that live in Barrie, Orillia, Muskoka area.
Looking for a knowledgeable C8 dealer that you know is good when it comes to servicing our mid engine cars.
It kind of scares me to bring my car into my local dealer that gets maybe one allocation a year. Are their service techs really that knowledgeable?
Recommend dealers and contact person for referral would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ScottyR]

Seeing as Sadlon sold more than 50 C8s this year alone, chances are good that they have someone who is knowledgeable with the car.

 

[opmope]

Seeing as Sadlon sold more than 50 C8s this year alone, chances are good that they have someone who is knowledgeable with the car.

That’s where I bought my car from. Just thought maybe someone might know What Jim Wilson would be like? I’m in up north but an hour road trip would be so bad lol.

 

[butsy]

Hello all C8 owners. This is for those of you that live in Barrie, Orillia, Muskoka area.
Looking for a knowledgeable C8 dealer that you know is good when it comes to servicing our mid engine cars.
It kind of scares me to bring my car into my local dealer that gets maybe one allocation a year. Are their service techs really that knowledgeable?
Recommend dealers and contact person for referral would be greatly appreciated.

I have the same concerns, where to bring my C8 in Barrie which I need to do an oil change before the I put it away in late Oct (previously brought my 2019 to Georgian for service, no issues so far, but not sure about C8 knowledge??).....
Never bought a car from Sadlon, just 1 interaction with them when I was looking for my 19 4 yrs ago. I was walking the lot at Sadlon's as they have about 10 2019's on the lot, and I asked if I could start a couple of them up, and the lady brought out 2 different sets of keys and both cars were 'dead', wouldn't turn over at all!!! She then returns, and didn't know how to boost the car. She eventually (after 20 mins) got the cars started, and I had a quick look at them and left. I found my 19 at another dealer and bought it. Needless to say, I left Sadlon's that day with not a very high opinion of the Dealer, and was surprised how they could let such expensive cars just sit on the lot and not take care of them. They were also very dirty on the outside, along with dead batteries???.....Since then, I don't think I'd ever go back???? Might be over reacting, but that's how I felt leaving there.....

 

[opmope]

I have the same concerns, where to bring my C8 in Barrie which I need to do an oil change before the I put it away in late Oct (previously brought my 2019 to Georgian for service, no issues so far, but not sure about C8 knowledge??).....
Never bought a car from Sadlon, just 1 interaction with them when I was looking for my 19 4 yrs ago. I was walking the lot at Sadlon's as they have about 10 2019's on the lot, and I asked if I could start a couple of them up, and the lady brought out 2 different sets of keys and both cars were 'dead', wouldn't turn over at all!!! She then returns, and didn't know how to boost the car. She eventually (after 20 mins) got the cars started, and I had a quick look at them and left. I found my 19 at another dealer and bought it. Needless to say, I left Sadlon's that day with not a very high opinion of the Dealer, and was surprised how they could let such expensive cars just sit on the lot and not take care of them. They were also very dirty on the outside, along with dead batteries???.....Since then, I don't think I'd ever go back???? Might be over reacting, but that's how I felt leaving there.....

I initially went to Georgian for my 23 C8 purchase because I know them all there. I know them all at Paul Sadlon too. At Georgian I was told it would be two years to get one. A year later I went back, Dec22nd 2022. Asked where I was on the list and how’s it looking? They told me it would be another 3 years lol. No allocations and no one was dropping off the list.
Off to Sadlon’s I go that same day. They put me on the list. Three months later, March 17th, I got the call asking if I was ready. That evening my build was accepted by GM. They didn’t have to ask me twice. Three months later, May 29th I was picking up the car. Took them 5 months to get me a car. Love that dealership. They went above and beyond my expectations.
So I’m happy to take it there for service. Just thought there might be someone as good closer to home.

 

[ScottyR]

That’s where I bought my car from. Just thought maybe someone might know What Jim Wilson would be like? I’m in up north but an hour road trip would be so bad lol.

Jim Wilson has delivered 7 x 23s so they are probably fine.

C8s arent Bugattis or Ferraris or anything. It still is a GM product. I dont think there is any reason why your local guy cant service it if all you want is an oil change?

My local dealer got 2 C8s this year and they will be servicing my car.

 

[butsy]

I initially went to Georgian for my 23 C8 purchase because I know them all there. I know them all at Paul Sadlon too. At Georgian I was told it would be two years to get one. A year later I went back, Dec22nd 2022. Asked where I was on the list and how’s it looking? They told me it would be another 3 years lol. No allocations and no one was dropping off the list.
Off to Sadlon’s I go that same day. They put me on the list. Three months later, March 17th, I got the call asking if I was ready. That evening my build was accepted by GM. They didn’t have to ask me twice. Three months later, May 29th I was picking up the car. Took them 5 months to get me a car. Love that dealership. They went above and beyond my expectations.
So I’m happy to take it there for service. Just thought there might be someone as good closer to home.

That's pretty quick!!! I went to Cullen in St Catherine's (that's where I got my 19 also), really good to deal with, but too far to take for service....Have you brought your 23 to Sadlon's yet for service?? (oil change) I know Georgian don't sell many C8's, so I'm debating taking it there for service, Sadlon may be more familiar with them??

 

[opmope]

That's pretty quick!!! I went to Cullen in St Catherine's (that's where I got my 19 also), really good to deal with, but too far to take for service....Have you brought your 23 to Sadlon's yet for service?? (oil change) I know Georgian don't sell many C8's, so I'm debating taking it there for service, Sadlon may be more familiar with them??

No not yet. Haven’t got much seat time yet so haven’t needed service. I spend most nice days out boating. Will get a few fall day trips in though.

 

[MKC8]

Jim Wilson has delivered 7 x 23s so they are probably fine.

C8s arent Bugattis or Ferraris or anything. It still is a GM product. I dont think there is any reason why your local guy cant service it if all you want is an oil change?

My local dealer got 2 C8s this year and they will be servicing my car.

My point of sale dealer got 7 last year. My 2024 HTC Z51 arrived about 2 weeks ago, and during the PDI, their "crack service technicians" installed the rear brake cooling ducts, even thought the PDI checklist specifically states "do not install them during PDI on the Z51, Z06, E-Ray". So much for car counts = service competence, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Cannonball Rally]

This is a really good question actually since many of us folks north of Toronto don't wish to drive there to get service.

I believe the largest challenge will be making sure whoever does service the car has the correct lift and jacking point blocks. I ordered a set off of amazon which I will install maybe over the winter in an obvious red color so someone cannot say I did not see them. Said jack pucks install semi-permanently with locktite.

My other major concern as noted by others across forums is whoever is doing a simple oil change will they remove all of the covers if required, yes there is a dedicated opening to remove filter but that does not mean upon removal they will not drip oil onto upper part of shield. I dont wish to find an oil leak on my garage floor not knowing where it might be coming - I know small detail but I had this recently with my wife's T-Bird and it drove me crazy only to find out the filter was not on tight, every now and then there would be oil under the car.

Lastly is the dealership using a certified Corvette Technician to change the oil? or a junior apprentice to do this? Then given the option I would pay more to have a technician change it and request they check over other things at that time.

I was going to go to my selling dealer in Peterborough Jack McGee since I know the owners drive C8 corvettes hoping they would make sure their techs were schooled on such. I have not tried Boyer in Lindsay -- would love to know what others have found out with either of these two? I am able to go to Orillia or Barrie but the distance is 1 hour and 1.5 to Barrie. I take my BMW motorcycle to Barrie now which is okay but depending on the weather can be a challenge at times. Another issue which I am sure most will mock me for is honestly I hate driving on Highway 400 or 11. Its like everyone is in panic mode and run right up your arse.

I prefer to take the backroads and it just adds more time that's all.

 

[Mr.Corvette]

Jack McGee got 9 Corvettes last year and Boyer in Lindsay got 4. When you look at Barrie, Sadlon got 58 cars Georgian got 8 and so did Jim Wilson in Orillia.
If your not sure which dealer to go to, call the service manager and interview them about the Corvette technician they have on staff. Find out how long he's been with the dealership and GM how long has he been a Corvette technician and how many cars a year does he work on? If you don't want to drive hours to the large dealers
like Sadlon, then investigate locally and find someone you are comfortable with.
They don't remove the under trays to change an oil filter, but they do to change the DCT filter. The amount of time and the number of bolts that need to
be removed to lower the trays is one of the reasons the service book gives 3.5 hours labour to do the job making it expensive with the filter kit being almost $250.

 

[ScottyR]

Not trying to derail this thread but it is interesting that Georgian sells so few C8s when they are consistently in the top 3 volume GM dealers in Ontario. I think they did sell more than 8 but still no where close to Sadlons 50+. Georgian was sold last year and there are 2 Georgians listed on C8 Tracker. 1 for the old company and 1 for the new one.

 

[Murray20c8]

Not trying to derail this thread but it is interesting that Georgian sells so few C8s when they are consistently in the top 3 volume GM dealers in Ontario. I think they did sell more than 8 but still no where close to Sadlons 50+. Georgian was sold last year and there are 2 Georgians listed on C8 Tracker. 1 for the old company and 1 for the new one.

Car volume is not a real consideration. Corvette volume is. Some dealers, like Spencer's, have been known to buy unsold Corvettes from other dealers just so they can sell them to up their Corvette sales and hence get more allocations.

 

[ScottyR]

Car volume is not a real consideration. Corvette volume is. Some dealers, like Spencer's, have been known to buy unsold Corvettes from other dealers just so they can sell them to up their Corvette sales and hence get more allocations.

Yes. I am aware how the allocations work (I worked at a GM store in my past life) but you would just "think" that a store as big as Georgian would sell more C8s than they do. I will give Spencers credit, they had the stones to order a sh-t ton of C7s for stock knowing the C8 was coming. Their C8 #s allottments were based on previous C7 sales.

 

[Mr.Corvette]

Not trying to derail this thread but it is interesting that Georgian sells so few C8s when they are consistently in the top 3 volume GM dealers in Ontario. I think they did sell more than 8 but still no where close to Sadlons 50+. Georgian was sold last year and there are 2 Georgians listed on C8 Tracker. 1 for the old company and 1 for the new one.

Hi Scotty, your right, the Georgian Corvette numbers are split up into two Georgian companies one Incorporated and one not. I have reached out to a sales manager that I know who works there. Total number last year still only shows 11 for both companies though. With 3 2024's that show for the non incorporated company there.
From what you said earlier you also understand that Cadillac works the same way with allocations. If the computer sees that cars are sitting on ground you don't earn extra allocations. Since C8 started Georgian has been getting on average 10-11 cars a year. The 2022 was a short run and for 2023 they should have had more than what they got. At the end of the C7 run Spencer's had 37 of them on ground. The dealers whose general managers refused to order the cars have been penalized with the C8 allocations and that is the case here. The dealers who took every C7 they could get have been rewarded with C8 like Sadlon and Spencer's, the others now can't get enough due to decisions made in the past.

 

[ScottyR]

I have reached out to a sales manager that I know who works there

Wayne? He is a good guy. Past client of mine.

 

[Mr.Corvette]

Wayne? He is a good guy. Past client of mine.

Not Wayne, I know Dilon from when he was with another dealership. The reason that there's two companies is the the previous owner Jamie Massey who owned the Incorporated company sold it recently to the Canada One Auto Group that also bought Wilson-Niblett, Jim Wilson in Orillia, Forbes in Kitchener and are finalizing the purchase of Auto IQ that owns a bunch of other Ford, Chrysler and BMW shops.
Getting back to the point of this thread concerning service, Georgian has 2 Corvette Specialists and 1 EV Specialist. They are a top 3 Volume dealer but most of it is trucks. They are working on increasing their Corvette numbers but it will take years based on previous sales history of the Corvette. Georgian is very comfortable servicing Corvettes for anyone that is interested as both of the Corvette Specialists have years of experience.

 

[butsy]

Not Wayne, I know Dilon from when he was with another dealership. The reason that there's two companies is the the previous owner Jamie Massey who owned the Incorporated company sold it recently to the Canada One Auto Group that also bought Wilson-Niblett, Jim Wilson in Orillia, Forbes in Kitchener and are finalizing the purchase of Auto IQ that owns a bunch of other Ford, Chrysler and BMW shops.
Getting back to the point of this thread concerning service, Georgian has 2 Corvette Specialists and 1 EV Specialist. They are a top 3 Volume dealer but most of it is trucks. They are working on increasing their Corvette numbers but it will take years based on previous sales history of the Corvette. Georgian is very comfortable servicing Corvettes for anyone that is interested as both of the Corvette Specialists have years of experience.

I used to bring my 19 Vette there, and every oil change, I always had the alignment checked, and once they tried to charge me $250 for a re-alignment that wasn't req'd. I checked all the readings they had printed, and everything was within spec, they just decided to bring a couple back to Nominal, and charged me...Almost like there was a guy in training. I ended up get my $$ back as the Tech agreed that there was no need to adjust anything as every reading was within the + / - spec limit......I've since got a 23 Vette and go to Sadlon for service....

 

[Mr.Corvette]

Butsy, my dealership charges shop labour to check any alignment as it take time to hook up the sensors to take a reading as you cannot eye ball this!
The point of this thread was to try and help those in Central Ontario to know which dealerships have Certified Corvette Specialist mechanics on staff?
Can you answer that question on behalf of Paul Sadlon so people asking will know since you go there for service?

 

[ScottyR]

I bought my C8 at Stratford Motor Products. They are a low volume store but there are quite a few C8s in town. I think Stricklands in Brantford has sold more C8s into Stratford than SMP has sold. I asked the Service Manager if they had anyone who was trained on C8s and he said they do have 1 tech who has taken all the courses and is the only guy who works on C8s. They said if he is away, you will have to wait for service as no one else is allowed to work on them. I have not needed any service yet, but I feel confident taking my car back to them for service.

Technically, to be a Corvette Dealer, you need to have a tech who is certified but over time that guy often leaves and no one gets certified to replace him/her.