Another C8 Corvette has fallen off a lift during maintenance and there are some wondering if Chevrolet’s halo model has fallen under a curse.
The latest incident gained traction over the weekend, with several acquaintances sending your author the same story — originating from a Corvette owners Facebook page — where a white C8 had incurred severe damage after falling off a vehicle lift in Texas.
The car was a white 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, purchased by Jared George with only 3,000 miles on the odometer. George had reportedly traded in his Mercedes-AMG GT to purchase the lightly used Vette and had just taken it into the dealership for its first oil change. After bringing it home, he noted that he uncovered a small oil leak and went back to the service center to have it addressed.
Sadly, this is when the car met its demise. Photos show the Corvette hanging off the lift, the rear end just inches from the pavement. Damage looks to be extensive, with the car ending up wedged between the post arms and (now bent) top of the lift. Holes were punched through the bodywork, with additional injuries clearly visible to the underside of the car.
It’s a story that we’ve seen before. Since deliveries of the C8 commenced in 2020, there seems to be media coverage of another example falling off a vehicle lift every twelve months or so. Following this latest mishap, some outlets have speculated that this could be a reoccurring issue with the model.
While there are a few unique concerns to take into account when lifting a mid-engine automobile, the reality of the situation is likely that it’s just more interesting to see a six-figure sports car falling off a lift than something that’s less expensive and more common. We don’t have any data to back this up. But it seems extremely likely that far more examples of something like the Toyota RAV4 were destroyed via lifting errors. The Japanese brand sells more examples of the RAV4 in a single month than Chevrolet could hope to match with the Corvette over an entire year.
However, the Corvette being somewhat rare may also contribute to technicians not knowing how to properly raise the vehicle. While four-post lifts aren’t ideal for all vehicle repairs, they’d have been sufficient for this job and have certainly helped this particular shop avoid embarrassment. Alternatively, two-point lifts can work just fine. But they require mechanics to brush up on their C8 knowledge by glancing at a manual.
The modern, mid-engine Corvette has oval shaped slots designed to interface with specific lift pads. While the front-engine C7 also had these, they were more centrally located and better resembled the typical jacking points you’d find on most automobiles. By contrast, the points on the C8 are set back slightly further and deeper on the vehicle. The model also has cutouts along the underside (used as tie-down locations) that a person might assume were the appropriate jacking points.
It would appear that this is what happened to the Vette owned by Mr. George. The lift points were positioned improperly, likely using the wrong pads, and the vehicle slipped due to being improperly balanced. Based on the photos, the car looks like it’ll probably be treated as a total loss by the insurance company.
There are actually numerous Corvette forums discussing this very issue in an effort to avoid future disasters. Hopefully, Chevrolet technicians and any independent repair shops willing to service the C8 Corvette take a gander at those — or at least the digitized manual — since models built after 2024 don’t come with a physical booklet inside the glovebox. Corvette owners may also want to take special care and at least bring up the jacking points upon taking their vehicle in to minimize the risk of having it become a salvage title.
[Images: Jared Adrian George/Facebook]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
