Why Is The Stradman’s 2023 Corvette Z06 Sale Stirring Up Controversy?

There’s an almost brand-new 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with just under 1,000 miles up for sale and it’s stirring up some heated discussions online. That’s because it’s owned by influencer and Youtuber James Lucas Condon, commonly known as ‘The Stradman’. What has people up in arms is that many are alleging he’s flipping it after getting priority access to the sought-after Z06 and paying MSRP for it without any markup.

Flipping new Corvettes for a chunky profit isn’t huge news these days. Despite direct condemnation from GM, it’s remained a problem for enthusiasts trying to buy the car. That same fervor for profit over all else has spread to the Z06 and initially, Chevrolet seemed intent on doing what it could to de-incentivize the practice. It threatened to cancel warranties of any Z06 units (as well as Hummers and Escalade Vs) sold within six months of the original owner taking delivery.

Despite all of that, it seems that The Stradman is indeed hoping to, and very likely will, make a big profit on this car when the hammer falls on February 14th. We say that because it seems that somehow he managed to not only get the 31st allocation of a Z06 in the world but also that he somehow paid MSRP.

“$173,000 out the door, we basically got every single option on this car…” he says in the video where he takes delivery. The window sticker confirms that price as the MSRP with no discernible markup. Did Chevrolet or GM step in to help the YouTuber get one of these highly desirable sports cars at MSRP only for him to flip it a couple of months later for a profit? That’s what Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire and others seems to believe.

More: GM Penalizes Corvette, Hummer, And Escalade V Flippers By Cancelling Warranty

That might sound a bit odd but the truth is that automakers work with influencers like Stradman all the time. In fact, about a year ago, the Stradman himself posted about how Chevrolet literally brought him a Z06. Not a dealer mind you, but he says that Chevrolet itself transported a Z06 to his house to check out. Interestingly enough, Stradman says that he’s selling the Corvette specifically because the house he is building went $1 million over the initial $2 million estimate and that he needs the cash more than the car.

It’s listed over on Cars and Bids where owner Doug DeMuro gives him a shout: “Our first C8 Corvette Z06 on Cars & Bids – and it belongs to my friend and fellow YouTuber, The Stradman! I’m thrilled that Strad decided to sell this car with us“.

Over $200k And No Warranty

Not only does it seem that Stradman is using his status to flip the car and make a profit but it seems that the new owner will be left without a warranty. The ad specifically says that despite having just 1,000 miles on the odometer, GM might not honor the warranty because it’s being sold before six months have passed. On top of that, the car isn’t being offered with the title but rather on a Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO). To make things more complicated, the vehicle is apparently being sold through a dealer that goes by the user name ‘Postperformance’ on C&B and who says that the title is coming, but the new owner will need to pay for the car before the title arrives.

At the end of the day, anybody with the cash that Stradman has can spend it, however, they’d like. They can also be greedy and take advantage of their position to better themselves even further. Whether or not that’s what’s happening here is up for debate but there’s certainly good reason to question if Chevrolet might hook Condon up on future purchases.

For now, we’ve asked Chevrolet about its involvement in the original sale to the Stradman and we’ll update this post if we hear back from them. As of this writing, the bidding is up to $204,000 with multiple days remaining in the auction, meaning it will most likely go much higher. Even so, that’s a pretty sweet $31,000 profit in two months if the Stradman did indeed only pay $173,000 himself.

Image The Stradman