The Georgia Lottery lists the chances of winning the top prize in its “Corvette and Cash” scratch-off game as 1 in about 1.6 million.
But that turned out to be the easy part for Dennis Kahler.
The hard part: finding a dealership that actually has a Chevrolet Corvette available for him to take home.
Lottery officials certified Kahler as the winner of a C8 plus a $250,000 cash prize. But when they began working with local dealerships to obtain the car, they found that one hadn’t been upfront about the $10,000 markup it was demanding, and others couldn’t promise delivery until the third quarter.
Corvette production was slowed by the UAW strike in late 2019 and then the coronavirus plant shutdowns last spring, leaving many dealers with long waiting lists for the midengine sports car.
Kahler told Corvette Forum that he wants a 2LT Z51 in Rapid Blue with a sticker price of $80,465. He’s allowed to spend up to $107,000 on the car, with any difference coming to him as extra cash. Although he doesn’t want to wait six months for the car, he also isn’t eager to give up $10,000 of his prize money to pay the markup.
“I used to be a general sales manager for a dealership, so I know the way things operate,” he said. “I’m not giving up the money on my purchase.”