By on January 14, 2009

One of our Best and Brightest has received a bit of mail recently… “My GM Card has collected $777 towards a new GM of my choice. They sent me a snail mail volunteering to up it to $2000, no questions asked. And here’s the kicker: “Valid in conjunction with all other rebates and offers.” (I’d scan and email it to you, but my scanner has taken a dump.) Sweet, but I wish they go ahead and knock 75% off the price of a new truck, as opposed to this 50% bullshit. Then, I’d place it under ‘definite maybe, but forget about it because the economy sucks’ status.”

Get the latest TTAC e-Newsletter!

Recommended

9 Comments on “GM Throws Cash at Card Holders...”


  • avatar
    jeffolie

    I bought a new cobalt with auto trans and air conditioning on Friday for $10499 after rebates and discounts including the $2000 GM Card discount. Awesome.

  • avatar
    ronin

    This offering of additional discounts to c.c. holders with redemption balances has been done at least a couple times before in the last 3 or 4 years.

    The problem is that it was done selectively, and not offered across the board to all cc holders with similar positions.

    This offer of course was quickly mentioned across the internet. Those who did not receive the offer quickly contacted their help lines, and were told they would not get the offer. Period.

    No explanation for deliberately not choosing certain customers, even those with great positions.

    In short, as much as this offer had been an incentive for some, it was an enormous turn-off, hence disincentive for others who otherwise should have been qualified.

    Don’t know the situation this time around, but if handled ham-handedly again expect more ill feeling toward GM by those cardholders for the last 17 years who don’t receive the offer.

  • avatar
    B-Rad

    My parents have been using a GM card for a long time now. Who knows how much they’ve earned; they haven’t ever used the earnings.

    When visiting my g-parents the other day, I saw that they had been alerted about their accrued savings as well. And it was a fairly significant amount.

  • avatar
    bluecon

    So now the auto companies are selling the autos for less than it cost to build them. How long can that go on?

    Will Obama subsidize the <Little 3UAW forever? Or at least until the government goes broke?

  • avatar
    akitadog

    I have almost $2700 in GM Card earnings and was hoping to use them on a Saturn Sky Red Line or Astra Red Line, (if it ever came here), in 2-3 years or so. Usually, there’s a limit to how much can be redeemed per vehicle. I do recall an offer where I could have used all my earnings for one vehicle. Now I’m hoping for next winter’s Red Tag event coupled with an “all earnings” option, if GM persists in its current state by then.

  • avatar
    Geo. Levecque

    The person who bought the Cobalt at a amazing price had better keep some of the saved “Cash” to pay for maintenance that is not covered by the warranty!
    Most of these Cards including one I have used for Airline trips are really not good after one has to pay for all the extras, like extra handling fees, Taxes etc. The Card looks good at first glance but there is always the bottom line, buyer beware eh?

  • avatar
    ronin

    The classic GM mastercard introduced circa 1992 was a great deal. You earned a straight 5% on all purchases up to a $500 annual ceiling, able to be accumulated over 7 years. That means you could walk into a dealer after seven years, work your absolute best possible deal, including all rebates, and then when discussing payment use your accumulated credits to pay down $3500 on any GM car (excluding Saturn at that time).

    Ford came out with the same thing shortly after. The deal was apparently too good, because Ford cancelled enrollment for any new cardholders after about only a year.

    Likewise for GM. After a few years the terms changed; new cardholders could only accumulate a lesser amount at a lesser rate, and there was a maximum amount per model type that you could redeem- say $1000 max ever for a cobalt transaction.

    GM grandfathered in the original cardholders, so some still use that great deal. That amount was also applicable to a GMAC Smartlease… so if say your lease payment over 3 years would have totaled $15,000, you could apply your $3500 card credit immediately.

    No strings, no hidden charges.

  • avatar
    Geotpf

    bluecon :
    January 14th, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    So now the auto companies are selling the autos for less than it cost to build them. How long can that go on?

    Well, if the government is paying the bills, forever.

  • avatar
    Bridge2far

    “The person who bought the Cobalt at a amazing price had better keep some of the saved “Cash” to pay for maintenance that is not covered by the warranty!”
    What in the world do maintenance costs have to do with anything? The Cobalt has a very low maintenance schedule compared to most others as a matter of fact. Warranty is also one of the best. ?????

Read all comments

Back to TopLeave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent Comments

  • Lou_BC: @Carlson Fan – My ’68 has 2.75:1 rear end. It buries the speedo needle. It came stock with the...
  • theflyersfan: Inside the Chicago Loop and up Lakeshore Drive rivals any great city in the world. The beauty of the...
  • A Scientist: When I was a teenager in the mid 90’s you could have one of these rolling s-boxes for a case of...
  • Mike Beranek: You should expand your knowledge base, clearly it’s insufficient. The race isn’t in...
  • Mike Beranek: ^^THIS^^ Chicago is FOX’s whipping boy because it makes Illinois a progressive bastion in the...

New Car Research

Get a Free Dealer Quote

Who We Are

  • Adam Tonge
  • Bozi Tatarevic
  • Corey Lewis
  • Jo Borras
  • Mark Baruth
  • Ronnie Schreiber