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But only because dealers will be forced to give up a half a percent of their profit margin, reports Automotive News [sub]. Good thing Mark LaNeve says volume will be higher. Otherwise that might suck for the dealers. As Bob Lutz puts it, “We’re putting our money down that if people buy one of our vehicles and don’t absolutely love it, we’ll take it back. Three or four years ago, this would have been a huge risk. We are now so confident of our vehicles, we can afford to take this risk.” Actually, Bob, it sounds like you’re putting the dealers’ money down. But, hey, at least that way it’s not taxpayer money! Who’s feeling positive?
19 Comments on “Positive Post of the Day: 60 Day Return Policy Won’t Be Ruinous for GM Edition...”
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Ya know, I just don’t know what tack they should take with this stuff.
I hate it when they snivel about how sorry they are they used to suck, but now they are good, so pretty please with sugar on top, buy a ‘Bu please.
I hate the braggadocio when they pretend they are the best.
I guess they just don’t have any credibility with me and I will automatically find fault with anything they do.
“Three or four years ago, this would have been a huge risk. We are now so confident of our vehicles, we can afford to take this risk”
Thanks Bob… That statement was ever so slightly better then “Not your father’s Oldsmobile”
I have one of those POS cars from a few years ago… Thanks for the appology… I think.
Hmmm…wonder how many will be “bought” in place of a long term vacation rental?
Just a thought.
Bunter
Now I know where to go when I need to rent use a car for a couple of months.
Wonder what the “fine print” says? Do they have a “re-socking fee”?
Twotone
I guess they’re really serious about this perception gap thing.
I’m still looking for the “gotcha” on this offer. It is limited to 4000 miles in 60 days, so no coast to coast road trips on GM’s dime, but it’s still easy to get over on them. You also have to be current on payments, so I wonder if you have to go GMAC to get the deal. If so, they at least cop a month or 2 of interest from you since almost all of the first couple of payments are interest. Somehow I have to believe that they have a trapdoor ready for the weasels who think they can get away with a “free rental”. But even if they do, won’t that be a PR jackpot for GM when the whiny weasel gets facetime in the media once he can’t return the car at the 3997 mile mark?
Also, won’t a buyer have to put something down on the purchase, either cash or a trade-in? Significant cash would discourage most people trying to scam a free rental. But what about trade-ins? Does the dealer have to hold on to your old car if you want it back?
I’d say most people who buy a car are happy with their decision at the 30, 60 & 90 day marks… its only well after that the honeymoon is over. I bought an Isuzu SUV once (notice I said ONCE), and lived with it for 9 months before I could no longer stand driving the POS and traded it in. For the first 3 months I’d loved it, for the next 3 months I figured I learn to deal with its shortcomings, in the last 3 months I began to question how could I spend 4 more years stuck with it. Then and only then did I realize my mistake. So unless the car is a complete lemon I doubt many people would return their shiny new ride after 60 days.
Chrysler offered the “return your car” program and they did just fine – right? I mean it’s not like they went bankrupt or anything… oh wait… crap.
So here’s what I want to know: what happens to all the <= 60-day-old vehicles GM gets back?
CPO? Passed off to other customers as “demos” or, worse, “new”? Or off to the auction to further depress values?
I can see where a lot of folks who were thinking that maybe, just maybe, they’d take a chance on one of these “new GM” vehicles might decide to wait and see if they can let someone else take the depreciation hit. Or, instead of looking at vehicles coming off 2-year leases, one could have their pick of low mileage, 60-day returns…perhaps at not much of a price premium.
I think we found a new way to review cars for TTAC.
Just kidding.
So what happens to all that sales tax from the original sale? I’d bet you don’t get a dime of that back.
So what happens to all that sales tax from the original sale? I’d bet you don’t get a dime of that back.
Well, yeah, that’s it, really; nobody in their right mind pays full sales tax on a car that they’re only going to have for 59 days before returning it. For a serious buyer, it caps their potential losses to the sales tax, but for a “free rental yay” kind of person, it’s too pricey.
Sales tax depends on the state, and how the deal is unwound. Some states give you 60 days to register your new vehicle; in those you could theoretically return the vehicle with the certificate of origin intact.
It would take just one manufacturer to kill this;
“Buy with confidence. You won’t need 60 days to evaluate our vehicles.”
or,
“GM’s vehicles now work for 61 days before their first fault”.
Just floating those ideas out there. Ford, you wanna’ try it?
If GM had so much confidence, this offer wouldn’t expire on November 30.
I take it the title of this post is tongue-in-cheek. It won’t be ruinous but like what the CFC did for GM, it won’t really help either. Just another bandaid fix to increase sales somewhat.
No it won’t be ruinous for GM, it’s already ruined.
It will be ruinous for us, the long suffering Taxpayers, who will also soon become banbkrupt providing welfare for incompetent Yuppie Welfare QUeens like LaNeve (does the clown still have his Job? Sickening!)
gslippy : If GM had so much confidence, this offer wouldn’t expire on November 30.
Bingo. This is just another gimmick like the ‘red tag’ and ‘friends & family’ sales.
So it says there are so many cars to choose from in America. And one of the logos is Fiat. So either they’ve had this commercial on ice since, oh, “Oh Mickey” by Toni Basil settled in at #12 on the pop charts.
Hey Editors … why not have a Positive Earth topic of the week so that we can get some inside laughs at the expense of people who might have once been a member of the Positive Earth Society.