Yesterday, General Motors announced the launch of a new Satisfaction Guarantee program to eligible buyers of new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. This new incentive is part of the larger "May the Best Car Win" marketing campaign that aims to demonstrate that GM has total confidence in its product line-up when compared to the most competitive vehicles in each segment.
But what does it all mean? This guarantee, if you will, allows new car customers to return their vehicle between 31 and 60 days of the original purchase date and receive a complete refund of the purchase price.
This is part of GM's attempt at getting people's attention and swaying them into dealerships. Obviously, this will not turn into a free-for-all as certain, if not many conditions will have to be met, such as only one customer per household can return their vehicle in the given amount of time, but said car must not have travelled more than 4,000 miles.
Other than perhaps having to negotiate the return with the dealer, the other concern is the cost involved for GM: A 2-month-old Cobalt with 4,000 miles will surely have lost 20% of its initial value. Will GM and/or the dealers be able to absorb these amounts? Are dealers not still waiting on hundreds of millions in Cash for Clunker dollars?
The program is not offered in Canada but we thought it important to share.
But what does it all mean? This guarantee, if you will, allows new car customers to return their vehicle between 31 and 60 days of the original purchase date and receive a complete refund of the purchase price.
This is part of GM's attempt at getting people's attention and swaying them into dealerships. Obviously, this will not turn into a free-for-all as certain, if not many conditions will have to be met, such as only one customer per household can return their vehicle in the given amount of time, but said car must not have travelled more than 4,000 miles.
Other than perhaps having to negotiate the return with the dealer, the other concern is the cost involved for GM: A 2-month-old Cobalt with 4,000 miles will surely have lost 20% of its initial value. Will GM and/or the dealers be able to absorb these amounts? Are dealers not still waiting on hundreds of millions in Cash for Clunker dollars?
The program is not offered in Canada but we thought it important to share.