GM's Toe Tag Sale Vs. Toyota's Saved by Zero
In the same press release in which General Motors revealed its 45 percent October sales hit, The General announced that it had brought forward its [now] annual Red Tag Sale. “We’ll do our part to continue fighting against these significant economic headwinds by bringing consumers the highest quality, most fuel efficient and affordable cars, trucks and crossovers that we can,” GM Marketing Maven Mark LaNeve wrote. [How reassuring is that— given GM’s product development freeze.] “To that end, LaNeve announced that GM’s no-haggle Red Tag Event… will provide great deals on most new vehicles in GM’s portfolio by offering a special Red Tag vehicle price and customer cash back. In addition, GM’s recently announced ‘Financing That Fits’ program enables consumers to find financing at affordable rates from GMAC and thousands of other banks, credit unions and financing institutions.” That’s it? No haggle plus the usual blizzard of incentives, special offers, discounts, rebates, trade-in allowance, finance offers and $2k-off coupons? GM must not have read Steven Lang’s “ MSRP RIP.” Meanwhile, The Detroit News reports that Toyota’s extended its “Saved by Zero” zero percent finance offers on 11 vehicles ’til December first. Guess who’s gonna win this one? [make the jump for examples of GM Toe Taggers]
Red Tag Event Examples (tax, title and license fees are extra):
2008 GMC Yukon Denali AWD $56,315 MSRP
Red Tag Price $51,830
Cash Back Offers -$5,000
Red Tag Price after cash back $46,830 or less
($9,485 value compared to MSRP)
2008 Chevy Silverado 1500 4WD $29,480 MSRP
Red Tag Price $27,397
Cash Back Offers -$5,500
Red Tag Price after cash back $21,897 or less
($7,583 value compared to MSRP)
2008 Buick Lucerne $31,880 MSRP
Red Tag Price $30,446
Cash Back Offers -$3,750
Red Tag Price after cash back $26,696 or less
($5,184 value compared to MSRP)
2009 Saturn Vue XE $23,745 MSRP
Red Tag Price $22,675
Cash Back Offers -$1,000
Red Tag Price after cash back $21,675 or less
($2,070 value compared to MSRP)
More by Robert Farago
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I can't pay cash but I would have $$ to pay for repairs. I would certainly keep it beyond the loan period. Might not be worth much by that time though. I wonder if I am better off with a slightly used Accord or something that keeps its value. A 2 year old Accord would be about the same price. Why can't the American companies build a ****** car that competes with Honda and Toyota? I just don't get it. I want to support GM but this is ridiculous.
I am a big fan of paying cash because it keeps people from spending too much on cars. Not having debt has a financial return which goes way beyond the interest cost. Of all the people who I know well enough to have a good idea of their finances, income does not correlate nearly as well with net worth as does debt avoidance. When it comes to cars, you can make a spreadsheet using information from Edmunds and other sources to help you decide the actual cost of a car. Once you look at that equation, you will find that in almost all cases, finance cost and depreciation are what are really adding up on you. You can get rid of finance cost buy paying cash. Depreciation has become really hard to predict, but it's hard to argue against a 2 year old Accord. OTOH, given what you might pay for some GM cars right now, the actual depreciation off of sales price might actually compare. That one is up to you.