GM Gives You Your Money Back

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

When Joel Ewanick left Hyundai and signed on as GM’s marketing top gun, some people asked when he would do something like Hyundai’s warranties. Others said GM won’t dare. Announcing two new programs, GM dares, carefully.

Buy a Chevy and you can return the car within 60 days of purchase, “if the cars meet certain conditions,” Reuters says. This should get people in the showroom that are not quite so sure. GM is cautious also: The buyback option only is good for July and August.

Chevrolet also brings back “no haggle” pricing of Saturn lore.

They buyback option is called the “Love it or Return it.” The no-haggle pricing is named “Total Confidence Pricing.” It covers 2012 model-year vehicles at prices similar to what GM offers its auto parts suppliers. Says Jesse Toprak, VP of Market Intelligence at TrueCar:

“The buyback program is an indication of how confident Chevrolet is in its’ new product line up. It is a way to get people into showrooms and experience firsthand the significant investments the dealer body has made in the recent years. It is a smart and cost effective program that will work towards diminishing the perception gap of the Chevrolet brand particularly in coastal metropolitan areas where consumers have a stronger preference towards the import brands. No Haggle Pricing aims to eliminate the most stressful part of the car buying process, stressful negotiations. Although not nearly as attractive as the Employee Pricing, Preferred pricing based current program ensures every customer pays the same price with no haggle –same price GM offers to its’ suppliers. Similar programs have been quite successful in the past and we expect Chevrolet to get a decent boost from this promotion for the next couple of months.”

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Good ole dayz Good ole dayz on Jul 10, 2012

    Given the (fundamentally unlawful) way that the UAW was handed ownership in GM and Chrysler, with the taxpayers paying the tab, and As the taxpayers will never get fully paid back (thanks to GM-UAW being allowed to retain the multi-billion tax-loss carry forward that non-UAW companies lose in bankruptcy), as a patriotic American I'm inclined to avoid any UAW-assembled vehicle. Period. I'd rather support honest / non-UAW American workers assembling vehicles without a taxpayer bailout-subsidy, thank you very much. Beyond that, given GM's corporate culture of low quality (since the 1970's), I'd be very, very afraid to subject myself to a GM vehicle.

    • See 4 previous
    • Good ole dayz Good ole dayz on Jul 11, 2012

      @carbiz See my response to el scotto above, and ... You are assuming that "Detroit's" inferior quality ended 30 years ago. The current quality rankings say otherwise. And the presence of the UAW, once it begins feeling its oats again (i.e., can strike again in a few years), will mark the reversion back to declining quality to cheapen the product cost to help feed the insatiable UAW monster. There is a viable U.S. auto industry, but it's located in the (for now at least) UAW-free Southeast. I know the argument is "but they're foreign owned and the profits go overseas." Well, in that case, we should not have bailed-out Chrysler and given ownership in it to the UAW and FIAT, which is foreign-owned, right? Either Chrysler counts as the domestic auto industry, or it doesn't. And with FIAT having majority ownership, if Chrysler is considered part of the domestic auto industry, then so too are the Japanese / European plants spread throughout the Southeast.

  • El scotto El scotto on Jul 11, 2012

    @ PrincipalDan you are welcome. Congratulations twice, once for the promotion and second for your nuptials. From bits and pieces, you've revealed on here, she seems like a great lady. You'll be a "Big Person" to all those kids in more than one way.

  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
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