GM loses a sale

GM lost the sale of a new car today. My brother is being pushed to get a new company car. He decided to buy a Yukon as he would get $7500 off the price with rebates or incentives. The catch is the $7500 comes off only if the machine is titled to an individual. Due to tax reasons this does not make fiscal sense. If he buys it and retitles it in the company name sales tax must be paid twice. He then called the Ford dealer and was told that they could work something out. Next he called the BMW dealer and asked about this, no problem there. Now he is buying a 535i with 8,000 miles on it. My brother can't believe this foolishness, nor can I. He tried to buy a local car and is told sorry you must pay more since you own a business.

This is what happens when there's no incentive to turn a profit. Hell, why not price a new Corvette at $100 and offer a 50 year 500,000 mile warranty?

Government Motors has been loosing a lot of sales lately. I recently bought a Ford PU and when I was shopping around the Cheby dealers were almost as dead as the Toyota dealers.

A friend of mine who's a Ford salesman says they haven't been able to believe the number of die hard Cheby fans who are buying their first Ford because they can't go along with the whole GM mess.

Even the Union guys have been boycotting GM

Buy a Chevy! Get your tax money back!

I agree though. GM's been pulling a lot of shenanigans lately, and I wouldn't purchase a new one. A private owner Vette... maybe. But no dealer.

"....and was told they can work something out."

Until your brother actually buys a Ford and gets the deal he thinks he's getting, I'll understand why GM lost a customer. I'm only saying this because I've been in the position several times where a sales person and/or the sales "MANAGER" said they could do something....then did something else entirely opposite of what they promised.

Some companies make their rebates/incentives only available to private buyers, and I'll bet GM AND Ford both have "fine print" that say that.

BTW, was your brother able to shop several Chevy dealers? or did he stop after the first one told him his "deal" was not possible?

NO connections whatsoever to any dealer, manufacturer, or retailer in any type of auto business.

My daughter,who credit is not the greatest, couldn't buy from a Chevy dealer. Went to Ford and drove away with a 2009 Escape.

mndsm wrote: Buy a Chevy! Get your tax money back! I agree though. GM's been pulling a lot of shenanigans lately, and I wouldn't purchase a new one. A private owner Vette... maybe. But no dealer.

A Hanover, PA Chevy-Mazda dealer sold both makes out of the same building, GM told him he had to build a separate facility for Chevy, the owner told them to basically pound sand. Which leaves Hanover PA with no GM dealer...

how about some data

Fleet sales are included here so that skews the data a great deal. I'd hardly call GM and Toyota sales dead in the 1st part of the year. Winnar = Ford.

ignorant wrote: Winnar = Ford.

Really?

And Hyundai + Kia very close to overtaking Nissan + Infiniti. (I did that math in my head, but I think the gap is less than 10%.)

Land Rover............At least we sell more than Suzuki!

I have one towards the bottom, one towards the middle, and strangely, one towards the top. All were brought to the US on boats. (Damn celica skewing my results.)

I know the little lady and I contributed TWO to the Mazda sales total last month.

where i grew up you basically had to decide if you were a chevy dodge or ford buyer when you bought your first car. it was the early 80's and i went chevy as there were a lot more offerings out there i could afford but still want at the time. when i finally got around to buying my next car it was 1999 and i couldnt find anything on a gm lot i wanted and could afford. appliances and ugly stick beat downs all! i ended up getting a dodge. now i think if i were evert o buy another new car it would be a ford. as much as i hated their 80s designs they have really kicked it up in the 2000's.

The used BMW will cost him the same as the GM without the rebates. Therefore he decided to get the BMW. It isn't a direct comparison but the money is the same. He was dealing with the manager of one dealership and talked with some of his college buddies that own dealerships as well and they all told him the same story about the rebates and a business buying the car.

In reply to pilotbraden:

Ahem, Government Motors...

This MAY sound like sarcasm, but it isn't:

If the attempt to get a rebate and incentive deal through a GM dealership involved "....some of his college buddies that OWN dealerships.. ", then I stand corrected.

However, considering your brother then went with a USED BMW, for essentially the same amount of money, I don't understand why he was shopping for a Tahoe?

As others have said: "....apples to oranges".

I can kind of see that where his decision came from. When i was shopping for what ended up being a Trailblazer SS the sales people told me i had to think about what i wanted more since i was seriously considering a CTS-V, Avalanche, Magnum R/T, Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, etc. About the only similarity was price point, which apparently is too confusing for dealers so i stopped telling what else i was looking at and just asked to drive them as i'd know what i want when i drive it.

The cars that he has considered in the past 3 weeks are Honda Civic v-tec, Accord, Acura TL, Acura RSX, Chyrsler mini van, Buick LaCrosse, Volvo V50 wagon(he drives one now),GMC Yukon, Ford Focus and Fusion, and the BMW. I can't make any sense of it ,but at least he has an open mind.

zomby woof wrote:

ignorant wrote: Winnar = Ford.

Really?

yup no other single brand trumps them..

GM badge engineering = weak

Actually, when I get ready to visit car dealerships, I have several (often contradictory) choices in mind, too. I just figured I was the only one who went shopping for an SUV and came home with something else.

Considering how often a new car purchase is made SOLELY on emotions, and car advertising is based on appealing to emotions....I don't understand why a salesman can't get with the idea that "....I'll know it's the vehicle I want to take home when I see it". And often my, or anyone's choices aren't easily "pigeon-holed".

Stealthtercel wrote: And Hyundai + Kia very close to overtaking Nissan + Infiniti. (I did that math in my head, but I think the gap is less than 10%.)

I wonder if they'll be Toyota in 10 years.

bravenrace wrote: In reply to pilotbraden: Ahem, Government Motors...

And they were a pillar of excellence before the takeover? GM has sucked for a long time.