GM decides to split cost of gas with dealers
It seems no dealer communication is safe these days, as Jalopnik came across a communiqué from General Motors to its dealer bodies that explains the company will no longer reimburse dealers for a full tank of gas upon delivery. Instead, GM will give dealerships $20 for cars and $30 for trucks. You can do the math, but these days $20 will get you 6.67 gallons of 3$/gallon gas and $30 will score 10 gallons. Though dealers will be expected to pick up the tab for the difference initially, one can see a time fast approaching where consumers will be paying for part or all of their first tank of gasoline. Follow the jump for a breakdown list of what GM considers a car and a truck in its fleet. For example, the truck-based SSR is considered a car and the car-based HHR is considered a truck. The truck column is about half trucks and body-on-frame SUVs, and half unibody SUVs and CUVs.
[Source: Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
James 1:37PM (8/21/2006)
GM vehicles = Epson printers...
Sh*tty plastic boxes that come with deceptively empty fuel/ink tanks when you buy them.
*j*
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AnonymousInsights 1:40PM (8/21/2006)
I assure you that I WILL NEVER PAY FOR A TANK OF GAS when I buy a new vehicle. I just bought a Honda Pilot $7,000 below msrp and it still had a full tank of gas.
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Gardiner Westbound 1:45PM (8/21/2006)
Though I have purchased several makes of car over the last 20-years, I have never received a full tank of gasoline. I didn't know I was supposed to. Clearly some dealers are pocketing GM's money and shortchanging the customers.
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Eric L. 1:52PM (8/21/2006)
Despite all the new ways of buying cars for the lowest price through internet pricing (or the Edmunds.com way), one thing I still expect whenever I buy a new car is for it to come with a full tank of gas. Ok, I just *know* the dealer will put cheap 87 in (even for a car that recommends super unleaded) but gas is gas. But geez...for them to fill the tank only 1/2 or 1/3 of the way - thats being a real cheapskate.
I'm sure the dealers will find a way to make up the cost, with bunch of "documentation fees" or "prep fees" and such.
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Rob Stevens 1:58PM (8/21/2006)
"For example, the truck-based SSR is considered a car and the car-based HHR is considered a truck."
That's because the SSR has a small car-sized gas tank, while the HHR has a truck-sized tank (16 Gal.)
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Nick 2:00PM (8/21/2006)
I used to sell cars for a shady dealer (some GM makes were included) and management always told us that gas came out of the dealer's pocket. Figures they were getting reimbursed for it from corporate and not telling us.
We didn't always give customers a full tank either. Management would decide how much gas to give a customer based on the profit in the deal. Shady indeed.
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beken 2:01PM (8/21/2006)
For what it's worth, the last two GM cars I bought did not come with a full tank of gas. In fact, I got less than a quarter tank...about enough to get to a gas station. If GM was paying the dealers to fill my car on delivery, then I would say, I got ripped off more than once.
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Tri-Bob 2:05PM (8/21/2006)
I'm more annoyed with the dealer stickers and license plate covers they expect me to drive around with as free advertising than getting a full tank of gas. Seriously, when you are spending $20,000 plus for a car, is the $30 to fill the rest of the tank really going to influence you?
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Corey W. 2:06PM (8/21/2006)
Yeah, when I bought my lawn mower from Sears, I expected to have a full tank of gas. I also feel shifted by Home Depot when my gas generator was not full either, come to think about, that go cart I got from COSTCO, didn't have any gas in it... Hummm
Get the point.... They're automakers, not gas suppliers, you're buying you car from a dealership, not from GM!! Once a dealership purchases a vehicle, there should be a basic, whatever point, check done on the car. That includes fluids..
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Jeff 2:44PM (8/21/2006)
DCX already does this. I asked the dealer if they made a mistake and forget to fill the tank and they said they never do.
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GrowUp 2:55PM (8/21/2006)
If you're too cheap to buy your own gas, what the heck are you doing browsing for a new car?!
Grow up you whiners.
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Willie Dynamite 3:10PM (8/21/2006)
In the old days, it was unusual to get a "free" full tank. In the 80s, most industries got more quality- and customer-focused. It became more commonplace to get things like full gas tanks. Nowadays, six sigma is getting bastardized into a euphemism for cost cutting (quality & customers be damned). Some GM "black belt" has convinced management that there's no backlash to worry about.
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Bobby 3:17PM (8/21/2006)
"That's because the SSR has a small car-sized gas tank, while the HHR has a truck-sized tank (16 Gal.)"
Gee, then my Mazda6 should be considered a truck with its 18 gallon gas tank.
BTW, I got a free complimentary tank of Gas from my dealer (18 gallons worth) when i bought it 3 years ago.
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Andrew 3:25PM (8/21/2006)
full tank with new bimmer :-D
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Tom Petrov 3:55PM (8/21/2006)
My Toyota can with a full tank of gas. It said so right on the vehicle sticker.
That is to bad for GM. I would not buy a car from a manfacturer if the first tank did not come free.
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JN loves rice 3:56PM (8/21/2006)
Neff your a A-hole, your always talking crap about GM
There is no law that says any carmaker is to supply the gas and it is up to the dealer to make their minds up as what they give their customers and another when cars in repair are test driven and GM pays for the gas used.
This has nothing to do with GM and as your norm hyping it as such.
Who the F wants a new car that dealer to make the most profit puts in the cheapest gas they can in a new engine
Grow up your bised so called blog writer.
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JN loves rice 4:03PM (8/21/2006)
Your not buying a car your buying a TOY ota so what do you know about what a real man's car requires ?
You can run piss in your's and it still will max out at 80 MPH but for others we want real gas and one of our choosing and not from those off shore vendors like BP or citgo or worse shell with high sulfur content you dumbshit.
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fizzandpop 4:06PM (8/21/2006)
#7: That free dealer advertising is a real pet peeve with me. I bought a new GTI and had them take the plate holder off before I drove away. I took it in for a service and they put a new one on. I had them take it off again. Repeat. BMW dealers have a nasty habit of putting decals onto the actual sheet metal. I wouldn't have that. The only dealer plate holder I would have on my car is a "Beverly Hills Rolls Royce Bentley", and I'd put it on a Saturn.
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Non-Bizarro Adam 4:27PM (8/21/2006)
Well, my Chevy came with a full tank of gas, although I didn't really expect it to. What really surprised me was that when I took it in for a warranty repair, I handed it over with about a quarter of a tank of gas, and got it back full. If I do have enough money to buy a new Camaro when they come out, I know which dealer I'm going to.
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Jaymez 5:02PM (8/21/2006)
Bought a Dodge a few months ago. It was the first new car I'd eever gotten that didn't include a full tank of fuel. It was running on fumes when we took delivery. Traded it for a Grand Prix 2 weeks ago. The GP had a full tank.
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