Filed under: Car Buying, Trucks/Pickups, Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, GM, GMC
GM offering zero-percent financing to move '07 models
General Motors had a good August, bucking the industry trend with a year over year sales increase. A big part of that success came with zero-percent financing on the Silverado and GMC Sierra, and the General is looking to ride the wave by extending free loans through October first. GM isn't stopping with pickups either. Several 2007 models are getting an additional $1,000 on the hood, including the Yukon, Impala, and G6.
GM has done a pretty good job of staying off incentives through 2007, but the last few months have been brutal. Even some automakers from across the Pacific, who traditionally shy away from cash on the hood, have felt the pinch. GM hasn't announced additional production cuts, but if the incentives don't work, the Detroit-based automaker may have little choice.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chuck U. Farlie 11:27AM (9/22/2007)
What they need to do is offer a pickup sized Burqa to cover this unsightly hunk of junk! The previous model was way better looking hunk of junk.
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Vivek 11:40AM (9/22/2007)
Do you even know anything about automobiles? Because i am not going to waste my time trying to argue with you.
Chuck U. Farlie 11:51AM (9/22/2007)
Nope! I've just bluffed my way through working in the auto industry for the past 15 years. Please pardon my right to an opinion, and I sure wouldn't want to waste any more of your valuable time.
Jarod Devries 1:23PM (9/22/2007)
Yes, and we reserve the right to think that you are an idiot.
David 1:47PM (9/22/2007)
Chuck ... I am not a big fan of GM but I am also not a big fan of what I feel is one of the ugliest, gas guzzling suv (?) on the road and that would be the fj cruiser in your avatar.
SuperSkyline89 8:49PM (9/22/2007)
The FJ Cruiser is the ugliest gas-guzzling SUV on the road? What's that make the Hummer H2?
icetraxx 11:35AM (9/22/2007)
GM needs to fix their pull-ahead program, if it was more than 2 months I might have bought a new GM vehicle. Now I'm just going to wait until the end of the lease to consider other options.
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whofan 12:02PM (9/22/2007)
Chrysler`s new warranty is great. I be hard pressed to look anywhere else if I were buying new.
Good to see GM get some sales for August.
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Random Task 12:09PM (9/22/2007)
Chrysler may not last as long as their warranty.
oby 1:21PM (9/22/2007)
Right on! Chuck U. Farlie, well said.
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Barney 1:26PM (9/22/2007)
This is not the first time for "free" financing. It's a barter tactic that seems to work well. "We are already giving you a deal on the financing." Make the deal first and then decide who's going to loan you the money. Low interest may still be cheaper then none.
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MoonRover 4:58PM (9/22/2007)
Actually most people take the rebate and go for the modest 5.7 to 7.9 financing. By taking this, they get the complete rebate on a down payment up front if they choose to sell the truck after 2 or three years they will come out the better.
Also if you go in for the 0% financing you had best have the best credit score or forget it......
For all practical purposes you will come out just as good going for low interest 5.0 to 7.0 %, and the rebate added to your down payment. Your payments will be almost the same.
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MoonRover 5:00PM (9/22/2007)
The rebate is $3,000 I believe added to your down payment.
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Barney 10:24PM (9/22/2007)
Is this rebate on a fixed price or the price mutually agreed on?
PJ 5:07PM (9/22/2007)
Lest we forget, that August sales increase was partly the result of GM backpedaling on their fewer-fleet-sales promise. Total fleet sales increased by 21 percent in August, and sales to rental agencies increased by 24 percent.
Total light truck sales were up by 16.5 percent in August: good. Passenger-car sales went down by 7.8 percent. Not good.
Giveaway financing is a double-edged sword, too. While helping sales in the short term, GM is condemning itself to lower resale values in the long term, which is no small contributor to the "perception gap" Detroit seems so keen on defeating. Fortunately they're only extending it until the 1st.
This isn't coming from an anti-domestic-er; I just feel the need to counter Chris' occasionally rose-tinted posts on the state of the Big 2.8, and particularly GM.
Ultimately, GM has two choices: a) invest huge amounts of currently-unavailable funds into developing no-excuses, throw-down best-in-class products, or b) keep playing the value card, and pare down the organization to the point where supply is more in line with demand.
You can't keep losing money on most every vehicle you sell forever.
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MoonRover 6:00PM (9/22/2007)
Toyota had increased rental sales, so did Honda. Toyota had greater rebates than GM yet Toyota was down in sales. Give credit to GM, their products are begining to stand on their own legs, success comes in increments. The new products in the pipeline bode well for the General. The housing bubble has caused stress throughout the industry, it is only smart to offer incentives to move older inventory,some of which was a cushion in case of a strike that will not happen.
Barney 10:31PM (9/22/2007)
I thought the financing came from another department of GM. (GM Financing) Fleet sales is seldom on a financing program and would actually be a cash flow to GM. The deal to the average buyer would still include a markup and usually enough to cover the "free" financing..
SPG 6:42PM (9/22/2007)
If I had the money I'd be down at the nearest GM dealership buying a G6 with the four pane sunroof right now.
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Richard Warren 8:01PM (9/22/2007)
"Tundra incentives are: 3.9 percent to 5.9 percent financing on all models, depending on the loan term; special lease rates on all models; $1,000 trade-in assistance for early termination of leases on the previous-generation Tundra; $2,000 dealer cash incentive on Regular Cab models; $1,000 dealer cash incentive on Double Cab models. The incentives run through the end of April. Some dealers already were offering as much as a $1,500 discount on the basic Tundra work truck, which is selling particularly slowly."
They all do it, get over it.
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Devin 1:11AM (9/23/2007)
I don't know where you're from, but in central Illinois (you know, where we actually use our trucks), Tundras have had 0% financing and cash on the hood for a while just like the post says the Silverado/Sierra twins will begin having soon.