So Far, So Good for GM's 60-Day Guarantee
By Michelle Krebs September 15, 2009General Motors' just-launched marketing program that provides the consumer with a 60-day 
moneyback guarantee on the purchase of a Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet or GMC vehicle is generating interest in the early going, according to Edmunds.com and GM data.
Shopping consideration for GM vehicles on Edmunds.com's Web site -- which suggests future sales -- shows a 10 percent increase in the first couple of days since GM's "May the Best Car Win" campaign and the accompanying advertisements, featuring government-appointed chairman Ed Whitacre, hitting the airwaves on Sunday.
"What we'll be watching if GM's consideration stays at those levels or whether it rises or drops," said David Tompkins, Ph.D., Edmunds.com's executive director of Business Analytics. If it stays at 10 percent, he noted, that could result in a market share hike of 2 percent.
But it is too early to know which way GM consideration will go, he added.
In an online chat Monday, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, in response to a question posed by AutoObserver, that GM is showing an even higher boost in consideration than is Edmunds.com. "Some of the early surveys we've seen are showing a 14-percent shift in willingness to consider GM," he said. "So these are good signs."
The most recent Edmunds.com-measured bump in GM consideration equals the same size boost GM got in consideration from California consumers when the automaker launched a program with eBay Motors to list dealer inventories there on the selling site.
And by comparison, Hyundai achieved a 15 percent boost in consideration in January when it launched its Hyundai Assurance program, according to Edmunds.com. That program allowed consumers to return their Hyundai model if they lost their income due to a layoff or medical situation. Hyundai has followed on with enhancements to that original program, which has been copied by other manufacturers, along with new marketing initiatives, the introduction of new models and the payout of hefty incentives.
All of those efforts have helped Hyundai boost sales and market share. GM is hoping for the same. The purpose of May The Best Car Win is to challenge the consumer to find out himself or herself about GM cars, said Lutz. "Look at the data. Look at the interior. Drive the car. See what the suspension is like. See how the brakes feel," he said. "If your mind is closed, we can't help you; you're just depriving yourself of a great automotive experience."
Lutz defended the use of GM's new chairman, who has no previous auto experience, in the initial GM ads and said his appearance will be short-lived in GM ads.
"The Ed Whitacre ad is not designed to tout GM products," said Lutz in the online chat. "It is simply designed to launch the 60-day satisfaction guarantee and to remind the public of our unequaled 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty."
Lutz, who is now in charge of marketing, said the next round of ads will focus on GM's specific brands. "Toward the end of September, you should be seeing the first of the specific brand and vehicle line ads," he said. -- By Michelle Krebs
Edmunds.com Analyst David Greene contributed to this entry.
Photo by GM
Ed Whitacre is the relatively new, government-appointed chairman of GM.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Click here to comment on this entry.So, considering that the majority of GM's board members and their chairman are government appointed, we're supposed to believe that the Obama administration doesn't want to run GM? Then they shouldn't have taken them over. Actions speak louder than words.
I wouldn't hire them for my latex salesman.
I think this will go over all right. All seven of the Detroit-branded dealerships I sold at would take the unit back if the deal bubbled, but that was if the unit came back within a week or less.
Usually it was a case of poor credit. In those cases we could most often move the customer into a lower model or a program car and conserve the deal.
Rarely did a car come back because of dissatisfaction with the car itself. Of the few I had that were not finance related, Peer pressure played a big factor. The import-drivers among their family, neighbors and co-workers would begin ostracizing them. You could tell by the lame and conflicting reasoning they had now vs the day they took delivery.
I hope that a fair share of any factory cash for the bring-backs goes to the salespeople who put the deal together in the first place.
Its a good job done by general motors.This technique surely work for them.
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Visit this for more info on buy any cars.
cwc:
Do you know what "run" means? The government doesn't run GM and has no involvement in day to day operations. They named some board members and the management serves at the pleasure of the board. The Board and the CEO run the company, not Obama.
If the nationalist, central planning government in Washington has no interest in influencing the activities and direction of GM, why did they appoint a majority of their board members? Because the taxpayers whose money supposedly bailed them out have an interest? That's a myth. This was just used as an opportunity to gain more control of the domestic auto industry. It's why a federal government, which we no longer have, has no business in "loaning" money to the private sector, nor meddling in its affairs. If our government really wanted to protect the interests of its citizens, whose earnings are confiscated from them before they ever even see them in their paychecks, they wouldn't have bailed out the companies in the first place.
I don't trust GM based on first hand experience. I bought a brand new car (TransAm with the LS-1 engine - similar to a Corvette engine) from them and noticed this brand new car used two quarts of oil after one week (500 miles). I immediately let them know and brought the car back. I asked for a replacement car as this car was obviously seriously flawed. There were no oil leaks, I showed them oil residue on the exhaust tips - it was blowing oil past the piston rings. After several additional trips back to the dealer and writing letters to GM, the GM representative called me and said if I paid an additional $3000, they would replace my car (or I can take a "crate" engine - no thanks). I told him I would file a Lemon Law case, which I did and won. At the Lemon Law hearing the New England Regional GM representative said it was normal for a car to use a quart of oil every couple hundred miles. The Lemon Law Arbitration panel found in my favor and forced GM to replace the car.
The GM representative lied to the panel and claimed I did not give GM enough "repair attempts", however my documentation proved otherwise the panel found I fulfilled my obligations under the program.
I lived with that car for a year and 15,000 miles (totally unacceptable) - had to run platinum plugs in three cylinders to avoid fowling (I'm mechanically inclined). GM had to also pay for the oil I used. The replacement car came to the dealer with a misaligned fender (they fixed it, but not perfectly) and this replacement car had three quality problems which were: rotors warped, rear power hatch release didn’t function properly and one rear window defroster wire was malfunctioning). GM also did not honor these items under warranty – I just fixed what I could myself and never went back to GM.
I pointed out early on to GM that this oil going out the exhaust is an environmental taboo - they didn't care. The quality of their products alone has lost me as a customer and their concern for the environment is extremely disappointing.
My question is: Why would anyone trust GM to take a car back within 60 days or value a longer warranty when GM skirts honoring the warranties they offer today/in the past?
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