Test a car overnight with GM!

[Frosty]

http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosinside ... 131148.htm Unfortunately The Hummer H1, Cadillac XLR, Chevrolet SSR and Chevrolet Corvette are excluded. Sounds like a great way to impress a date on a Friday night!

[BrentDev]

That's cool! I was planning on having the wife test drive one this weekend anyway. Now - maybe we could just bring it home!(But I dont think the dealer had any GT's)

[MiamiVibe]

Damn to bad the GTO wont be out by the end of the promotion. Wonder if the Trans Am falls in the bunch?

[robdog]

No more Trans AMs unless they are 02 leftovers!

[ragingfish]

quote:No more Trans AMs unless they are 02 leftovers!Right. The Firebird/Trans Am was discontinued at the end of the 2002 model year.I think that's a brilliant incentive. I can take home a GTO overnight and show it off, and get a solid test drive. That's really wise of GM...let's hope it helps boost Vibe sales!

[BrentDev]

Dohp! Re-read the article. Doesnt start until the 15th....maybe next weekend, I guess.

[scherry2]

Unfortunately The Hummer H1, Cadillac XLR, Chevrolet SSR and Chevrolet Corvette are excluded. Yea but you can get a Hummer II. I went to the Hummer plant. They look fun to drive.

[FOCthS 83]

i am definatly gona tell my dad about this one. he is thinking about buying a vibe gt. we were gona test drive it today but other things came up

[macrosonic]

This is cool for people seriously looking for a new car. It just seems there's a lot of room for abuse from people just looking for a cool ride for the night. They allow the car to be driven up to 100 miles... how many miles can a dealer allow on the odometer before it starts affecting the sale price? I don't think I would pay the same price for a "new" car that had 600 miles on it.Still, since i'm thinking a getting a Vibe, I'd love to take one home and really see what it's like.

[jake75]

In 1993 I was looking at a Plymouth Colt Vista Wagon (made by Mitsubishi) and mentionend to the salesman I wanted my wife to see it. He said, just take it home and bring it back tomorrow. It probably didn't hurt that it had been sitting on his lot for two months. We bought it for a net of about $13,000 plus tax after a $500 reg. rebate and #500 college grad rebate (I titled it jointly with my rcent grad daughter to get that). That Colt Vista wagon was similar in size and functionality to the VIBE - interesting that 10 years later I bought a new and better equipped VIBE for a net of only $13,650 plus tax after rebates and discount. This is a good time to buy a car.

[ragingfish]

quote:It just seems there's a lot of room for obuse from people just looking for a cool ride for the night. I'm sure GM has taken that into consideration...my guess is that they designate 1-2 cars per dealer, from each model line, strictly for that purpose, so they don't all get the odo run up, and eventually, sell those few as dealer models or something at a reduced price.I also suspect the reason the H1, XLR, SSR, Corvette, etc. were excluded may be just for that reason. They're definitely targets for abuse of the new system...

[scherry2]

the Hummer 2 is included, not the Hummer 1. Gosh if the Hummer 1 was included I think tooooo many people would start playing G. I. Joe LOL

[ragingfish]

My mistake. I meant to say H1. LOL! I have corrected myself accordingly.On another note, why does it not seem that GM is publicizing this? I mean, there is no press release on their site, and there certainly aren't any commercials announcing it. I could swear it said it was their effort to give themselves a leading edge in the market and "bring people back to GM..." or something like that.

[Stang2Vibe]

quote:They allow the car to be driven up to 100 miles... how many miles can a dealer allow on the odometer before it starts affecting the sale price?I know that a dealer is allowed to put up to 5,000 miles on a car and sell it "new" as a demo model. Also, the car can never have been titled outside of the dealer or manufacturer's name. I'm not sure that there is a regulation beyond that on what a dealer can sell as "new". The factory sometimes sells cars that are called "program cars" that are usually offered at a very low price. I think they have not been titled to any private party but usually have much more than 5,000 miles on them.

[ragingfish]

They get a 5,000 mile cushion? That's a LOT! I would never buy a car that had more than like 50 or 75 miles on the odo...unless I knew it had been driven in from another dealer...

[coratz]

who the hell is gonna buy a dealer demo model now. that would be like buing a rental car. and we all know how we treat rental cars. can you picture your dealer going around the car ticking of dents and checking the fuel gage lol!

[MA-VIBE-FAN]

Advertising will start May 1st. Dealers have to designate specific cars to use in the program. Some smaller dealers may not even have a Vibe set up. Test drivers will be required to prove they have insurance to cover any damage to the cars, leave a car and keys at the dealership, and be qualified to buy the car they drive.quote: On another note, why does it not seem that GM is publicizing this? I mean, there is no press release on their site, and there certainly aren't any commercials announcing it. I could swear it said it was their effort to give themselves a leading edge in the market and "bring people back to GM..." or something like that.

[ragingfish]

quote:who the hell is gonna buy a dealer demo model now. that would be like buing a rental car. and we all know how we treat rental cars. can you picture your dealer going around the car ticking of dents and checking the fuel gage lol!Lots of people by dealer demos. They want a car, don't want used, can't afford new. Dealer demos come in the middle. I have several friends who bought dealer demos. They were in near perfect condition.

[ColonelPanic]

I listen to NPR daily on the ride home from work... This evening they had a guy from a major automotive publication on there talking about it. Can't remember what mag he represented, but he was very enthusiastic about the program. It was the first I've heard from the media about this program.Said pretty much the same you just mentioned about qualifications, insurance, leaving the car overnight, etc. They made a comment jokingly, "So you probably couldn't convince the dealer to give you a Cadillac STS for the night when you show up in your beat up Cavalier" or something to that effect. IIRC, they said that GM is going to have 40,000 cars designated to particpate in the program. With that being said, I take it that you couldn't just pick one off the lot. Apparently the cars are going to be sold to the dealers for cheap once the promotion ends - giving the dealers a big incentive to participate in the program.It's a pretty good idea, what they're doing. I've seen in the past how dealerships sometimes might let you take the car home for the night, but that's not something that happens often. My experience is it's usually a small dealership and the customer is one they've known for a long time. (I haven't fallen into that category, but my Dad's taken many new cars home for an "extended" test drive.) A nationwide campaign promoting this for the average Joe could be good.Let's hope the cars all come back in one piece.

[coratz]

Can't anyone agree with me that there will be so much abuse with this program that it will just get cancelled!!!!Is ths the real replacement for the repair of the damaged/abused overningt cars to be done on the stripped Atztec Line?????hmmmm???? a program that will be way to widley and open publicized and abused by dealers supported by one or 2 cars a lot???????? lets say a car go over night on a friday night thru sat, thats max 100 km, then goes out sat nigh thru sun, that 100km, thats close to 200km that weekend, thats more than 10000km a year just on that car. what if there are weekday overnights???????????????so much work in paperwork for a dealer who just wants a sale and not test piliots, whos got time to pick them out. racial profiling here we come?????????dealers quote"no bomb making material in the car at any time"whos gonna buy these cars???? theres going to half to be some disclosure?? whats the difference between a rental car and dealer car overnight???????someones gonna pay that bill later.this program is destined to fail AND IT BUGS MEdoes it not bug anyone else? where is salsa "king of controversy"when i need him

[MA-VIBE-FAN]

quote:IIRC, they said that GM is going to have 40,000 cars designated to particpate in the program. With that being said, I take it that you couldn't just pick one off the lot. Apparently the cars are going to be sold to the dealers for cheap once the promotion ends - giving the dealers a big incentive to participate in the program.Actually, GM can't own any of the cars. The participating dealers, select a specific amount and model mix of cars from their inventory that they own for the program and designate them as demos.

[MA-VIBE-FAN]

quote:Can't anyone agree with me that there will be so much abuse with this program that it will just get cancelled!!!!Is ths the real replacement for the repair of the damaged/abused overningt cars to be done on the stripped Atztec Line?????hmmmm???? a program that will be way to widley and open publicized and abused by dealers supported by one or 2 cars a lot???????? lets say a car go over night on a friday night thru sat, thats max 100 km, then goes out sat nigh thru sun, that 100km, thats close to 200km that weekend, thats more than 10000km a year just on that car. what if there are weekday overnights???????????????so much work in paperwork for a dealer who just wants a sale and not test piliots, whos got time to pick them out. racial profiling here we come?????????dealers quote"no bomb making material in the car at any time"whos gonna buy these cars???? theres going to half to be some disclosure?? whats the difference between a rental car and dealer car overnight???????someones gonna pay that bill later.this program is destined to fail AND IT BUGS MEdoes it not bug anyone else? where is salsa "king of controversy"when i need himSee if I can make you comfortable with the info I have heard.1) The program will not get cancelled. Once GM launches the ads and mailings, the horse will have left the barn. 2) Not sure what you are talking about on the Aztek issue.3) If car is driven 100km/miles, the max it will have is 4,000km/miles for the first 30-40 day segment, and 6,000km/miles for the second 60 day segment.4) Dealers will apply same test drive qualifications they do now, just with the more paperwork part. If they don't want the paperwork, they don't have to play.5) The cars will be bought by the same people who by dealer demos now, those looking for near new cars at a slightly reduced price that still can get whatever incentives GM is offering (rates/rebates).6) Yes the cars will have to be disclosed as demos, same as they are now for dealers that have demos.7) Rental cars generally stay in service for a year or 15,000 miles, have been registered, and are not eligable for incentives. Demos are new cars, with less the 7,500 miles, and are eligable for incentives.If what bothers you is the potential abuse of the vehicle by the driver's, that is a valid point. If someone wanted to give the dealer their licence and insurance info and leave their can with them, so they can flog a Grand Am for a few hours, there is not much that can be done about it. But they don't need this program to it.Ultimately, the success and failure of this program will rest of the people that participate. How they accept the program rules and limitations will be the issue. For every Cavalier owner who dosen't get a CTS, hopefully there will be a non-GM owner how is surprised by the vehicle they drive.

[ragingfish]

quote:Can't anyone agree with me that there will be so much abuse with this program that it will just get cancelled!!!!Sorry, I disagree. First of all, as previously state, they are highly unlikely to cancel it once they launch it.Plus, as of now, this only goes through July. I suspect they'll evaluate the success and/or failure of the program at that point, and determine whether to extend it or not.And I commend GM for this...I've never heard of a program like this being done, and quite frankly, I think they're sales will take off as a result...That's what the world is about. Taking bold daring risks to help your company do even better...sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, that's why it's called a risk.

[ColonelPanic]

I agree - this could be a good thing. Anything they can do to increase sales...I do agree that there may be a few cases of abuse, I'm sure GM has considered that possibility. But I don't think it will be too bad... Perhaps at the end they may have a few trashed cars, but they will also have many more new customers that would never have considered GM in the first place. I'd say the benefits far outweigh the risks. Time will tell whether this will be a success, but I still think its a pretty good idea.