How you can drive a new Corvette and annoy GM
11-19-09 | 11:01 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: SouthSide Qns
How you can drive a new Corvette and annoy GM
This was an interesting article. I wonder if anyone has actually attempted it.
Link
How you can drive a new Corvette and annoy GM
By JOHN CRUDELE
MY '02 Camaro was in the shop for a week for its 177,000-mile spa treatment. Normally I wouldn't share such an intimate detail with my readers, but I had a bright idea.
General Motors, you see, has this great marketing program that you've probably heard advertised no less than a thousand times if you watched any football last weekend.
Purchase a new GM car by the end of November and you have the right to return it, for any reason, after 31 days and before 60 days, and get all your money back.
So, this is my idea: I temporarily needed another car (unless I was willing to drive my backup 1996 Grand Am, which has zero curb appeal) and GM was willing -- no, make that begging -- to give me a car for two months.
That, to me, seemed like a perfect way to drive a car that I truly deserve.
Here's the phone conversation I had with a GM dealer at All American Chevy in Middletown, NJ.
(Ring)
Receptionist: Thank you for calling All American Chevrolet.
Me: I'm curious about this 30-day guarantee that Chevy's giving.
Receptionist: I'll give you to the sales department.
Saleswoman: Sales, can I help you?
Me: How does this 30-day guarantee work?
Saleswoman: It's sixty days.
Me: So I can return the car in 60 days?
Saleswoman: Correct.
Me: No questions asked?
Saleswoman: No, there are some stipulations.
Me: Like what?
Saleswoman: Like the miles you are allowed to drive.
Me: How many am I allowed to drive?
Saleswoman: I believe it's 4,000 miles in 60 days. You can't return it sooner than 30 days. Uh --
Me: What happens if I just need a car? My car is in the shop. What if I just want to use it for 30 days? Can I do that? Do I have to pay up front?
Saleswoman: Well, you actually have to buy the car. Sign a contract.
Me: So what? OK.
Saleswoman: You buy the car, you give a contract (sic), we send the contract to the bank and --
Me. What if I pay cash?
Saleswoman: Well then, you come in, you pay cash for the car and you can return it after 31 days. Can't have any damage on it.
Me: Between 31 and 60 days?
Saleswoman: Correct.
Me: Wow, that sounds like a pretty good deal. My car is going to be in the shop for a couple of weeks. Can I do this and use your car for a couple of weeks?
Saleswoman: I can't see why not. I mean, obviously it's not designed for that. Between you and me it appears that you can. If you can come in I'll give you the whole list of rules.
Me: What other rules?
Saleswoman: Like I said, you have to keep it at least 31 days, it can't have damage on it, can't be driven for more than 4,000 miles.
Me: Uh-huh! Between you and me, just because we're friends, I can use this instead of a car rental, really.
Saleswoman: I assume so. There is some money you will probably lose.
Me: Like how much?
Saleswoman: I don't know. I don't know if you get back the sales tax or not. And obviously if you have negative trade equity you don't get that back. But you don't have a trade.
Me: But I'd have to pay the sales tax?
Saleswoman: You know, hang on, I'll get it. Can I call you right back? What's your name?
Me: John. I'll hold.
(On hold, listening to about two minutes of commercials.)
Saleswoman: Hello, John.
Me: So what about the tax?
Saleswoman: When you do the program you get the tax back. You would lose the $150 documentation fee and your motor vehicle fees.
Me: How much is that?
Saleswoman: It depends on what you bought.
Me: I've always seen my self in a Corvette. So what if I took the Corvette for a month -- 31 days?
Saleswoman: I don't think it applies to the Corvette.
Me: Oh! So what kind of car does it apply to?
Saleswoman: Everything else.
Me: Camaro?
Saleswoman: Wait a minute, wait a minute. It applies to the Camaro and it applies to the Corvette too.
Me: Wow, that's pretty generous.
Saleswoman: Keep in mind that I did tell you the intent is not for you to have a rental car.
Me: So let's say I take this car out for 31 days and then I decide not to buy it -- wink, wink -- what do you do with a car that has 4,000 miles on it?
Saleswoman: It'll be sold as a used car.
Me: Is that right?
Saleswoman: Yeah.
Me: So then I can go in and buy it as a used car?
Saleswoman: I don't know, I think there's a stipulation that you can't buy the car that you are returning.
Me: How long does this program go?
Saleswoman: The end of November.
Me: Thanks.
(Tune in next week to see if I'm driving a Corvette.)
By JOHN CRUDELE
MY '02 Camaro was in the shop for a week for its 177,000-mile spa treatment. Normally I wouldn't share such an intimate detail with my readers, but I had a bright idea.
General Motors, you see, has this great marketing program that you've probably heard advertised no less than a thousand times if you watched any football last weekend.
Purchase a new GM car by the end of November and you have the right to return it, for any reason, after 31 days and before 60 days, and get all your money back.
So, this is my idea: I temporarily needed another car (unless I was willing to drive my backup 1996 Grand Am, which has zero curb appeal) and GM was willing -- no, make that begging -- to give me a car for two months.
That, to me, seemed like a perfect way to drive a car that I truly deserve.
Here's the phone conversation I had with a GM dealer at All American Chevy in Middletown, NJ.
(Ring)
Receptionist: Thank you for calling All American Chevrolet.
Me: I'm curious about this 30-day guarantee that Chevy's giving.
Receptionist: I'll give you to the sales department.
Saleswoman: Sales, can I help you?
Me: How does this 30-day guarantee work?
Saleswoman: It's sixty days.
Me: So I can return the car in 60 days?
Saleswoman: Correct.
Me: No questions asked?
Saleswoman: No, there are some stipulations.
Me: Like what?
Saleswoman: Like the miles you are allowed to drive.
Me: How many am I allowed to drive?
Saleswoman: I believe it's 4,000 miles in 60 days. You can't return it sooner than 30 days. Uh --
Me: What happens if I just need a car? My car is in the shop. What if I just want to use it for 30 days? Can I do that? Do I have to pay up front?
Saleswoman: Well, you actually have to buy the car. Sign a contract.
Me: So what? OK.
Saleswoman: You buy the car, you give a contract (sic), we send the contract to the bank and --
Me. What if I pay cash?
Saleswoman: Well then, you come in, you pay cash for the car and you can return it after 31 days. Can't have any damage on it.
Me: Between 31 and 60 days?
Saleswoman: Correct.
Me: Wow, that sounds like a pretty good deal. My car is going to be in the shop for a couple of weeks. Can I do this and use your car for a couple of weeks?
Saleswoman: I can't see why not. I mean, obviously it's not designed for that. Between you and me it appears that you can. If you can come in I'll give you the whole list of rules.
Me: What other rules?
Saleswoman: Like I said, you have to keep it at least 31 days, it can't have damage on it, can't be driven for more than 4,000 miles.
Me: Uh-huh! Between you and me, just because we're friends, I can use this instead of a car rental, really.
Saleswoman: I assume so. There is some money you will probably lose.
Me: Like how much?
Saleswoman: I don't know. I don't know if you get back the sales tax or not. And obviously if you have negative trade equity you don't get that back. But you don't have a trade.
Me: But I'd have to pay the sales tax?
Saleswoman: You know, hang on, I'll get it. Can I call you right back? What's your name?
Me: John. I'll hold.
(On hold, listening to about two minutes of commercials.)
Saleswoman: Hello, John.
Me: So what about the tax?
Saleswoman: When you do the program you get the tax back. You would lose the $150 documentation fee and your motor vehicle fees.
Me: How much is that?
Saleswoman: It depends on what you bought.
Me: I've always seen my self in a Corvette. So what if I took the Corvette for a month -- 31 days?
Saleswoman: I don't think it applies to the Corvette.
Me: Oh! So what kind of car does it apply to?
Saleswoman: Everything else.
Me: Camaro?
Saleswoman: Wait a minute, wait a minute. It applies to the Camaro and it applies to the Corvette too.
Me: Wow, that's pretty generous.
Saleswoman: Keep in mind that I did tell you the intent is not for you to have a rental car.
Me: So let's say I take this car out for 31 days and then I decide not to buy it -- wink, wink -- what do you do with a car that has 4,000 miles on it?
Saleswoman: It'll be sold as a used car.
Me: Is that right?
Saleswoman: Yeah.
Me: So then I can go in and buy it as a used car?
Saleswoman: I don't know, I think there's a stipulation that you can't buy the car that you are returning.
Me: How long does this program go?
Saleswoman: The end of November.
Me: Thanks.
(Tune in next week to see if I'm driving a Corvette.)
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11-19-09 | 02:53 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 91,585
Likes: 88
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
This program is nothing new at GM. Saturn, a GM division, has had a 30-day money-back guarantee ever since its founding in 1990. Clear title, no significant vehicle damage, and you could return the vehicle within 30 days for ANY reason for a full refund, minus tax and tags, of course, because that money goes to the state.
I actually took advantage of that deal once. It's no secret that I was a fan of the 90's vintage plastic-body Saturns, and I owned two of them. The first one, an SL2 sedan, was an excellent car....I had no significant complaints with it. The second one, a special-order, limited-production, bright-yellow SC2 coupe, was unacceptable to me, with B-pillar rattles and a higher-speed shimmy that simply could not be eliminated....I worked on the car myself, several times, with the shop foreman (head technician) in the service bay, and neither of us could get the car right....even with his factory-trained experience. After two weeks, I finally said the hell with it, and turned the car back in. They refunded every penny....even the tax and tags, which they didn't have to. THAT's what a great company Saturn was.
(Then they turned around and re-sold the car to a young woman that very afternoon. Yellow coupes were hard to get, and apparantly she didn't mind the quirks in it)
What does all this have to do with the current program? I just wanted to show that it is nothing new......that's all.
I actually took advantage of that deal once. It's no secret that I was a fan of the 90's vintage plastic-body Saturns, and I owned two of them. The first one, an SL2 sedan, was an excellent car....I had no significant complaints with it. The second one, a special-order, limited-production, bright-yellow SC2 coupe, was unacceptable to me, with B-pillar rattles and a higher-speed shimmy that simply could not be eliminated....I worked on the car myself, several times, with the shop foreman (head technician) in the service bay, and neither of us could get the car right....even with his factory-trained experience. After two weeks, I finally said the hell with it, and turned the car back in. They refunded every penny....even the tax and tags, which they didn't have to. THAT's what a great company Saturn was.
(Then they turned around and re-sold the car to a young woman that very afternoon. Yellow coupes were hard to get, and apparantly she didn't mind the quirks in it)
What does all this have to do with the current program? I just wanted to show that it is nothing new......that's all.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-19-09 at 03:00 PM.
11-19-09 | 03:05 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 91,585
Likes: 88
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Yes, that's a tough choice..........although, to me, I think the extra $500 might be worth the option of (maybe) not having to live with buyer's remorse. (see my story above about the Saturn coupe).
11-19-09 | 03:22 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 14,100
Likes: 1
From: tech capital
But my preference is to do what I've done historically to avoid buyers remorse and that's to not purchase GM cars, although I have owned one GM truck with reasonable satisfaction.
11-19-09 | 03:44 PM
#13
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 10,142
Likes: 9
From: Southeastern PA
This program is nothing new at GM. Saturn, a GM division, has had a 30-day money-back guarantee ever since its founding in 1990. Clear title, no significant vehicle damage, and you could return the vehicle within 30 days for ANY reason for a full refund, minus tax and tags, of course, because that money goes to the state.
I actually took advantage of that deal once. It's no secret that I was a fan of the 90's vintage plastic-body Saturns, and I owned two of them. The first one, an SL2 sedan, was an excellent car....I had no significant complaints with it. The second one, a special-order, limited-production, bright-yellow SC2 coupe, was unacceptable to me, with B-pillar rattles and a higher-speed shimmy that simply could not be eliminated....I worked on the car myself, several times, with the shop foreman (head technician) in the service bay, and neither of us could get the car right....even with his factory-trained experience. After two weeks, I finally said the hell with it, and turned the car back in. They refunded every penny....even the tax and tags, which they didn't have to. THAT's what a great company Saturn was.
(Then they turned around and re-sold the car to a young woman that very afternoon. Yellow coupes were hard to get, and apparantly she didn't mind the quirks in it)
What does all this have to do with the current program? I just wanted to show that it is nothing new......that's all.
I actually took advantage of that deal once. It's no secret that I was a fan of the 90's vintage plastic-body Saturns, and I owned two of them. The first one, an SL2 sedan, was an excellent car....I had no significant complaints with it. The second one, a special-order, limited-production, bright-yellow SC2 coupe, was unacceptable to me, with B-pillar rattles and a higher-speed shimmy that simply could not be eliminated....I worked on the car myself, several times, with the shop foreman (head technician) in the service bay, and neither of us could get the car right....even with his factory-trained experience. After two weeks, I finally said the hell with it, and turned the car back in. They refunded every penny....even the tax and tags, which they didn't have to. THAT's what a great company Saturn was.
(Then they turned around and re-sold the car to a young woman that very afternoon. Yellow coupes were hard to get, and apparantly she didn't mind the quirks in it)
What does all this have to do with the current program? I just wanted to show that it is nothing new......that's all.
11-19-09 | 06:04 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 22,608
Likes: 102
From: Waiting for next track day
WOW!!! I would like to try out a new ZR-1 for a few weeks. I would beat the **** out of that thing and then turn it back in with bald tires and a stressed motor. This kind of reminds me a friend who would frequently take his car in for service any time he needed to drive out of state and then he had a brand new car that wasn't his to put all of the excess mileage on. Smart cookie and no less ghetto/shady than what is being described here.