…and who in their right mind is buying them?
Okay… first, a simple GQ post:
How many cars did GM dealerships sell during the past week or two?
Anecdotal data is good too, if you’ve noticed anything interesting .
And now, the rest of the post:
Why would anybody buy a GM car after bankruptcy?
Even if GM goes through Chapter 11 re-organization and continues producing cars—why would anybody want to buy them?
A new car is not an impulse purchase…People need a reasonable sense of security before laying down a lot of cash.
But when you know that the showroom you are standing in may be forced to close next week, the warranty may be useless, and parts may not be available, why not walk across the street to the Ford or Honda dealership?
There are a couple of related threads running right now— (discussing the future of GM, the ability of the government to run a car business, the morality of the bailout, the financial aspects, the political aspects, etc etc…everything except consumer security)
But all these threads have what seems to me to be a false assumption: that somehow there is a possibilty for GM to survive and become profitable, if the company will just do X,Y or Z. So they discuss X,Y or Z…
But no matter which X Y or Z policy eventually develops, there is still one huge problem: convincing me, Joe Average, to give almost a year’s salary to a company which I can’t trust to provide me basic service or parts when I need them 12 or 24 months from now.
so now for an IMHO poll: how many of you Dopers who expect to buy a new car soon will be willing to risk your money on a GM product? And why?
(----chappachula, whose 10 year old car needs replacing soon. And who is not likely to buy GM)
The warranties will be guaranteed by the US Government. The replacement parts will still be produced and sold. Getting your car serviced will be more of a pain, true. I have a '99 Saturn, my local dealership shut down, and then next closest service center is a 30-minute-drive away.
The US Government is broke. It is trillions of dollars in debt. The warranties will be guaranteed by taxpayers who will be forced to pay to repair GM’s crappy vehicles.
GM is not in liquidation or even close to it. The company is being reorganized under Chapter 11. The shareholders got wiped out, the bondholders and the union became equity holders under a plan that has been in the works for months. The structure of the old company has disappeared and a new company is now managing the situation. Yes, there are enormous hurdles but business will continue and GM will continue to sell cars and trucks and buses. There are incredible deals out there for buyers and the downside risks of buying are minimal in the total scheme of things.
I have long been a critic of GM and its products but that doesn’t mean their cars are crap. IMHO Mangosteen’s post is neither factually correct or appropriate.
Sort of along these lines…I, today, just saw the new Camaro. Butt-kickin!!!
I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing could save GM single-handed.
Of course, their other lines may be just enouh to undermine whatever advantage the Camaro may produce, and drag the company down into obscurity.
I read an article somewhere that some of the dealers who are losing their dealerships are selling the cars at fire-sale prices. They legally can’t sell them after a certain date, and GM/Chrysler being in bankruptcy complicates things, since they normally would just give them back or something.
and that is where we were a few years ago!
things haven’t changed much-except for a bunch more zeros.
GM or Chrysler cars (I have one of each), are still viable purchases, but still purchases that must compete in the marketplace. To the extent I am interested in a new car, I will look at all sources.
As for the health of the manufacturer, consider how little you really know about the financial health of a foreign manufacturer. I happen to be convinced that they are in OK shape-but that is based on no information beyond prior experience. Everyone is losing money right now. Every purchase (as it always is) is a gamble.
You sure about that? I wouldn’t be surprised if they had trouble advertising, and they can’t claim to be a dealership. But if they can’t sell them and can’t give them back after a certain date, what’s to become of them?
Like it or not, there is such a thing as “too big to fail”. The biggest dick in the room can modify the rules as seen fit to insure survival. The financial system can be modified to serve the institutions that have been chosen to be preserved. You can get on the soapbox all you want but that is the reality.
For instance, there was some Senator railing on about the GM bankruptcy and how the government was doing things that were unconstitutional. Get a clue, you moron! This isn’t about following YOUR interpretation of what the Constitution says, it’s about keeping the system running. (Note: The Senator has Toyota plants in his State.)
The Soviet Union was allowed to fail because the international bankers had decided long ago that the way it was managed was a classic case of stupidity, corruption and incompetence. They never recognized the ruble as an international currency and therefore doomed them to ultimate failure. If they had decided that the Soviets Union was worth saving it would have happened.
So,** Mangosteen**, even though I took issue with your earlier post I agree with this one.
It might be a good idea. It’s true your warranty probably won’t be there. But buying a new car for half its book value would make it worth assuming the potential cost of any repairs.
You are ill-informed. The dealers actually purchase the cars in order to get them on the lots so they can’t just ‘give them back’. The only thing the manufacturer provides after selling to a dealership are incentives and warranty support. Chrysler dealers have until next week to get rid of their inventory or they lose those incentives and ability to perform warranty work. In many cases those dealers are finding other dealers to sell their inventory. Some have opted to drop prices but according to an article this morning (in USA Today), there are only 1,900 or so unassigned vehicles left that are still in the inventory of dealers that are being closed. After the deadline, those dealerships can sell those vehicles as used cars instead of chopping prices to an obscene level.
GM dealers, OTOH are not going to experience the same issue as they have been notified that they have up to 1.5 years to rid themselves of inventory before “decertification” of the dealership. This is plenty of time to sell the remaining inventory.
Why do people keep saying this? The warranties are guaranteed. Period. Anyone telling you otherwise has fallen to the media hype. Your warranties are covered.
What are you talking about? The ruble was never recognized as an international currency because the Soviet central bank deliberately refused to allow its currency to be traded at market value. It had nothing to do with “the international bankers”.
You have no way of knowing that. Neither do I. Whatever will happen will take place in the future so anything we think on the subject is just a prediction. You can predict that current promises that warranties will continue to be honored will hold. I can predict that there will be “revisions” of these promises in the future as the sales generated by these promises are completed and the costs of filling these promises come due.