Wonder why GM is having trouble?

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy


I hear ya. I never took my Corvette to the dealer unless it was for a high dollar warranty coverage issue. Fortunately I never had any issues with it. GM dealers are individually owned and operated so you never can tell what you're going to get.

I hope that as GM thins the ranks of their dealers that customer satisfaction is a major consideration when they dump some of them.

It really doesn't matter to the customer that dealers are "independent", all that matter is that the integrity and service they get. When a customer gets hosed by Joe Sleazeball Chevrolet, it reflects on GM and all GM dealers. When the customer has long for gotten the name of the dirt bag dealer, they will still remember that they got hosed by a Chevy dealer and still be telling other people about it. I used GM/Chevy as an example, the same applies to any company that doesn't adequately control it's dealers.


Quote:
I also worked in Bowling Green for a short while during the C6 launch. Really a great car.


Now I finally know why they are great cars.

I hope your horse recovers

 

[GMBoy]

Actually the horse is fine, thank you.

But you bring the best point, and one I've tried to make to many people. That is you can build a [censored] product but if you treat the customer like gold, they forget that and are happy as heck. But, treat them wrong once and they never forget and yes, that dealer then hurts the auto maker's name.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

But, that is human nature to avoid bad experiences. I was treated that best at the Saturn dealership. I would not buy another new Saturn since they have nothing that fits my needs. My 99SL2 is serving me well, despite using 1 quart of oil per 800 miles. Gives me an excuse to hoard oil on sale and come to this website.

 

[ZZman]

GMboy: $50 grand for a vehicle is the problem. No wonder the big 3 didn't want to give up producing the trucks and SUV's! Plus from what I can find the Hybrid model is thousands more than the standard model not equal in price.

**I suppose if I could afford to pay 50 grand for a vehicle, I could afford gas for it to. (which I can't)

**The Hybrid Malibu should have been what the Ford Fusion Hybrid is.

 

[Papa Bear]

"But, treat them wrong once and they never forget and yes, that dealer then hurts the auto maker's name."

I think you are getting the point !!
The rules are the same for all the companies.... you have to have dealers with "zero defects" as well as product.

 

[Propflux01]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
"But, treat them wrong once and they never forget and yes, that dealer then hurts the auto maker's name."

The thing is, you gotta first have a car that doesn't require going to the dealer in the first place. People getting an oil change and a lube usually wont get [censored] service, as they know a customer will go elsewhere for the change, and the dealer doesn't want to risk losing a "PM customer". The ones that have the bad experiences are usually the ones that return a vehicle for some kinda warranty work and either have the dealer tell them "it ain't covered", "theres nothing wrong", or have to jump through other hoops because the dealer doesn't want to work on it..

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
GMboy: $50 grand for a vehicle is the problem. No wonder the big 3 didn't want to give up producing the trucks and SUV's! Plus from what I can find the Hybrid model is thousands more than the standard model not equal in price.

**I suppose if I could afford to pay 50 grand for a vehicle, I could afford gas for it to. (which I can't)

**The Hybrid Malibu should have been what the Ford Fusion Hybrid is.



I wonder how much that $50,000 truck would cost if GM was paying the same wages and benefits as Toyota is for US workers. Sorry to say management, the UAW, and not really designing a product that meets the needs and wants of the US customer is what destroyed them.

Frank D

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
GMboy: $50 grand for a vehicle is the problem. No wonder the big 3 didn't want to give up producing the trucks and SUV's! Plus from what I can find the Hybrid model is thousands more than the standard model not equal in price.



That's because you are not comparing apples to apples. Yes, a BASE Tahoe LS is cheaper than a Hybrid. BUT - the HYbrids come fully equipped and are loaded. Compare a loaded Tahoe LTZ with a Hybrid and you'll see the price similarity. Hybrids come witj everything. There one just 2 options: sunroof and DVD.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
That's why you see more improvements with the big SUV than a small car - atleast for now until technology takes the next step.


An SUV is heavier, therefore loses more energy when stopping...and must expend more energy to get back up to speed. A hybrid setup benefits a heavier vehicle more than a lighter one.

 

[RoGuE]

Originally Posted By: Ed_T

Buying a new GM//Chrysler//Ford is like putting a blowtorch to your money given the immediate cliff depreciation that occurs. It's expensive to support these patriotic badges. One has got to be willing to take more than one for the team.


Not everyone cares about depreciation. I don't know why so many people nowadays can't stick with a car for more than 3 years and just use it until it wears out.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: RoGuE
Originally Posted By: Ed_T

Buying a new GM//Chrysler//Ford is like putting a blowtorch to your money given the immediate cliff depreciation that occurs. It's expensive to support these patriotic badges. One has got to be willing to take more than one for the team.


Not everyone cares about depreciation. I don't know why so many people nowadays can't stick with a car for more than 3 years and just use it until it wears out.


With the economy turning for the worse, people are hanging to the old cars, and keeping them up.

My girlfriends mother just bought a new cobalt loaded up for nearly 18,000. Absolutely insane.

I was looking at one for my girlfriend on the used market. A 2006 model with low mileage can be had for 8-9 grand if you try hard enough.

50 percent discount in 1 year or 18 months. Why people buy chevy new, I have no idea.

The cobalt and malibu are decent cars for 9 grand!

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: RoGuE
Not everyone cares about depreciation. I don't know why so many people nowadays can't stick with a car for more than 3 years and just use it until it wears out.


Unless they have gap coverage, anybody with an upside down auto loan would/should care a great deal.

 

[brianl703]

A large downpayment and a 3.5 year loan solves that.

 

[Beachboy]

Do people not pay cash for cars anymore? Or is my family the oddities. We have never borrowed money for a car. My grandparents, my parents, and I've paid cash for every car we've owned and I plan to do so until the day I die. What's so difficult about setting aside a few hundred dollars a month in savings for that next car? Sometimes I wish the whole banking credit industry would go away and force people to live within their means.

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: Beachboy
Do people not pay cash for cars anymore? Or is my family the oddities. We have never borrowed money for a car. My grandparents, my parents, and I've paid cash for every car we've owned and I plan to do so until the day I die. What's so difficult about setting aside a few hundred dollars a month in savings for that next car? Sometimes I wish the whole banking credit industry would go away and force people to live within their means.



If that were the case, you wouldn't have a pension fund most likely.

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: Diesel_Clatter
Is the two mode Hybrid GM's own technology or did they have to license somebody elses intellectual property?



It is a joint venture between GM, Chrylser and BMW. With GM making the main components such as the transmission which houses all the electric motors and such. The 300V battery pack is actually made by Panasonic. GM got to use it first. It is really some great technology.



Panasonic can make alot of good products, but batteries are NOT one of them (the one in my Yaris and many others are dying within two years of ownership).

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: Beachboy
Do people not pay cash for cars anymore? Or is my family the oddities. We have never borrowed money for a car. My grandparents, my parents, and I've paid cash for every car we've owned and I plan to do so until the day I die. What's so difficult about setting aside a few hundred dollars a month in savings for that next car? Sometimes I wish the whole banking credit industry would go away and force people to live within their means.


yeah, but folks like to trade in cars every 2-3 years for that new car smell. you need lots of cash to do that.

 

[ViragoBry]

I've never had the cash on hand to buy a car outright, unless you count the few $500 - $1500 cars I've bought over the years (which I may never do again after the experiences I've had). I could only dream of saving $20K+ to plunk down on a vehicle. I if by some stroke of luck, my Mazda lasts me 10 years, after it's paid off in 5, I save the payment for another 5. I've never had that kind of discipline...or a car that I trusted to go that long without some catastropic problem that wouldn't be covered by warranty.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Originally Posted By: Beachboy
Do people not pay cash for cars anymore? Or is my family the oddities. We have never borrowed money for a car. My grandparents, my parents, and I've paid cash for every car we've owned and I plan to do so until the day I die. What's so difficult about setting aside a few hundred dollars a month in savings for that next car? Sometimes I wish the whole banking credit industry would go away and force people to live within their means.


yeah, but folks like to trade in cars every 2-3 years for that new car smell. you need lots of cash to do that.


Read recently that 93 percent of auto purchases are financed. So cash is the oddity.

John

 

[RacerE7773]

I was raised on American vehicles with an emphasis on GM, but I hopefully someday will be going bac to Ford (Fusion v6). I had a used '93 Tempo and the only thing It needed was an alternator. I totalled it Nov. 99, and got the '00 cavalier in Dec. with 5 miles on it. This car has had to have a new fuel pump at 65,000 miles, two sets of rotors, and now it needs a replacement thermostat for the one I had replaced two years ago (I hate the orange stuff the nimrods at GM puts in these days).

I won't go into the body rusting away despite my father in laws best efforts to alleviate it (Ohio loves their salt).

Our '03 (used from NY) Impala has put the decision of going back to Ford permanently in my mind. Never again will I listen to people (relatives) whom say "It's a good car..." without getting it looked at.