GM employee discount on new vehicles.

[Dean]

I was watching TV the other night and saw a commercial that GM was selling their vehicles to the public at the employee discount. So the wife and I decided to go shopping for a new car for her. I purchased a new Nissan truck last year and her car is getting up there in miles. So off to the Chevy dealer we go. We look at the new Cobalt and she thinks this is what she wants, here comes the kicker. I have purchased several new cars and trucks including the Nissan for 10-12% off the sticker. When all was said and done with the GM discount, the price off the sticker was only 9%, plus he wanted to keep the $500.00 rebate. I think this is a marketing scam myself. Or maybe the dealer was not passing along the employee discount.

 

[wsuffa]

Dean,

I used to have access to the GM fleet buyers employee pricing. It was pretty good.

Obviously, they can manipulate the employee discounts to achieve the marketing goals.

Ford's X-plan was much better. You got the car at employee price or employee price plus a tiny amount. And you got any incentives that Ford had at the time, including rebates and financing incentives. The deals were different for different cars (for example, the pricing discount on Jags was much different than Ford/Lincoln). But it was a better deal than you could get elsewhere.

I suspect a marketing ploy of some kind here. Or the GM employees themselves would be screaming.

 

[PoAdeleted5]

A car dealer not telling the truth? Nahh, never in a million years.

 

[SkyHog]

My guess is that GM stopped the employee discount period - and therefore everyone shares the same discount as employees.

No evidence, just my perception.

 

[Brian Austin]

Of course, you have to WANT a GM vehicle to begin with. Personally, I haven't been impressed with them for years.

 

[wsuffa]

Of course, you have to WANT a GM vehicle to begin with. Personally, I haven't been impressed with them for years.

I wouldn't buy a GM vehicle, period. They screwed me years ago, and I've never forgotten.

Same reason there is one particular airline I won't fly.

 

[Frank Browne]

I wouldn't buy a GM vehicle, period. They screwed me years ago, and I've never forgotten.

I'm that way about Fords. Won't ever buy another one.

 

[Ken Ibold]

I'm that way about Fords. Won't ever buy another one.

Dodges for me, and by extension anything Chrysler.

At the other end of the spectrum, Honda and BMW rock.

 

[Henning]

I was watching TV the other night and saw a commercial that GM was selling their vehicles to the public at the employee discount. So the wife and I decided to go shopping for a new car for her. I purchased a new Nissan truck last year and her car is getting up there in miles. So off to the Chevy dealer we go. We look at the new Cobalt and she thinks this is what she wants, here comes the kicker. I have purchased several new cars and trucks including the Nissan for 10-12% off the sticker. When all was said and done with the GM discount, the price off the sticker was only 9%, plus he wanted to keep the $500.00 rebate. I think this is a marketing scam myself. Or maybe the dealer was not passing along the employee discount.

That ain't "Option 1" (at least that's what they used to call GM Employee pricing) pricing, Option 1 used to be about 15% (sometimes more) off INVOICE, in other words less than the dealer could buy it for even if you figured in holdback. You also had to order the car, and could only get one per year.

 

[Henning]

Of course, you have to WANT a GM vehicle to begin with. Personally, I haven't been impressed with them for years.

I'm starting to get the first of the 250,000 mile reports on the Duramax trucks from the drive away and hotshot guys, pretty good so far, waiting to see how they do to the 500k mark.

 

[Henning]

Dodges for me, and by extension anything Chrysler.

At the other end of the spectrum, Honda and BMW rock.

Doesn't much matter to me, it depends on what I'm looking to get out of the vehicle. Having grown up in the used car business, and having several of my clients involved in the car business including all the exotics (which I get to drive on occassion), I can pretty confidently say all the manufacturers build good and crap cars, and you can't go by price either. In recent years as automation on production lines has gone up and having component assemblies "on time" delivered complete, quality across the board has improved. I think the worst days (1975-1991) of US car manufacturing is over and quality across the board has climbed.

 

[Brian Austin]

I'm starting to get the first of the 250,000 mile reports on the Duramax trucks from the drive away and hotshot guys, pretty good so far, waiting to see how they do to the 500k mark.

I'll have to admit: the new Duramax 2500's got my attention. I initially thought they were quieter than the Powerstroke but my neighbor's Duramax isn't that much of an improvement over mine.

My other neighbor is selling an '86 F350 with the older Powerstroke. He's put 800,000 miles on it with one weekend rebuild (because he was bored was his reason when I asked) at 300,000.

Overall, I just like the build of the Fords better. I'm really impressed with the latest F150's but have a hard time giving up 20+ mpg on my diesel for 14mpg along with the big cut in towing capacity. They sure are purty, though.

 

[Ken Ibold]

I think the worst days (1975-1991) of US car manufacturing is over and quality across the board has climbed.

I tend to agree, however my 99 Durango was in the shop more than 20 times in the first four years/48,000 miles of its life, including multiple repairs on poorly designed components. A friend who owns a repair shop for exotic cars in Philly contends the Chrysler/Dodge strategy is to purposefully underdesign some components so they can sell the cars at a lower price and the dealers will make it up in repairs. I don't know enough about it to know for sure, but after fixing power windows 9 times and paying for repairs to the induction plenum three times ($700 each time), the theory does make a modicum of sense.

 

[PoAdeleted5]

My 2002 Corvette has been wonderful. Best car hands down I've ever owned, with fewer (read almost 0) problems than any other US, Japanese or German car I've ever owned.

The rest of the GM line though, is widely occupied by vehicles only a rental agency would love.

 

[Fast n' Furious]

I've had the same experience with my 2001 'Vette, Larry. Wonderful car with absolutely no problems. I think it's a bit questionable though for GM to talk up quality and customer choices and the GM employee discount program for a solid week and then announce 25,000 employees will become former employees shortly. Hey I understand that GM has to do what they have to do but that's a bit suspect. Either that or I've become waaaaaaay too cynical.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

I'll have to admit: the new Duramax 2500's got my attention. I initially thought they were quieter than the Powerstroke but my neighbor's Duramax isn't that much of an improvement over mine.

My other neighbor is selling an '86 F350 with the older Powerstroke. He's put 800,000 miles on it with one weekend rebuild (because he was bored was his reason when I asked) at 300,000.

Overall, I just like the build of the Fords better. I'm really impressed with the latest F150's but have a hard time giving up 20+ mpg on my diesel for 14mpg along with the big cut in towing capacity. They sure are purty, though.

86 F350, does that bring back great memories of my 1st one, a 4X4 1ton with dualys !

It hauled a converted from new frieghter motor home up the sides of 4x4 trails, plowing through brush all the way and scratching the hell out of it's new semimetallic paint just like I've done with every new paint job on a dozen vehicles. Like a little cabin on top of the mountains, big enough to drive another pickup inside (but would make it a folding wing plane these days) with maybe a Jeep or Land Rover gawking in disbelief from the outside at the huge thing ! But I would make it a folding wing plane these days

After seven years of that, it was such a bitchin' howg, replaced it with the same thing in a '92 automatic... even better ! With 7 or 8 mpg and spending over $1000 each month on gasoline thought to self, "I bet I could fly with that money !" So I did, then was spending over $2000 each month !

 

[Dave Siciliano]

One of my partners has been a GM/GMC person for years and has had access to the employee discount. His opinion of the current promotion is what's been stated above. It ain't what he used to get. The employee discount was kind of a quiet secret. You can bet that now that it's being promoted--it ain't the same deal.

Kinna reminds me of Special Forces before Barry Sadler's song and John Wayne's movie. Changed quite a bit once folks heard songs and movies were made 'bout it. The guys I most respected didn't talk much about what they did other than to very close friends that mostly did the same kind of stuff.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS

 

[Iceman]

For every car/truck GM sells they are losing $1500! At the same time Honda is making $1500 per car. GM has BIG problems. But I like their cars.

 

[Bill]

Ford's X-plan was much better. You got the car at employee price or employee price plus a tiny amount.

We have access to Ford's A-plan, which is the employee price, plus any incentives. Best way I've ever bought a vehicle.

 

[wsuffa]

We have access to Ford's A-plan, which is the employee price, plus any incentives. Best way I've ever bought a vehicle.

X-plan is the same as the A-plan, with a very small difference in the pricing per vehicle.

I agree with you that it's a great way to buy.

BTW, for those folks that have fleet deals with Chrysler, they exclude Mercedes Benz vehicles from the employee-purchase plan. That used to be the worst deal of all of them.

 

[sere]

X-plan is the same as the A-plan, with a very small difference in the pricing per vehicle.

I agree with you that it's a great way to buy.

BTW, for those folks that have fleet deals with Chrysler, they exclude Mercedes Benz vehicles from the employee-purchase plan. That used to be the worst deal of all of them.

Sorry Bill but X-Plan is not the same as A Plan. I just stopped working for a Ford, Lincoln and Mercury Dealer as a New and Used car salesman. X Plan is a program that Ford provides to large companies nationwide. It is a good discount but not as good as A-Plan which is what all Ford employees get. With that I could purchase or allow any family member to purchase up to two vehicles over a course of a year. With either A or X plan it is that price plus any rebates allowed for that make and model. However a customer may be able to get even a better deal than either of these plans if the timing is right. But the one thing I will tell all of you is to buy your vehicle the last 2 or 3 days of the month. Dealers are trying to reach "Close Out Quota's". Also salesman are trying to reach bonuses both in total units moved and gross profit. There was many times that I sold a vehicle at $500 over Memo. Memo is well below invoice and A/X Plan. When I sold a unit like this I would make what was know as a mini. That meant my commission was only $50 for the sale. So after 4-5 hours working with a customer you see that is not much. However if it put me over for my unit bonus it could bump up my end of month pay by $500. And if it also put me over for a gross bonus there is another $500. So bottom line is buy a new vehicle at $500 over Memo the last 2 or 3 days of the month and ask to see this memo price on the invoice. Good luck all. Also none of these A or X plans apply to a used vehicle.

 

[Henning]

I tend to agree, however my 99 Durango was in the shop more than 20 times in the first four years/48,000 miles of its life, including multiple repairs on poorly designed components. A friend who owns a repair shop for exotic cars in Philly contends the Chrysler/Dodge strategy is to purposefully underdesign some components so they can sell the cars at a lower price and the dealers will make it up in repairs. I don't know enough about it to know for sure, but after fixing power windows 9 times and paying for repairs to the induction plenum three times ($700 each time), the theory does make a modicum of sense.

WHY Did you have to repair the induction plenum 3 times? Something not right there. Anyway, that's not their stratagy, not at Daimaler Chrysler, it doesn't make sense for them, not in the global market place, it's suicidal. Too many options competetively priced.

 

[Henning]

I've had the same experience with my 2001 'Vette, Larry. Wonderful car with absolutely no problems. I think it's a bit questionable though for GM to talk up quality and customer choices and the GM employee discount program for a solid week and then announce 25,000 employees will become former employees shortly. Hey I understand that GM has to do what they have to do but that's a bit suspect. Either that or I've become waaaaaaay too cynical.

The best thing about a Vette to me, take any year Vette, I can make out run the same year street edition Ferrari or Porsche, and have less than 1/3 of the money in it. Horsepower per Dollar, it's really hard to beat a small block Chevy in the <800hp catagory, and a Corvette chassis and driveline can be whipped up pretty nicely by just changing some bushings, shocks and anti sway bars, the design work is there and it is good, just need to change the rates a little. Still liked my 70 convertable the best. I think next one may be an 82, last of the St Louis Vettes. I remember we would go on elementary school and Cub Scout outing to the Corvette plant and get the tours. A lot of people in St. Louis were really pi$$ed of at GM for moving, not just the workers or about the economic impact, it was actually a point of pride amongst the entire city.

 

[John J]

Gosh

My dad had a 1955 Ford Custom Coup Sedan with an I-6 with water injection. He designed it himself. Yup with a 2.11 rear, he drove that for 400k miles. Yes it had a 4 speed out of a farm truck. I drove it another 100 k miles. It got close to 35 to the gallon and yes with some down shiffting it would pass many V-8s of the time. Water Injection is quite something when you get your foot into it. Not bad for a 1955 basic sedan with a I-6.

John J

 

[gismo]

I'm that way about Fords. Won't ever buy another one.

That reminds me of something I was going to bring up to the board here. Our company is in the process of implementing the "8 D's" quality improvement/control system. Supposedly this was developed by Ford in an effort to boost their poor product quality. My first thought was "didn't seem to do much for them".

 

[PoAdeleted5]

The best thing about a Vette to me, take any year Vette, I can make out run the same year street edition Ferrari or Porsche, and have less than 1/3 of the money in it. Horsepower per Dollar, it's really hard to beat a small block Chevy in the <800hp catagory, and a Corvette chassis and driveline can be whipped up pretty nicely by just changing some bushings, shocks and anti sway bars, the design work is there and it is good, just need to change the rates a little.

They do that these days right off the showroom floor.

There are basically 3 levels of Corvette in the 5th and just introduced 6th generation models: Coupe, Convertible and Z06. The coupes are most common, have the glass hatchback and removable top center section roof. The convertible are rag tops. Both share common engine and either a 6spd or A4 transmission (I got the 6) and most of the same options like ride control or Z51 sport suspension, run flat tires and so on. In the C5's, they have 350 hp, the C6's got a boost in displacement for 400 hp.

The Z06 is a notchback hardtop with an extra dose of horsepower and all the frills stripped out, super car tires, titanium mufflers and exhaust systems and is basically a trackable car right off the showroom floor. All are 6 speed. The C6 Z06 model is due out next year with >500hp 427 CID engine.

All in all, I'm very pleased with it. It's a great daily driver that has plenty of ponies on tap. Put in 6th and cruise the freeways at a gas-sipping 32mpg. I average about 20mpg or so, depending on the amount of freeway/city mix I do. One good weekend romp in the mountains and I can see 13mpg - but the car gives you the choice. Suspension wise, it's world class.

It is a way different kind of performance car than a Viper or anything out there. It has a level of refinement that makes practical transportation, but not so much as to be a gas-sucking luxury brick like an SL500. In the fact, it's the only car in its class that doesn't get hit with gas-guzzler tax.

Problems with mine in almost 3 yrs of ownership: A wheel weight shifted and left a scratch on the rim. There's a column lock recall that requires a reflash of the PCM firmware. So far, that's it.

The worst part is having to go to a chevy dealer for service, I avoid them like the plague.

Try a C5 instead Henning. You can get a good deal on one and the performance potential is greater in that chassis than any other generation Corvette. Lingenfelter does a twin-turbocharged 427 conversion that delivers >700hp and is entirely street and smog legal.

 

[Henning]

Try a C5 instead Henning. You can get a good deal on one and the performance potential is greater in that chassis than any other generation Corvette. Lingenfelter does a twin-turbocharged 427 conversion that delivers >700hp and is entirely street and smog legal.

If I go to a MkIV block motor, it'll be over 1200hp. The reason for the 82 though would be for a driver that I like the looks of. They are finally getting a bit more muscular of a line. The 68-82 Vettes just had such a nice predatory profile with natural curves across the body of the car. The lost that in 84 completely, although they gained a great deal in chassis technology. The C5 looked much better and the C6 is continuing to improve, but when it comes down to it, I don't want to spend that much money on a car, I'd love to drive yours but I'm just too damn cheap to pay that much for a car. It'll be 6 years before they come down to a price for me to buy. I just can't see paying more than $15k for a vehicle unless it has a job beyond personal transportation. Now, I may spend $5000 building a 600hp engine for that car, go figure that.

 

[gkainz]

...my commission was only $50 for the sale. So after 4-5 hours working with a customer you see that is not much.

However, if you were selling me a truck, your commission would be $100 per hour, because if we can't get 'er done in 30 minutes, you've lost me. That's why I buy thru fleet sales

 

[Henning]

Gosh

My dad had a 1955 Ford Custom Coup Sedan with an I-6 with water injection. He designed it himself. Yup with a 2.11 rear, he drove that for 400k miles. Yes it had a 4 speed out of a farm truck. I drove it another 100 k miles. It got close to 35 to the gallon and yes with some down shiffting it would pass many V-8s of the time. Water Injection is quite something when you get your foot into it. Not bad for a 1955 basic sedan with a I-6.

John J

Water/Meth (or water/acetone) is even better.

 

[PoAdeleted5]

The reason for the 82 though would be for a driver that I like the looks of. They are finally getting a bit more muscular of a line. The 68-82 Vettes just had such a nice predatory profile with natural curves across the body of the car. The lost that in 84 completely, although they gained a great deal in chassis technology. Now, I may spend $5000 building a 600hp engine for that car, go figure that.

Ahh, a C3 guy. To each his own. They kind of lost me on the C3 generation. I loved the C2's with everyone's favorite, the split-window coupe, being perhaps one of the all-time classics of American car styling. I know a guy who has one in museum quality condition. Drives it to work once in while. I always go drool over it when it is in the parking lot.

If you wanted to build up a C5 though, you can get 'em pretty cheap in the early model years. It's a great chassis to build on, not just for power either. They handle pretty darn well in factory trim. Factory stock 2004 Z06's turn in world-class times on Nurburgring.

 

[poadeleted3]

WHY Did you have to repair the induction plenum 3 times? Something not right there. Anyway, that's not their stratagy, not at Daimaler Chrysler, it doesn't make sense for them, not in the global market place, it's suicidal. Too many options competetively priced.

We used to have a '98 Dodge Stratus that needed transmission repairs 6 times in less than 50,000 miles. After the first time, the dealer tried to say they didn't have to provide warranty support. That didn't go over well, and they did end up providing support, but we dumped that car ASAP, and well never buy a Chrysler product again. The experience with their POS car and unwillingness to support their product is why I'm driving a new Matrix now instead of a new PT Cruiser, which also has the versatility we want and, IMHO, looks better.

 

[sere]

However, if you were selling me a truck, your commission would be $100 per hour, because if we can't get 'er done in 30 minutes, you've lost me. That's why I buy thru fleet sales

I also at one time did fleet sales and the amout of time to do all the paperwork and getting the vehicle ready is still up there. And I still would of only made the minimum commission reguardless of how long you were there.