Now that you own GM, help 'em out and buy a car, would you?
Filed under: Transportation, Relationships
A lot of Americans are understandably peeved by the fact that General Motors received a massive taxpayer-funded bailout designed to rescue the company from a long series of poor business decisions.Some people are upset about it enough to refuse to buy GM's cars as a matter of principle and a show of commitment to the ideals of free market capitalism.
There are some logistical problems with the boycott: So few Americans are buying GM's cars anyway that you have to wonder what percentage of the people who claim to be boycotting the company actually would have bought cars from it anyway.
But the larger problem is this: Why would you refuse to buy from a company that you now have a major financial interest in the success of? For better or worse, the United States government owns 60% of the company and a boycott seems like a pretty classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
If anything, the bailout should make Americans more willing to consider GM cars. It's our best chance of making the bailout something other than a total and unmitigated disaster.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-29-2009 @ 9:15AM
Mike Shaffer said...
I am looking to buy a new car as soon as the CARS bill goes into effect..... I have shopped the market for 2 months now and the only Car Dealers offering any deals are foreign car people.
GM and Chrysler offer no rebates and their sales people have constantly tried to gouge me with extra charges and high interest rates..... I want to buy American, but I'm not going to pay thousands more for less car and less warranty.....
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 9:53AM
Alyson Eggleston said...
Mike, I really can't relate to anything you're saying. Let's review.
'I have shopped the market for 2 months now and the only Car Dealers offering any deals are foreign car people.'
Really? so, Honda's 60,000 mile/5 year warranty is better than GM's 100,000 mile/5 year warranty? Hmm. Interesting. Couple that with the fact that GM has cars that get great gas mileage now +30 mi/G, and it starts to like may be you're part of that very elite set of Americans who think it's 'cooler' to drive foreign cars.
As for the American cars being *more* expensive than their foreign counterpart, I don't know what what foreign company that would be. VW? Definitely not. Honda? The prices are comparable. You must mean Kia, who has a long history as a company that honors warrantees. ahem.
In addition, let me just say that like most dealerships, GM dealerships are friendly and informative. No one has ever tried to 'gouge' me out of money though there were some tense negotiations over vehicle price and trade in when I bought my 08 Cobalt. My SO just bought a honda fit a couple weeks ago, and guess what? There were no such tense negotiations.
Know why?
Because the sticker price was the price, game over.
They were
completely
unwilling
to negotiate.
Oh, and because Hondas are so noisy (while you're in the car), an after-factory sound proofing system plus other extras were added, de facto, without consumer choice in the matter, which upped the price by a hidden amount until it was time to sign the paper work. I think that's called 'hidden fees'.
SO in sum, GM has a comparable, if not better warranty; comparable pricing (sometimes much cheaper, be honest); comparable gas mileage (sometimes better, again), and a willingness to negotiate the price!
As for high interest rates -- that's dependent upon you. I financed through GMAC and got a fantastic rate, in part due to having good credit. But hey, you can finance your vehicle through any other lender you want right? If your bank can do better, great! since when do we judge a car company by its ability to be a bank?? BTW, my SO did *not* finance through Honda when he bought his car. Can you guess why? The rates were too high!
6-29-2009 @ 11:11AM
claire said...
The thing is, the b******s wouldn't NEED a bailout if they made good cars like the overseas manufacturers. I wouldn't buy one if they paid me to take it, I drive Toyota.
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6-29-2009 @ 11:21AM
Mike Sanders said...
Buying a GM car, "because we own them," is as ridiculous as telling people to become narcs, because we own the DEA!
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6-29-2009 @ 11:59AM
Brett said...
okay well just to inform you guys American cars suck, Period!. just think about it, when you buy a car you expect it to last you a pretty long period of time, right? the fact is American cars will most likly be needing a new transmission, or other significant parts at about 120K. Honda/Nissan/Toyota are deffinatly the way to go, if you take care of them, they're go well over 200k. They're a lot cheaper to insure, repair, and smog/register. Parts and labor are so much cheaper. Japanese cars have a very good reputation of being powerful and reliable vehicles. Their manufactures make smart bussiness decisions also. And if your worried about gas milage, american cars are horrible. In Honda's/Nissan's/Toyota's you use alot less gas, but yet you get alot more power.
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6-29-2009 @ 2:48PM
MiniVanMan said...
Wow, Brett. Step out of the 1980's. You obviously have no clue about the real reliability, durability and fuel economy statistics on current model vehicles. Such shame you decide to spread your uninformed opinions. Did you know that with all their "smart business decisions", Toyota lost more money than GM in 2008? Yes, feel free to look that one up.
6-29-2009 @ 12:58PM
dawn said...
When i buy a car, it's based on 2 factors only: fuel efficiency and reliability.
So if id did my "patriotic" duty and bought American, it's possible GM could still go bust and them i'm stuck with my inferior-made American car.
Why should i do any special "favors" for American car makers, or American companies period, when they exist solely to make a profit off me anyway? I don't feel any special allegiance to specific car makers; i reward those companies that produce the best products, period.
I'd rather do what's best for me individually, and for all my life,that's meant buying foreign-made cars.
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6-29-2009 @ 1:31PM
Dave L said...
I have always bought American, and usually GM. But as of now I refuse to ever again buy from Obama Motors (run by the UAW). My next purchase will be a foreign car, thats still a car, instead if a "green" piece of crap.
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6-29-2009 @ 11:47PM
Wendy said...
I never cease to be amazed at just how deep people have their heads buried in the sand. As MiniVanMan said above..those of you that think that American-made cars (in general), and General Motors vehicles, to be specific, are "inferior" and lacking in quality really need to wake up and actually start looking at some facts. It's easy to sit and regurgitate statements when you hear them reported over and over again. But I'd suggest that some of you posters would be shocked to discover that GM's quality ranks 1-3 in the majority of the vehicle segments.
And to keep on making the statement that "no one is buying GM" or "so few Americans are buying GM anyways..." is laughable in its inaccuracy. Silly WalletPop.. last I looked General Motors still sold more vehicles in North America than any other manufacturer. Through May GM has sold 772,960 vehicles. Toyota has sold 638,795.
Facts are a beautiful thing, unless you WANT to keep living in ignorance, that is.
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7-09-2009 @ 10:35PM
russ said...
The reason we won't be buying any GM cars is simply this: why prolong the losses, which we taxpayers now fund? Kill this dinosaur off now, before Obama pumps any more of our money down a rat hole.
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7-10-2009 @ 6:12PM
A. Stracci said...
American and imported automobiles have been capable of delivering well over 250k miles during a typical service life of the car for the last 25 years or so. With timely and proper maintenance that is. With that said, I have not contributed to this sector of the economy for over 25 years. I buy a used car from a private seller. The car usually will have about 120-150K miles and I will put another 100-150K miles on the car. I have not paid more than $3000 per car and the maintenance/repair costs over the time of my ownership does not exceed $2000. My cars are not clunkers either. Maintenance is up to date and they must pass required emission tests. My goal is to have my car cost not including fuel at about $1000 per year. Having the knowledge, tools and space to perform my own maintenace and repairs is a key.
I hope that the new GM is successful. I hope that "I" won't own them for too long and our government will not tie their hands. It is likely that I will buy another GM car in the future, but just not a new one.
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7-11-2009 @ 4:53PM
DALE said...
THAT WHY MY FREINDS HONDA BLOCK CRACKED LAST WEEK. ONLY 4 YEARS OLD. BUY AMERICA JAP LOVERS.
AND I LAUGH ABOUT IT.
Reply
7-15-2009 @ 6:50AM
jimwhenry said...
You can buy or trade in both domestic and foreign vehicles so not just the US made cars.
Jim H
Blogger
www.cashforclunkersfacts.info
http://www.cashforclunkersfacts.info
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7-29-2009 @ 11:07AM
felix said...
Will GM's bankruptcy affect a site like this for truck and auto parts ?
Reply
9-15-2009 @ 2:55PM
mmajed said...
hi
i have GMC Sierra 2009 Keyless Remote but can not Programming in Information Center no options RELEARN REMOTE KEY .is thre a way to programming .can you explanin to me how do i activate the function in the setup in menu after what brought Tech II in the car have stepped have stepped
thanks
mmajed
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