A sign of the times…

[xcel]

GM announces yet another round of 0% financing for up to 60 months plus current cash back incentives on 08 and some 09 models.

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Dec. 30, 2008

2009 Chevrolet Cobalt XFE – 30 mpgUS combined.

DETROIT – GM announced new low rate financing as low as 0% APR for up to 60 months on select new cars and trucks. The reduced rate financing is available to qualified buyers today through January 5, 2009 on many 2008 and select 2009 vehicles. Of note, many of the vehicles listed below have stackable bonus cash and/or dealer cash ranging from $500 to $4,250.

"We're very excited to offer this reduced rate financing through GMAC to encourage our customers to get back into the game," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "This enables even more qualified customers to finance through GMAC at their local GM dealership, and provides additional financing capacity with conventional and reduced rate APRs for our dealers to make sales. With GM's Financing That Fits, and the Red Tag Sale now underway that offers supplier pricing, customers have an opportunity to get a variety of extremely attractive offers through the end of the year."

Few in the list below are worthy of mention other than the Cobalt but to see incentives on the incoming 09’s only days before the new year begins tells us demand is not increasing, GM has priced their vehicle offerings to high for the market place to begin with or both. Any incentives on new year models will hurt resale long into the future.

GM – Year and Model incentives

Year	Make	Model	Incentive
08	Chevrolet	Trailblazer	0%
08	GMC	Envoy	0% for up to 60 months
08	Saab	9-3	0% for up to 60 months
08	Saab	9-5	0% for up to 60 months
08	Saab	9-7X	0% for up to 60 months
08	Buick	Lucerne	0.9% for up to 60 months
08	GMC	Yukon and Yukon XL	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevrolet	Tahoe	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevroelt	Suburban	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevrolet	Avalanche	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Cadillac	CTS	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Cadillac	SRX	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Cadillac	Escalade	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Cadillac	DTS	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Cadillac	STS	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Cadillac	XLR	1.9% for up to 60 months
08	Buick	Lacrosse	2.9% for up to 60 months
08	Hummer	H2	2.9% for up to 60 months
08	Hummer	H3	2.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevrolet	Equinox	3.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevrolet	Colorado	3.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevrolet	Silverado	3.9% for up to 60 months
08	Pontiac	Torrent	3.9% for up to 60 months
08	GMC	Canyon	3.9% for up to 60 months
08	GMC	Sierra	3.9% for up to 60 months
08	Saturn	Astra	4.9% for up to 60 months
08	Saturn	Sky	4.9% for up to 60 months
08	Pontiac	Solstice	4.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevrolet	Corvette	4.9% for up to 60 months
08	Chevroelt	Silverado (HD)	4.9% for up to 60 months
08	GMC	Sirra (HD)	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	Chevrolet	Cobalt	3.9% for up to 60 months
09	Pontiac	G5	3.9% for up to 60 months
09	Cadillac	CTS	3.9% for up to 60 months
09	Pontiac	G6	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	Chevrolet	Malibu	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	Chevrolet	Silverado	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	Chevrolet	HHR	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	Saturn	Aura	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	GMC	Sierra	4.9% for up to 60 months
09	Chevrolet	Avalanche	5.9% for up to 60 months
09	Chevrolet	Silverado (HD)	5.9% for up to 60 months
09	GMC	Sierra	5.9% for up to 60 months

[brick]

Good time to buy a Saab, then?

[JusBringIt]

Originally Posted by brick

Good time to buy a Saab, then?

LOoks it

[ILAveo]

I think the timing relates to the bailout of GMAC which had problems with subprime mortgages. I heard that they reduced the borrower credit rating cutoff level by a large amount too.

[SentraSE-R]

This is how GM used our taxpayer bailout money. Instead of spending it on improving products, it's using it to give loans to poor credit risks to buy FSPs that it can't move off its lots otherwise. Buyers used to have to have credit scores of 700. GMAC is now accepting credit risks with scores as low as 621.

[ILAveo]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

....... Buyers used to have to have credit scores of 700. GMAC is now accepting credit risks with scores as low as 621.

Several sources on the web made it sound like 620 is the traditional line between good and bad credit (or prime and subprime)--so this probably just represents GMAC's return to traditional credit practices. The cutoff had recently been upped to around 700 to ration scarce credit.

Anecdotally, our local GM dealers had been touting local financing availability for the past couple of months; I presume because GMAC didn't have much credit available. The bigger deal is that if GMAC had failed around 6500 (mostly GM) auto dealers would've had to negotiate new floorplan financing arrangements in a tight credit market.

[chilimac02]

It's great to see that these geniuses want to lose money over a 5yr period with the taxpayer money. Selling something for cash vs selling something for the cash 5yrs from now? Which one is a better business model...

I agree that they are just trying to move their FSP's. Since gasoline is low, they are hoping to lure folks into buying what they have on their lots, instead of the cars they will need when gasoline goes back to $3/gallon.