For anyone in the market for a Pontiac or Saturn

[Tilted]

GM Plans Pontiac Fire Sale - WSJ.com

General Motors Co. is offering its dealers hefty incentives to move thousands of leftover vehicles from its discontinued Saturn and Pontiac brands. The unusual tactic could inflate the car maker's December sales and cut the cost to car buyers by as much as 46% off the sticker price.

In what is equivalent to a year-end fire sale, GM sent letters to dealers Dec. 23 saying it would pay them $7,000 for every new Saturn or Pontiac on their lot that is moved to rental-vehicle or service-vehicle fleets operated by the dealers. Dealers can then sell the vehicles at a more attractive price, though they must be described to customers as used because the dealers technically will be the vehicles' first owner.

The offer expires Jan. 4, the last day of the December car-sales month. GM will book the sales to dealers as fleet deliveries.

GM's move could speed the company's restructuring. Pontiac and Saturn, along with Hummer and Saab, were deleted from GM's lineup under its government-backed bankruptcy reorganization this summer. GM's remaining U.S. brands are Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.

The expense of the new program will add to GM's considerable cost of closing Saturn and Pontiac, a figure GM hasn't disclosed. GM spokesman Tom Henderson declined to comment on the financial impact of the new dealer incentives.

At the beginning of December GM dealers had 14,500 new Pontiacs and Saturns on their lots, which typically represents about two to three months of inventory depending on the model, according to Ward's Auto Reports.

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

GM Plans Pontiac Fire Sale - WSJ.com

So......Chevy and GMC the only GM products now, right? Well, if they are, Chevy and GMC better come out with some AWESOME stuff. I mean, they don't have as many irons in the fire, right? Huh? Hmmm? Huh??

 

[BS Gal]

Think they would accept a Chrysler Convertible as a trade in? I like the Saturns. I thought they were good cars. :shrug:

 

[desertrat]

GM Plans Pontiac Fire Sale - WSJ.com

GTO might be a nice 3rd car

 

[Merlin99]

So......Chevy and GMC and Buick and Cadillac are the only GM products now, right? Well, if they are, Chevy and GMC better come out with some AWESOME stuff. I mean, they don't have as many irons in the fire, right? Huh? Hmmm? Huh??

Fixed

 

[aps45819]

So......Chevy and GMC the only GM products now, right? Well, if they are, Chevy and GMC better come out with some AWESOME stuff

GM is owned by the government and the UAW.
The people that think mercury filled light bulbs are good for the environment will be in charge of deciding what gets produced.
Expect to see a LOT more of your tax money sent to the UAW to keep their support of the democrats.
Don't expect to see innovation and imaginative products

 

[ProfMoneyWise]

An out of production brand should be approached from a used car purchase mentality in that these products are essentially "as is" is my opinion.

I'm sure GM will not price them as such and will assert that GM has not gone away just the production of the brand. I submit to err on the side of caution and liken this product and purchase as a private sale and be ready to assume any/all repair work costs as necessary.

If the warranties are honored by GM later that is a plus. But I would not let anyone use this promise as a purchase hook to get my dollar.

Used car price for a new vehicle while ensuring my car repair fund was fully funded and/or started and funded proportionally on a monthly basis is my recommended approach.

That and you have the cash in full for the vehicle and actually need one to begin with. To pay interest on a purchase of a depreciating item is not wise.

Note, I said an "item" not an asset. A car is not an asset.

 

[SG_Player1974]

To pay interest on a purchase of a depreciating item is not wise.

Note, I said an "item" not an asset. A car is not an asset.

Please..... let me know of a car I can buy that DOES NOT depreciate! I'll be first in line!!!!!

 

[ProfMoneyWise]

Please..... let me know of a car I can buy that DOES NOT depreciate! I'll be first in line!!!!!

Agree. They all depreciate.

The point I did not make clearly enough is to borrow money to buy one is not wise. At least narrow your loss by using cash. To purchase with rented money on something that decreases in value is not a margin separation I recommend participation in.

Car payments are not a fact of life. Paid For Car's are attainable but mindset's need to accept this.

Friend of mine's Grandfather once told him. "If you need a car and you have saved up $5 to buy one I guess you better look for a $5 car."

Obviously there are not many $5 car's, but his point is evident.

 

[ProfMoneyWise]

Drive Free, Retire Rich - Automobiles - daveramsey.com

I think I've posted this link before. There is a video you can link to so I won't bore you with the details. His investment return is generous but even if were 1/2 the point is made.

Car payments are not a fact of life. It requires a change in mindset and is a change that willl serve anyone well.

 

[Shawn]

No thanks, how hard will it be to find parts? Several partmakers have gone under recently and the domestic market has a severe shortage right now.

 

[Pete]

When you consider that Chevy, Buick, Pontiac are all rebadged versions of each other the idea of buying a Pontiac is hardly a risk. Drive trains are shared, major body components are shared and GM has said that the discontinued brands will be serviced and supported through its dealer network indefinitely.

So it is not like you buy a Pontiac and in 4 years you go to AutoZone for an alternator and they say "Pontiac! They don't make them anymore, we aint got none" because the alternator for the Chevy equivalent is the same.

Oldsmobile went out of production how many years ago? I don't see many of them sitting beside the road.

 

[limblips]

GTO might be a nice 3rd car

Good luck finding a new one. They went out of production a few years ago. A total flop for Pontiac. They brought back the name but didn't retro the design ala Mustang, Challenger. The GTOs were fast though, just ugly.

 

[huntr1]

When you consider that Chevy, Buick, Pontiac are all rebadged versions of each other the idea of buying a Pontiac is hardly a risk. Drive trains are shared, major body components are shared and GM has said that the discontinued brands will be serviced and supported through its dealer network indefinitely.

So it is not like you buy a Pontiac and in 4 years you go to AutoZone for an alternator and they say "Pontiac! They don't make them anymore, we aint got none" because the alternator for the Chevy equivalent is the same.

Oldsmobile went out of production how many years ago? I don't see many of them sitting beside the road.

 

[bohman]

Please..... let me know of a car I can buy that DOES NOT depreciate! I'll be first in line!!!!!

Years ago when I was working in Solomons, I recall talking to a guy that always drove an old blue Rolls Royce. Somebody asked him, "how can you afford to drive a Rolls?" He said, "I can't afford not to. Buy a normal car, and it depreciates. Buy a classic Rolls Royce and take care of it, and the value increases."

 

[czygvtwkr]

Years ago when I was working in Solomons, I recall talking to a guy that always drove an old blue Rolls Royce. Somebody asked him, "how can you afford to drive a Rolls?" He said, "I can't afford not to. Buy a normal car, and it depreciates. Buy a classic Rolls Royce and take care of it, and the value increases."

Maybe they were referring to how much oil it used. I had a friend that had a couple classic British cars and every one had to have oil added on almost a daily basis. The man bought cans of oil like it was baby formula.