General Motors has come out with a new way of luring customers. According to the CEO’s statement in Chevy’s website, the company is so confident about the performance of its car that it has thrown an open offer to customers – Love it or Return it. GM calls it the “Chevy confidence”. But for some, it smells of “Chevy desperation”. General Motors sure went through some economic doldrums during the recession period. So, is this “confidence” a camouflage to “insecurity” or does the new buyback program really reflect the company’s new found confidence?
Chevy gives its customers up to sixty days to test drive the car after they buy it. As a customer, if you are not happy with the performance of the car, you can return it. There is, of course, the added baggage of a few terms, conditions and fine print. The company does not take back cars which have travelled more than four thousand miles. Your car will also not be bought back if it is damaged. However, if your car is in perfect shape and has a recorded mileage of less than four thousand, you are eligible for the buyback offer. The offer is going to be valid for all cars of 2012 and 2013 makes. The best thing, from the customer’s point of view, is that the offer includes Volt, Chevy’s electric car. For all those people who are skeptic about buying electric cars, this is a great offer to avail.
Chevy is so confident about its cars that it is ready to buy the car back at its full price, despite the fact that the cars are used. You get full money back including the sales tax. However, you will not be refunded the other fees such as registration, title, municipal and others. Nevertheless, the offer is stupendously attractive.
So, what is the reason behind selling cars with such an offer? How does the company believe the authenticity of “disgruntled” claims? There could be two reasons for the offer and they could be born out of desperation. Firstly, Chevy’s trump card, the Volt, suffered a serious setback when the batteries of a few of these electric cars’ caught fire and the cars had to be rolled back. So, this offer could be aimed at reinstating confidence in the car and increase its sales.
The second reason could be the resurrection of the Japanese automobile industry which had become largely dormant when recession struck. According to the latest surveys, Toyota has gained back nearly 60 percent of its market and is looking set to gain more momentum. Added to this is the fact that Toyota and many other top brands have come out with electric cars which are strong competitors to Chevy Volt. So, is the buyback offer a desperate move to gain an upper hand in the market? Will customers buy a car which they are not confident about?
Whatever be the reason, you cannot grudge the fact that the offer is awesome. It is like having a car for rent for 60 days with a full upfront fee, which is of course, completely refundable. Also, the last time Chevy offered a buyback, only 1 percent of its cars were returned and the sales went up drastically. So, it could really work in Chevy’s favor this time as well!
Mike is a writer for different automotive websites and blogs. He would like to contribute content to different articles and blogs and can be contacted at mikefischer620 [at] yahoo [dot] com with requests for content. Currently, he is affiliated with www.unocardealers.com in promoting their site.
2012 Chevy Buy-Back Program: Confidence Or Desperation?
