thermographer:
Forgot to credit you for your funny comment. “You can actually hear it depreciate on quiet nights”. That’s funny stuff. Couldn’t stop laughing for a while, there…
No Hummer, No Ion, No Aztek, No Rendezvous, No 500 (I agree, a curious suggestion - those aren’t too bad).
al8apex:
What vehicles are NOT 2.5 years old and selling for 50% off sticker? Maybe there could be one or two here or there, but you make it sound like there are across the board discounts on a particular model. I know many of the gas-guzzling trucks are marked down, but I don’t think they’re 50% off sticker. A $30,000 Silverado Crew Cab can be had for $15,000??? Maybe one or two here or there, but not at every GM dealership, I don’t think…
in the 80’s i bought a brand new (2 yr old) boat. i got what i thought was a great deal. i had a LOT of problems begining w/ the heads. had to have a valve job done. and it just went on and on. when the warranty was close i sold it. if it didn’t sell there is a reason why.
B-I-N-G-O !!!
GSN_fan has finally nailed it!!! I wish I could display some fancy graphics to celebrate, but I don’t think it’s possible to do that here.
SO - WHAT TOOK YOU GUYS SO LONG ??? I guess I could’ve slipped out the “discontinued” hint to help a bit, but I think that would’ve made it too easy.
Now - was I right? Let’s hear all the moans and groans. Who would want it, you say? They’re very lowly-rated, discontinued, and fairly ugly. And to be honest, I’m not really gung-ho about it myself, but like I said previously, it SEEMS to be a pretty good value … and I WAS looking at vans initially because I wanted the next vehicle purchase to provide more flexibility and functionality - instead of just buying another sedan car to complement a Taurus and an Impala. Recently, I had switched my focus to the Equinox when the van prices didn’t seem to be coming down much (at all), but after driving one (LT1 w/3.4 Chinese engine) I sort of lost interest.
So there you have it … it’s a GM minivan - which could very well be a lemon - in which case 49% of sticker won’t be looking so good down the road. In fact, a one-year old “program car” with 15k miles might actually be a safer purchase than this unit. But I’ve been doing all the maintenance on all my cars ever since a transmission shop tried to blatantly rip me off when I was 20 years old, so I think I know enough about automobile mechanics now to know what to look for. If it turns out that I drive home from the dealership with any negative feelings or thoughts about this vehicle, it should be limited to the fact that I’m driving a van, as opposed to worrying that I might have just purchased a lemon…
Congratulations???
As someone’s grandmother once said, there is a lid for every pot. I hope that you enjoy this half-priced pot!
They would have to pay me 50% of sticker price to take that vehicle off their hands. And even then it wouldn’t be that great of a deal.
A lot of those vehicles on that list I would have put in my top American cars.
Crown Vic
Ranger
E150
Actually, it’s going to be more than half-priced. My bottom line cost will be $11k.
So that’s a brand new $31k van for $11k ($20k off sticker). I think I HAVE to buy it. Don’t forget, it will still have the 5-year/100k warranty … if GM stays in business, that is…
Ok Colt Hero- finally you got a GM mini van. They aren’t the greatest vehicles, but how bad can it be?! My daughter has an Uplander and prior to that got 200K miles out of a '96 Chevy APV. Some low rated cars still hold up over the years. So you don’t have the king of high tech mini vans, at least you didn’t pay the king’s price for it either.
A good deal is a good deal, good luck with it.
Good one, school. Hee, hee.
UncleTurbo:
Thank you! Finally someone saying something sensible here. You’re right - they’re not the best minivans, but they’re good enough, and I’m sure they’re a lot better than the word on the street. American cars aren’t the best, but they’re nowhere near as bad as some mechanics (or Consumer Reports) make them look. I’m convinced of that.
In 2003 we bought an Olds Silhouette Premium for more than 33% off. It was new, and it was near the end of the model year. We got a 60/60 extended warranty as part of the deal. That was a good thing, because we needed a new transmission at 56,000 miles. That’s the only problem we’ve had. A big one? Sure, but it was GM’s problem, not mine. I don’t regret buying the Silhouette at all. It’s been very good to us. You might see if they will throw in a 60/60 GM warranty.
I was thinking it had the new 5 year 100k warranty. Hmmm. Just checked out the GM website and it has an FAQ that says, “I purchased a 2007 GM vehicle in March. Is my new vehicle eligible”. And the answer says, “Yes. If you already purchased a 2007 GM passenger car or light duty truck, your new vehicle is automatically covered under our new 5 year/100k mile powertrain limited warranty at no additional cost. You will receive an updated warranty booklet insert …”
A little unclear there. The QUESTION says “a 2007 GM VEHICLE” - it doesn’t specify the TYPE of vehicle. But then the answer uses the words “car or light duty truck” implying that the vans are not covered. Also, there are still five days left in March, implying that maybe if I bought the van before the end of this month I might be able to get in under the wire, but then the answer uses the words, “if you already purchased”, implying it’s already too late.
Just found a GM warranty site that says 2007 vans are covered. The question is: are they going to screw me because I haven’t bought the vehicle yet, or am I OK as long as I buy it by the end of March???
I’m thinking the dealer knows the van won’t be covered and that’s why the price is marked down 50%. Still, the old warranty must be in effect I would think - which I believe is 3 years, 36000 miles bumper to bumper. Would really prefer the 5 yr/100k coverage, obviously…
I bought an Uplander in 2006 that was a “program” car. It had 15,000 miles on it and I saved at least $10,000 over what I would have paid for an equivalent minivan of another make. I now have 50,000 and have had no out of the pocket expenses except for normal maintenance. I do subscribe to Consumer Reports, but I am the one that drives the vehicle, not them. When I look at the repair record in Consumer Reports, the engine and transmisison seem to have held very well for the year I have. I don’t find any minivan to be an “exciting” vehicle. I bought the minivan to do a particular job that I can’t do with a regular passenger car and it does that job.
Whoa! This saga just took another turn! I was trying to figure out what kind of warranty coverage this van would have on it, so I called GM for verification. Using the VIN#, they said it WOULD be covered by the newer 5 year/100k powertrain warranty, BUT … because the vehicle had been “PUT INTO SERVICE” at the end of 2006, (very shortly after it rolled off the assembly line), 2.5 years worth of the coverage had already lapsed!!
So now I’m trying to figure out WHY GM thinks the van got “PUT INTO SERVICE” - because the dealer has said the van is brand new and has never been titled - AND, there is no buyer’s name associated with the VIN# in GM’s records (as there is with my Impala which I used as an example during the conversation). I called another dealership to see if it’s possible to use a vehicle as a “demo” but then sell it as new, and the response was, “we don’t do anything like that here, but I guess it might be possible … blah … blah … blah”.
Right now, I’m thinking this thing IS a “demo” because I KNOW this dealer had 5 of these vans last summer. They probably designated this vehicle the “demo” unit right off the bat, then SLOWLY sold off the other 4 units. And now they’re trying to dump the “demo” as a ‘new’ (untitled) vehicle. But remember when I stated earlier that I had visited the dealer and they could not consummate the deal? I’m now thinking it was because I tried to use my GM dollars and they knew I could not use them on a vehicle that had been “PUT INTO SERVICE”. That’s why the salesman said the dollars “WERE NO GOOD ANYMORE” (false), then after I pressed him said, “YOU CAN ONLY USE 2000 DOLLARS” (also false). At that point, the salesman tried to give me the $2k ‘dollars’ up front then refund me the remaining dollars “IF IT TURNED OUT THEY APPLIED”. But I said “NO” because I didn’t trust them to cut me the check (after saying what they did - BOTH the salesman AND the Sales Manager in tandem). I figured they’d cite some technicality or come up with some other excuse NOT to send me the money. It now appears that the excuse or technicality would’ve been that the vehicle was actually a “demo”, the dollars did not apply, and the $2000 they gave me was just an additional discount that they swallowed to seal the deal!
It all makes sense to me now…
Hmmmm … I think I’m still going back, but I’ll have to take a very careful approach. I expect them to try to sell me additional warranty coverage now. The existing coverage (even the base 3 year/36k warranty) will be expiring in about 6 months and the vehicle would have NO COVERAGE AT ALL! I’ll probably let them hang themselves, then work the extended coverage into the exisiting price (if not try to get GM to reset the clock on the 5 year/100k coverage, since the vehicle was, in fact, never titled to anyone)…
Dude, you should be bowling partners with Pres. Obama, Special Olympics-stylee. Clearly you are making this up for your own amusement. It’s obvious that no one here wants to buy this imaginary car. Your final paragraph says it all:
“I’ll post back with the conclusion as soon as possible - but that might be two weeks away. Might not even be able to find this thread on this forum by then…”
Right, you won’t be able to find it. Sure. And you wrote that over a month ago.
I’ll give you a legitimate answer nonetheless. Is there oil in the engine? Was there always oil in the engine?
Let’s see, here. It’s a car you don’t need. And a brand and model you won’t name. At a price you can’t resist.
Have you considered finding another outlet for your apparent need to negotiate?
(I’m a coach. I ask fundamental questions.) WHY are you doing this, at all?
Could it be you have an unmet need which you haven’t identified?
With respect to a vehicle that’s sat for 2 years, my recommendation would be to change all fluids. AND I DO MEAN ALL. That includes tranny fluid. Then have it examined by a truly independent third party. Send it to Cambridge, and let the boys have at it, even. Odds are, there’s nothing wrong with it, the electronics are fine, and a charge in the battery and fluid change would be all you’d need.
But as you said, you don’t NEED this car. Perhaps what you may need is a grip.
i bought a 2001 in June 2002 depending on build date may have been 2 years old got a good deal not 50% very few problems. Low sales numbers nbut I loved the weird looking machine. The photos of the buick terrazo look like any other mini van too me except for those GM vans that were half hood and winshield and you could not see where the front end was
Now that you have gotten some reality regarding the warranty coverage, I am having a really hard time figuring out why you would want this vehicle that nobody else wanted for 2.5 years.
Yes, it is cheap. The market dictates prices, and as a result, the vehicle is worth–maximum–the “50% off” price. In effect, you are paying the asking price, which is never done on a new car, and certainly shouldn’t be done on a vehicle that was “dodgy” when it was new.
When you consider that this was one of America’s least reliable vehicles when new, then factor in its age with inevitable deterioration of some parts, and also factor in almost no warranty coverage, your apparent compulsion to buy this loser of a vehicle is beyond my comprehension. Offer the dealer about $4,000. less than the current asking price, and if they agree, then it might be worth buying.
Rule 1 there are no rules. Say you will buy it if they put in writing you get 5 years 100k from the date of purchase. I can almost guarantee they will do that.