I’m thinking about buying a new Cobalt 1LT for the kids. The price is already outstanding (74% of invoice), but I suspect that it could be better. The salesman was wearing his Dodge golf shirt at the Chevy dealership. He said that the owner just shut the Dodge outlet down and was going to shut the Chevy outlet down in one month (he goes to Nissan dealership). Any 2009 leftovers will be bought back by GM. But it seems to me that GM would rather move these cars than ship them elsewhere. The car I have in mind runs well with no obvious problems, despite being built last August. I’m inclined to offer less than the asking price. Anyone familiar with going out of business sales like this? I know that I will save a lot already, but if the dealer is gone, I’ll have to take warranty work to another dealer. I know the drill: paying customers first, inside warranty work next, outside warranty work last. How much do you think they’ll come down? I’m inclined to ask for a few hundred, but is there moe on the table in hidden dealer incentives?
I have no specific knowledge to offer as I know little in terms of “insider” knowledge. But I figured I’d bump this as no one else had said anything about it.
My own instinct when I want to do something like this is always to have immediate payment in hand - cash or its equivalent is obviously best - offer exactly what I want to pay, and the most important part, of course, is ready to casually shrug and walk away. If you need to play around with financing (rather than having immediate payment) this never works out so well since everyone involved now has a lot more work to do.
I doubt that the “bottom” of the car market has been found yet, so why not jump up and down on it a little?
The unknown variable is how much the dealers get paid back if they send the car back to GM. It could very well be that the deal you’re getting right now is a hundred bucks or so over what they’ll get to ship it back and so you’re not going to get a better deal. Or it could be they only get half of invoice or less and there’s more wiggle room, who knows?
As for the warranty repairs, I’ve never really known dealers to differentiate between in-house and outside warranty work-- after all, it all pays the same. Maybe if they recognize you as a good customer they might be a bit more lenient with what they’ll run through as a warranty claim or how fast they can get you in. You could probably achieve a similar effect by going there for oil changes and other routine maintenance.
I’m paying cash. I’ll put a deposit down and return the following day with a certified check.
I read that GM isn’t going to be quite so generous with closing dealerships as they were with Oldsmobile, but the articles didn’t throw any numbers around. I am willing to pay the asking price, but I’d just like to get a better deal. Hey, bankers aren’t the only greedy folks around. 
I doubt if any dealers will be shipping anything back to GM. The head office will try to distibute the inventory to various dealers and offering the dealers deeper and deeper discounts. GM will also idle 13 plants in the US for about 12 weeks each in rotation this summer.
If you wait long enough I’m sure you’ll be able to get a new Cobalt at half price before the summer is half over. I remember a friend who bought a loaded Chrysler for $7500 new (without government rebates) back when Iacocca was trying to rescue them.
The Cobalt has not been selling well and with GM going into Chapter 11 no one will touch it. And the inventory overhang is simply HUGE!
There are many other dealers that will stay open in a huge metro area like Baltimore/Washington. But the logistics of the transfer will cost a bit. I’m hoping to trade on that.
The Cobalt has been the 4th or 5th best seller in 2008. It traded places monthly with the Ford Focus. With my other incentives, I’ll get it for about half price, even now. I’m buying now because we have $3000 in GM bucks. I fear that if I wait until June, GMAC might have a legal out and stiff me. If they are half price in August, maybe I’ll buy another one. The kids will be ecstatic. Except the third one who gets stuck with the 1998 Regal. She’ll get over it.
If you already have $3000 GM bucks, I’d say go for it. Where I live, prices are starting to come down on the GM minivans and small SUVs, neither of which are good vehicles. When GM’s re-organization is in full swing, I migh bite as well and get a Malibu for half price.
I agree that the cars will probably be delivered to other, larger dealers nearby. The transportation costs should be no more than the destination charge of $700. It’s built in Ohio, so the cost to ship across town should not be too much less.
Nice car (Malibu). I’d like to get one, but the cost is currently too high. I imagine that you are interested in the 6-cyl, judging from your other posts on the Malibu.
If you or anyone else finds a dealer that is closing who has 2008s on hand, you are in for a great deal. GM will transfer 2009s, but not 2008s. The dealer is stuck with them. They are likely to be trucks. If you are interested, find a small dealer and see what he has on line. For instance, the dealer I’m working with has 4 HHR LT panel vans and 4 Silverado 2500HT trucks; 3 are diesels.
You never know how far the frog will jump unless you poke it. Put a “low ball” offer on the table and give the dealer a few days to chew on it. You’ve got cash, so offer $1,000 less than the asking price. You said you’d pay the asking price, so if they counter and you end up with $500 off the asking perhaps you’ll be satisfied.
I’d get the $3,000 GM bucks used before they go Chapter 11. Those bucks can go “bye bye” as all the rules change once they file. To use the bucks, the time is now.
If you want to wait longer, the deals may get better in the late summer for buyers without the GM bucks. In your case could you get a better deal by waiting even if your can’t redeem your GM bucks? I doubt it.