About GM dealers and incentive programs:
I did get out to chat with some dealers here in Hickory, NC region and this thing seems to be individualized (between Charlotte & Asheville region). One dealer I saw prices not slashed much from MSRP at all in fact, then I found another dealer 8 miles away with far better prices on these Red tag event labels that expire Monday. Then Sales Managers and F&I guys' attitudes seem to act like they had nothing to do with former car loan costs on consumers who got them through dealers and say the banks are now doing what they should have been all along........ But here in NC right now, banks directly are saying basically any "used" vehicle sold over 4 years in age is considered with no value, and they will loan up to 80% max against NADA but the loan will be considered "unsecured" and the new interest rates will start at 13% from prime lenders for these!!! If vehicle is less than 4 years old, you can get 7.9% car loan from prime banks direct here. So with higher interest rates now going to 30% here in NC for any used vehicle (for lower than 650 FICO's), plus mileage cut off for prime lenders being about 50,000 miles max, this will leave literally thousands of private used car lots here that will not be able to sell cars unless they get 100% cash sales which are rare... What I find funny, is I bought used vehicle 9 months ago from a franchised dealer and they talked big about it and great things of its value, etc; but today with new banking changes, the same dealer (like the bank) are now saying this same vehicle basically is not worth buying/financing at low rates because it has no intrinsig value as collateral, so will have to charge double digit rates to finance it!!??
Thing is, some of the dealers here as cost cutting were closed New Years Day, not going to be open Saturdy or even Sunday to cut operational costs, so it limits the prospective buyer to a couple days at best for this GMAC program. And I will be honest, of all the hundreds of prices I saw "Red Tagged", I was still disappointed to see the sticker prices of those vehicles and am in market to buy new car right now, but I was not excited to buy at the prices I saw here... Best prices I saw were only maybe $2,000.00 off the MSRP and that is it.... Not really a "deal" in my eyes as owner of 27 vehicles in my lifetime.
The GMAC program is wonderful (no fuss) if you have a FICO of 621 or better and a job, as the rebates and bonus cash is given to GMAC from GM but as in case of dealers I talked to, it seems they are playing with the MSRP to still try to make the higher profits as in past and not really working hard to try to lower prices to make customers want to buy them as I see it.
I like this stock long term and do own it, and feel those bondholders bashing GM's equity daily need to not be so "confident" holding the likes of GMS, GMP, GMW, as to allow this corp or its common stock to disapepar as many bondholders would love to see would be foolish here (after all the Fed funds & banking license given to GMAC), and something is about to happen and the common stock will and needs to survive, as what other reason would there be for major funds/institutionals/buyers invest long term in the stock (or the small investor) if it had no value? What is going on lately short term is very small specs on low volume moves during major holiday vacation period for traders and the like so bondholders do not get your hopes up too much, as this stock will be fine and survive otherwise everything the government has done is for nothing and the USA will cease to exist and every company be bankrupt and 300million people out of work and not a damn thing moving in this nation and we become like Ethiopia here in the USA- this scenario I do not think will be "allowed" to ever occur....
