Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

In an effort to bolster its finance business after being bushwhacked by GMAC, General Motors has launched a new incentive program for GM employees as well as a program that rewards dealer employees who steer business away from GMAC.

Round 2: Additional Employee Incentives

The first round of new car incentives allowed any customer to buy a General Motors vehicle at the employee price. While this program was certainly embraced by the public – it allowed GM to post sales losses for September that were roughly half those of most of the other major manufacturers – our guess at Auto Credit Express is that it did little for employee’s morale, or their pocket books.

So this time around, the General has decided to give an additional discount to employees, suppliers and anyone else that would qualify for an employee discount. The additional discounts amount to either $1,000 or $2,000, depending upon the model.

2008 and 2009 vehicles that qualify for the $1,000 spiff include the Buick Enclave, the Cadillac CTS, the Chevrolet Avalanche, Malibu, Traverse and extended and crew-cab Silverado, the GMC Acadia and extended and crew-cab Sierra, the Hummer H3 and the Saturn Outlook.

Vehicles that qualify for the $2,000 rebate include 2008 and 2009 models of the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Impala, Hummer H2, Pontiac G6, Saab 9-7x and Saturn Aura as well as light-duty regular cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.

Round 3: Bonus money for non-GMAC contracts

In what appears to be an effort to encourage dealers to explore alternative financing sources, a memo sent to dealers this week outlines a plan that would provide incentives to dealer employees for contracts funded with lenders other than GMAC.

According to Automotive News, the program would pay dealer employees up to $250 for each contract cashed with an alternative lender. The payment would be split between the salesperson, the sales manager and another employee that can be chosen by the dealer. Vehicles covered under the program would include all GM brands, with the exception of Saab. There is no word yet on when the program will commence and how long it will last.

The Bottom Line

In the current economic climate, it appears that automakers will try just about anything to “move the iron”. If this requires a company like GM to encourage its dealers to look for other sources for car financing, then so be it.

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