Photo: General Motors
Flippers are usually good at making the laws of supply and demand work in their favor. Who doesn’t like to make a quick buck, right? But on the other hand, nobody wants to pay an outrageous markup for anything… And now, Houston, we have a problem.
Sure, you have a new product, but making someone pay an arm and a leg just for the privilege of having it early (or even just to keep their reservation and WAIT to pay money for it) would probably annoy more than a few people.
Back in January this year, GM North American President Steve Carlisle sent an email to dealerships, addressing markup concerns, calling out the “bad actors” and asking them to stop with the unethical markups on some of their models: “GM will be forced to take action if it learns of any unethical sales practices…”
In other words, play by our rules - or you won’t be playing much longer. “Roger that!” would be the only appropriate answer to that warning, if you ask me. Now the carmaker is back at it with extra safety measures – buyer incentives.
In a recent promotional email outlining the pricing for their new Z06, GM wrote:
“For a limited time, My Chevrolet Rewards members can earn an additional 500,000 points — a $5,000 value — when they retain ownership of their vehicle for 12 months after purchase. Points can be redeemed on GM Financial Payments, Accessories, and more!”
While $5,000 is a decent chunk of change, it’s not even cash – and you have to wait a whole year for it! Compare that to an instant $10,000 to $20,000, and those reward points pale in comparison. It’s good to know GM is taking action on multiple fronts, but is it enough to stop the early flippers?
Hopefully it is, because ultimately, the only thing exploitative sales practices can generate (besides quick cash) is bad press, and that’s not good for anybody.
Back in January this year, GM North American President Steve Carlisle sent an email to dealerships, addressing markup concerns, calling out the “bad actors” and asking them to stop with the unethical markups on some of their models: “GM will be forced to take action if it learns of any unethical sales practices…”
In other words, play by our rules - or you won’t be playing much longer. “Roger that!” would be the only appropriate answer to that warning, if you ask me. Now the carmaker is back at it with extra safety measures – buyer incentives.
In a recent promotional email outlining the pricing for their new Z06, GM wrote:
“For a limited time, My Chevrolet Rewards members can earn an additional 500,000 points — a $5,000 value — when they retain ownership of their vehicle for 12 months after purchase. Points can be redeemed on GM Financial Payments, Accessories, and more!”
While $5,000 is a decent chunk of change, it’s not even cash – and you have to wait a whole year for it! Compare that to an instant $10,000 to $20,000, and those reward points pale in comparison. It’s good to know GM is taking action on multiple fronts, but is it enough to stop the early flippers?
Hopefully it is, because ultimately, the only thing exploitative sales practices can generate (besides quick cash) is bad press, and that’s not good for anybody.
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