General Motors Money Back Guarantee Brings 193 Returns So Far

On September 10, 2009, General Motors announced that it will offer a Satisfaction Guarantee to eligible buyers of new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. The program started Sept. 14. The guarantee allows customers to return their vehicle to their dealer between 31 and 60 days of purchase and receive a refund of the purchase price for the vehicle. That should be plenty of time to evaluate the vehicle, afterall an elite number of journalists usually get a week behind the wheel to generate a vehicle review that may or may not effect the purchase process.

This past Thursday on Nov. 18, or 65 days after the offer started, General Motors issued a press release saying that 653 customers to date have taken the 60-day Money Back Guarantee return in lieu of a $500 discount on a new vehicle purchase. 53 vehicles have been returned and about 140 others are in the process. In October, GM sold 177,603 vehicles so the 193 returns is barely a rounding error. One of the criteria is that customers must take delivery by Nov. 30th, so by early February we should have a good idea of how many people rejected their GM vehicle for whatever reason and returned it.

GM says that "every potential walk away is getting an exit interview from (Vice President of Global Product Engineering Mark) Reuss or one of his engineering leadership team." Now hopefully they'll survey the other 1.7 million plus customers who bought GM vehicles this year and owned them longer than 60 days to get better info on their products. If GM needs help, I have the answer, so send me an email or post a comment.