You might remember the car-dealer refrain, ?Buy a car, get a check,? or those once-ubiquitous friends and family discounts. In the Pacific Northwest, General Motors is putting another twist on the incentive game, offering a year of free car insurance.
This week, G.M. began a pilot program in Oregon and Washington that bundled a yearlong insurance policy, provided through MetLife Auto and Home, with a customer?s purchase of a new 2010, 2011 or 2012 model-year vehicle.
The program, which runs through Sept. 6, is intended to increase G.M.?s market share in the Pacific Northwest, where dealers say they are not experiencing the same rebound in auto sales that their counterparts in other regions have experienced.
?We?re light on traffic right now,? said Terry Olson, general manager of Braley & Graham Buick GMC in Portland, Ore., in a telephone interview. ?We always take some time to recover.?
Buyers in the region are also more loyal to foreign brands, according to a recent survey by CarGurus.com, which examined buying behaviors of customers from January through June. While 67 percent of buyers in St. Louis and Detroit bought cars from domestic brands, only 37 percent of buyers in Portland and 34 percent of Seattle buyers did.
Tom Henderson, a G.M. spokesman, said in a telephone interview that the insurance incentive was offered partly because the company?s data identified 23 percent of potential buyers on the West Coast lacked the financial means to acquire a policy.
Brad Preble, a vice president with Carr Chevrolet in Beaverton, Ore., said that a common component of his sales staff?s work involved getting monthly payments to a point where customers could afford them in tandem with insurance payments.
?When we?re working with people on a budget, we have to factor that into the equation,? Mr. Preble said in a telephone interview. ?To the extent that it can go away, that?s beneficial.?
Mr. Olson in Portland said affordability was not a major issue for his Buick and GMC customers, but he believed they nevertheless would appreciate a bargain. ?When you buy a new $35,000 Buick or $55,000 GMC Denali, the insurance premium can be a fair amount,? he said.
The insurance can be bundled with other deals as well. G.M. is offering incentives that average around $3,000 per vehicle, highest among major automakers according to Edmunds.com, but down significantly from the levels the company was offering in April and May.
CarInsurance.com, which tracks insurance rates nationwide, reflects an average auto insurance premium in Washington State of $1,352 per year, while the average in Oregon is $1,189 ? both below the national average of $1,440.
According to MetLife, the policy covers the vehicle and anyone who drives it with the owner?s permission for a full year from the date of purchase, as long as the buyer still owns it.
Mr. Olson said he expected the policy to appeal particularly to households with teenage drivers, who could be expensive to insure. If the car is totaled in the first year or first 15,000 miles, whichever comes first, MetLife would repair or replace it without deducting for depreciation.
This is not the first time G.M. has used such an incentive. The automaker briefly offered a similar program a few years ago on the Chevrolet Cobalt in Wisconsin, according to Mr. Henderson, the company spokesman.
?We?ll see if it resonates with buyers,? he said. ?We?ll assess it after Sept. 6.? At least for now, G.M. does not intend to introduce it elsewhere, but Mr. Olson in Portland said he was convinced the program would draw customers to showrooms in any part of the country. ?It?s our job to make sure it?s successful so that it can be rolled out nationally,? he said.
usgs the social network neverwinter nights 2 spartan tyler perry p90x prince william and kate
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.