General Motors offers 60 day return policy, is it for you?

It sounds like a great offer.  Buy a car, drive it and if you don’t like it, return it and get your money back.  That’s what General Motors is offering in its new 60 day Satisfaction Guarantee Program.  But most of us know it’s probably a lot more complicated than returning a blouse. 

First, why it’s being implemented seems understandable, considering GM’s recent struggles.  Bruce Fulford of Vaden Chevrolet in Savannah says it’s about more than trying to keep the company afloat (although that’s good), he says it really is about getting people to take a more unbiased look at the product. “What General Motors is trying to do is get people to give their cars a chance, people who would normally buy imports.  We’re trying to get them to buy American. Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, they’ve come a long way.

The idea, say most dealers, is that once people buy the cars, they won’t want to give them back.  “If we get enough people behind the wheel driving cars, we really don’t think a whole lot of them will come back because these cars are great,“ says Fulford.

The policy says you have up to 60 days to basically test drive the car, and if you don’t like it, return it and be reimbursed.  “GM will pay you what you paid for the car and the sales tax,“ Fulford tells me. The three restrictions are basically when the car comes back it cannot have over 4,000 miles on it and it can’t have more than 200 dollars worth of damage and it can’t have been in an accident.“

And the police does not include giving you your old car back.  The guarantee program specifically states that getting back your used car is not part of the return policy.

Fulford says even though the program was just implemented Monday, he’s already sold three cars as a result.  “I think it takes the pressure off people.  They know they can drive the car for a month or a month and a half and really get a good feel for it and if for some reason they don’t like it, no obligation, bring it back,“ he says.

According to the General Motors website:

The program is applicable for a new Chevy, Buick, GMC or Cadillac.  You need to keep the car for at least 30 days.  After that, you have 30 additional days to bring it back.  GM says it will refund the actual price you paid to the participating dealer, less any rebates.  The offer does not apply to a vehicle you lease.

The program applies to purchases of an “eligible” 2009 or 2010 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac vehicle (excluding Medium Duty trucks) between September 14, 2009 and November 30, 2009. The car cannot have more than 4,000 miles on it when it is returned and according to the GM website, the customer will receive the purchase price of the vehicle itself after any rebates, discounts, plus applicable sales taxes that were actually paid. (The customer’s buyback price does not include anything else (such as other taxes, licensing, titling or registration fees, insurance, accessories, dealer fees, extended warranties, finance charges, negative equity or any other expenses incurred by the customer at the time of taking delivery of the new vehicle.)

One local Chevy dealer told me they’re still learning details but that the jist of the program is that if you returned a car to the dealer, the dealer would pay you back any down payment you may have given them directly and then pay back the bank or credit union where the vehicle was financed.  He says about 90 percent of all purchases are through financing the customer secures, not through GM financing.

While you may deal with a local dealer in the sale, the program is actually through GM.  So if you decide to return a car, you would need to contact someone at GM first and then take it back to your dealer.  You have to have the normal documents like a copy of the bill of sale, and a number of other documents, including driver’s license and proof you insured the vehicle while your drove it.