Local Chev Dealer Calls it Quits

[Jet-X]

Wow, this was shocking. Read in the local paper our Chevrolet dealer is closing, after 30 years. It's 5 minutes from my house! How sad... I drove by last night only a few new trucks left on the lot. The parts and service departments were closed last month, according to the article. Crap, now I have to drive 30 minutes to the next closest dealer. Oh, well....

[99silveradoz71]

That sucks. The dealer near work is moving a few cities west. It'll be closer to my house, but I already have options out that way. It was nice being able to drop the truck and walk right over to work while they took care of her. They've got a nice new place going along the interstate here, which makes me wonder whatelse they're going to pickup as it's just Chevy currently.

[michaelrayce]

theres a indepth look at this at gminsidenews.com , that was there excuse , seems to me to be more location and other chevy dealers close by then anything else . putting blame on another brand is a lame excuse .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That sucks.  The dealer near work is moving a few cities west.  It'll be closer to my house, but I already have options out that way.  It was nice being able to drop the truck and walk right over to work while they took care of her.  They've got a nice new place going along the interstate here, which makes me wonder whatelse they're going to pickup as it's just Chevy currently.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

[Elwood 2000]

Let's face it, the car/truck market is tough right now for sellers. GM and other domestics are now married to big rebates and almost zero, if not zero percent financing. With all the competion in each segment, especially the higher profit margin truck/suv market, margins have become thin. Also, when the new stuff gets cheap, the used stuff gets even cheaper. It is hard for the dealerships to make big bucks on nearly new stuff when new stuff is cheap. My Suburban case for example, I paid $21k less than MSRP for a new one on an '04 model with only 8500 miles on the clock. A few years ago, that would not have happened.

 

The dealers who can make a few bucks on each sale and move a lot of units will survive, not the dealers hoping to hit the home run for $1500 - $2000 on each deal. Unfortunately, small town dealers don't do the volume in sales, OR service to compete as well as the larger places do. My local dealers in my small home town have cars on the lot that have either grown roots or at least have wiskers!

 

The other thing biting GM and other domestic brands is the long standing reputation for quality that "foreign" cars have, like Honda and Toyota. Typically, a 10 year old Honda will be in better shape, quality wise than a 10 year old Buick or Olds. Sad, but true. They are getting better with the aquisitions of foreign companies like Saab, etc. and moving technology across brand lines, but time is ticking. Resale value is reflected in this too. We paid $27k for a loaded up Impala just 3 years ago. Today with 34k miles on the clock, I would be lucky to get $13k for it and it is in nearly perfect condition!! Very poor resale value and todays comsumer, especially one who trades often is considering things like this.

 

 

It is a tough game these days and one I am glad to be the BUYER, not the SELLER!

 

[hihosilverado]

I work in the industry and I must say that Elwood is right on the money. GM has always had to put the rebates on the cars but in the past has been able to get away with little to none on the truck line. My 04 is pretty much loaded and had a sticker of $37,025. I paid 28 grand for it this summer and it had less than 3k on it (demo). That was about 2 grand under invoice considering the rebates, dealer incentives, etc. But the thing is, this is no less than what I paid for a similarly equipped Nissan Titan a few months earlier (it was stolen). I looked at Tundras and they were around 33k list for comparable equipment to my truck. So even though it seems the incentives on the GM trucks are huge, they are really only bringing them back in line with the competition. As to the quality, I would honestly rank my Chevy on the same level as the Titan. My Titan had problems, not major ones but little niggles that required trips to the dealer just like I have had with my Chevy. My buddy had a Tundra that was a lot worse off (he did kinda abuse it though) and now he has a 2500HD that he abuses the same and he does not complain. I guess what I am getting at is that a truck is a truck, and I dont think the reductions in price on the GMs has as much to do with quality as it does matching the prices of the competition. Where it hurts is if you paid sticker on one and then go to trade it. Believe it or not a 04 is worth about the same as an 02 in trade value. As rebates subside and GM eventually gets a new model out then our resale will go back up. GMs cars are getting better, the new line of Cadillacs is impressive and the new small cars (cobalt, G6) are a big step in the right direction. I guess I kind of rambled a bit. But, back to the point, the only reason a dealer is gonna go out of business is becuase of poor management, not becuase of foreign competition.

[Elwood 2000]

Hihosilver, you are right, but cars like the G6, Grand Prix and cobalt are based on the Saab chasis.

 

I agree Caddy is getting a lot better. They need new cars faster and the new truck/suv line had better stand pretty tall to keep people in their stables. The options today are a lot more than 3.

 

[hihosilverado]

Elwood, I forgot that the 9-3, Cobalt, G6, and probably something else are all built on the Epsilon platform. I am not sure, however, which vehicle it was actually inteded for. I could be wrong, but I think it is based on a euro spec GM vehicle that is not sold in the US. Which brings up another point, why do we not see more of GMs euro line here? A perfect example is the GTO. I know this has not been a huge success but it is certainly not due to refinement or dynamics. We all know the GTOs interior quality is a level above probably anything in GMs stable other than the new STS, and it is a d**n fine car dynamically. It is of course let down by styling, but the shape of the vehicle (Australian built Holden) is not bad and in four door form with a bowtie up front and a nice dohc motor would actually be a really nice car. Instead we have the somewhat bland front wheel drive Impala (decent but boring) and nothing that can hold a candle to a 300C. If GM has been the number one auto maker for a number of years where have they been spending all the money......we know it isnt in marketing or R&D. Oh, I forgot, they have been spending it on four wheel steering, electric power steering, and hybrid technology for a pickup . I think hybrid tech is good, but why not build us a car worth buying before you make it a hybrid? I mean seriously, who is running GMs marketing and market research? Maybe I should apply.

[USA1Fan]

I'm not certain, but I think the Epsilon platform was first used for one of the Opel vehicles (definitely a GM vehicle to the core, but European). Saab, if anything, is getting stuff from the rest of GM, not the other way around. This is also why I see people making snide posts about the new Saab SUV based off of the Trailblazer / Envoy / Bravada / etc. platform..

[Elwood 2000]

The G6 and the Grand Prix use a Saab platform.

 

In an effort to save money, I think the large pond that is called "GM" is getting murky instead of clearer.

 

I was worried about this with the DC "merger", but DC seems to be guilding better cars than in the past.

 

Hiho, you mentioned the Impala, my wife drives one. I am not a fan and the more she drives it, the less she likes it. Sad, but our mentality on that car is "decent transportation that gets good milage". GM needs to make an improvement with the next generation!

[USA1Fan]

The G6 and the Grand Prix use a Saab platform.

The G6 is on the same platform as the Chevrolet Malibu, Saab 9-3, and Opel/Vauxhall Vectra. Of those, I think the Opel/Vauxhall came first.

 

As for the Grand Prix, might wanna check again. That platform is and has been entirely US since it first came out.

[Shawn T]

The Grand Prix uses a U.S. platform. It has been for years. It shares it with the Chevrolet Impala and Olds Alero(Olds is gone). You may be thinking of the Grand Am(which the G6 replaced).

[Elwood 2000]

The new(current) Grand Prix uses a Saab platform. I agree, the previous generation Grand Prix shared a platform with the Impala. The next Impala, due out in a year or two will share the new Grand Prix platform, which came from Saab.