[Sunnysue]

My Equinox was ordered on November 16th, 2010. Today I received a call from my small town dealer that is has been built. So right now, it is being put on a train from Canada to Chicago. Then it will come by truck from Chicago, to where I live, 3 hours south of Chicago.

The car is supposed to be here on or before February 28th. That is the day that the $1,000 owner loyalty cash offer will expire. I feel I am entitled to this.....even if it were to come 2 days after the offer is expired. I am not sure that the dealership will share my view.

Any suggestions, for what I can say........in case I have to plead my case. This is the 3rd vehicle I have purchased from my hometown dealership. I have all my car services done there, also. I feel I am a very loyal customer.

Thanks!!!!
Sue

 

[rbarrios]

once the vehicle is built... it has a VIN.
though some dealers wont do the following- many will- to complete the sale.
Since youve bought from them before--- tell them its built and it has a VIN #-- and that youde like to get the financing paperwork done.

We did this before- on an ordered car- we were on the last day to qualify for 0%- we had paperwork done since the vehicle was built.
But we didnt see the car for about 2 more weeks.

so you may want to call them and say that youd like to get the paperwork done since the VIN has been assigned- maybe a few days before the offer runs out just to be safe.

 

[bballr4567]

Very good advice rbarrios.

Also, what if the incentive grows next month??? Gotta roll the dice.

 

[NMTerrain]

Just took delivery of my Terrain today. I was talking with the dealer principal who suggested that the loyalty cash will probably carry through as its not model specific and is more of a way to keep GM owners to continue to be GM owners. He also said not to expect much cash on the hood or any finance deals for the Terrains or Equinox-es as they are still the fastest selling cars that GM has right now.

 

[dwendt44]

It should take less than a week from 'made' to delivery.
You should have it by mid-week.

 

[Don B]

My Equinox was ordered on November 16th, 2010. Today I received a call from my small town dealer that is has been built. So right now, it is being put on a train from Canada to Chicago. Then it will come by truck from Chicago, to where I live, 3 hours south of Chicago.

The car is supposed to be here on or before February 28th. That is the day that the $1,000 owner loyalty cash offer will expire. I feel I am entitled to this.....even if it were to come 2 days after the offer is expired. I am not sure that the dealership will share my view.

Any suggestions, for what I can say........in case I have to plead my case. This is the 3rd vehicle I have purchased from my hometown dealership. I have all my car services done there, also. I feel I am a very loyal customer.

Thanks!!!!
Sue

I had the same deal when I ordered mine on Oct. 28th. From the time mine left Canada and got to my dealer, it took a little over two weeks and I live 90 miles north of Chicago. I had to take delivery by Jan. 3rd to get a $1500.00 rebate, but My dealer said not to worry because as soon as they get the Vin number they mark them sold. He said they usually get the Vin number shortly after they're built. Fortunately I didn't have to rely on them doing that because I took delivery Dec. 27th. You might want to quiz your dealer about getting the Vin number and marking it sold.

 

[Denali AWD]

I think your dealer should make this happen for you. Technically it could get a little tricky if it doesn't come in on time as a lot of the factory incentives state that you must take delivery of the vehicle by the date stated.

 

[Colt Hero]

Anything's possible, of course, but I wouldn't bet on the Loyalty cash being extended beyond the end of this month. My recollection is GM runs this promo just about every year in January and maybe into February, but I don't remember it ever going into March.

But I could be wrong...

Can't wait to see where the Equinox rebates are headed. They offered that Ally financing deal at the very end of last year (under the "Giving Back" program) where, for the FIRST TIME, you could actually get some price relief on an Equinox in the form of a $1500 rebate (if you financed with Ally) - but other than that there's been NOTHING! GM "Loyalists" are getting $1000 these first two months of the year, but it'll be interesting to see if regular rebates start appearing sometime this year (indicating slower sales on the Equinox).

My guess is the Loyalty Rebate expires at the end of this month, then we go back to a period of NO rebate money again, then it'll depend on how sales go throughout the year whether any new rebates are introduced.

 

[Denali AWD]

I was one of those who blindly stumbled into the $1500 Ally deal. My wife's car was totaled right at the end of November (thanks to a 16 year old running a red light) and we decided on the Equinox as a replacement.

I also got some off of the sticker due to the dealer being a sponsor of our Corvette club. So we got a great deal and we are still impressed with the Equinox.

I'd say it was a fortunate thing to have happen when it did but since my wife had 2 broken ribs and burns on her wrists and face from the airbag deployment, she probably wouldn't agree. LOL

 

[Colt Hero]

I very nearly bought during that $1500 Ally deal, but I wanted to pre-pay the loan (like - immediately) to avoid monthly car payments (which I haven't had since my very first new car purchase in '89). I couldn't get verification that there wasn't any fine print preventing this, so I rolled the dice on the Loyalty rebate in January, and fortunately GM ran it again.

I'm SURE, at some point, these financing contracts with up-front rebates will have standard verbiage added stating that (very) early pay-off will include a pre-payment penalty. But it won't be advertised and it'll be buried WAY down in the fine print, so people WILL get burned by it.

Ouch!! I hope those airbags did more GOOD than harm in your wife's accident! I'm not a big proponent of air bags. I think better seatbelts are the way to go (or should be an option). My wife is only 5' tall and sits VERY close to the wheel. If the airbag deploys on HER, she'll be hurt AT LEAST as badly as your wife was! A 5-point harness would work best for her.

OR ...another feature missing in the Equinox....

 

[twinterfun]

I can't see them putting anymore than the $1,000 rebate out there or loyalty. They just don't have to do it right now with the way they are selling them. Just try to find one to buy and its not easy.

Got lucky with the $1,000 loyalty rebate in January along with $2000 from my GM Card and supplier pricing. Can't ask for much more than that at this point with them.

 

[Colt Hero]

twitterfun:

I agree about the rebates. I think they'll go back to ZERO rebates for a while to see if they can still sell them that way.

I got pretty much the same deal you did except I had $4200 GM points/dollars to use. It was an "OK" deal by Equinox standards, but personally it's my worst new car deal ever - mostly because the rebate was low (ZERO) and the dealer discount was non-existent.

I'd LOVE to see the breakdown on who's buying GM's post-bankruptcy vehicles. Of course, all the GM employees and GM Card people are buying them, but what about foreign loyalists? What does THAT breakdown look like? Are people in their 40's and 50's coming back to GM after 20 to 30 years of foreign cars? Can't be very big numbers there. Maybe it's their kids? I don't get it. Maybe the whole thing is a mirage, the overall sales numbers really aren't that big, and GM is just controlling the supply to artificially keep prices high.

 

[Don B]

I very nearly bought during that $1500 Ally deal, but I wanted to pre-pay the loan (like - immediately) to avoid monthly car payments (which I haven't had since my very first new car purchase in '89). I couldn't get verification that there wasn't any fine print preventing this, so I rolled the dice on the Loyalty rebate in January, and fortunately GM ran it again.

I'm SURE, at some point, these financing contracts with up-front rebates will have standard verbiage added stating that (very) early pay-off will include a pre-payment penalty. But it won't be advertised and it'll be buried WAY down in the fine print, so people WILL get burned by it.

Ouch!! I hope those airbags did more GOOD than harm in your wife's accident! I'm not a big proponent of air bags. I think better seatbelts are the way to go (or should be an option). My wife is only 5' tall and sits VERY close to the wheel. If the airbag deploys on HER, she'll be hurt AT LEAST as badly as your wife was! A 5-point harness would work best for her.

OR ...another feature missing in the Equinox....

I also planned on paying cash for my Nox, but was told that I would have to finance with Ally to get the $1500.00 rebate. When I protested I was told it was no big deal because it was at 0% and after three payments I could pay it off, or I could take the 0% for up to 36 months. I thought , what the heck, I might as well leave my money in the bank drawing interest and use their money.

 

[bballr4567]

I'd LOVE to see the breakdown on who's buying GM's post-bankruptcy vehicles. Of course, all the GM employees and GM Card people are buying them, but what about foreign loyalists? What does THAT breakdown look like? Are people in their 40's and 50's coming back to GM after 20 to 30 years of foreign cars? Can't be very big numbers there. Maybe it's their kids? I don't get it. Maybe the whole thing is a mirage, the overall sales numbers really aren't that big, and GM is just controlling the supply to artificially keep prices high.

Supposedly the Terrain is having a conquest rate of around 50% and the Equinox is around 30% last time GM released the numbers. Pretty substantial in my mind.

 

[Colt Hero]

Yeah, I heard the 3-payment thing ... and someone also told me the minimum I could finance was something like $5,000 (or was it $7,000) ... can't remember.

I just HATE making payments. At this point in my life, every 4 weeks feels like every other week to me.

Plus, what happens if you make a payment late? Does all the interest come due at that point like the furniture financers like to do?

And is zero percent REALLY zero percent? I wouldn't have any problem qualifying for it, but I've always wondered if it's REALLY zero percent. Or - if it IS zero percent, then you're paying more for the car in principal (they're not going to budge on the purchase price as much). Isn't that how it goes???

 

[Colt Hero]

bballr:

So GM says 30% of people buying the Equinox are former non-GM customers?

Seems plausible, but I'd still like to see a further breakdown of that 30% number. What percent were foreign car purchasers and for how many models back? What percentage finally gave up on Chrysler? What are the age brackets?

 

[bballr4567]

I dont think you will ever get that much of a breakdown because it gives ammo for the other makers to target those specific demographics.

 

[Motorman]

Equinox has won Consumer Digest "Best Buy", Motorweek's "Drivers Choice" awards, after a multiple competitor testing including the usual rice burners. My neighbors bought one right after seeing the Motorweek program. The 29 MPG (with AWD!) is hard to beat. And the 6speed auto makes the 182HP 4 cyl really pull hard. I was very impressed on a recent nite out especially with the class leading, roomy rear seat!

No wonder they sell well.

MM

 

[Colt Hero]

bballr:

Then, to me, those numbers are misleading (even meaningless).

Motorman:

How come we NEVER see Consumer REPORTS touting the Equinox? It's always Consumer Digest. Could it be that Consumer Digest will more easily give $omeone a favorable rating?

And, don't get me wrong - I like the sliding back seat ... it's a no-brainer idea that should've been around a LONG time ago, but let's be honest - if you want to impress your backseat passengers with all that rear legroom, you better hope they don't need to throw a lot of stuff in the cargo area too, because there ain't much room back there with the seat all the way back.

 

[bballr4567]

Well, Im sorry. That is all GM will ever release. It doesnt make sense to them or you to do it. It just gives ammo to the other car makers to aim their advertising at those demographics.