Hyundai started it, and now Ford and GM have announced their own variations of Hyundai's offer designed to sell cars to a cautious population. While Hyundai's walkaway program offers to absorb car payments for three months and will accept a returned car without any additional payment if a buyer loses her job, Ford and GM have developed slightly different ideas for getting cars off the lots and into the hands of people worried about unemployment.
Ford's program includes paying $700 a month up to one year for new vehicles if buyers lose their jobs, while GM is offering to cover up to nine payments of $500 each in case of unemployment. Ford will extend its program through June 1 and GM's offer is only good through April 30. Perhaps the marketing tools will prove successful in selling cars to tentative customers and help the auto industry dig itself out of an expensive collapse.
Tomster
Halston
Mulberry
i think that it's a good plan that they are doing, but i guess i just don't know the details on this one. if you don't have a job right now then you can't afford to buy the car....but what does it mean for the people that have a lease on Ford or GM cars. does it mean that they get the same opportunity to have the company eat the cost if you're out of a job? not sure what that really means. i have a GM car and my lease is under the limit that they will pay, but since it's not brand new right now - i have one more year on my lease, does that mean that they won't pay it if i lose my job?
1I think it's pretty easy to understand. It will be written into the contracts of people who buy cars from Ford or GM in the covered period. I'm pretty sure (but correct me if I'm wrong) that neither of these companies offer leases (financed through Ford Financial/GM Financial) any more. The point is to get people to buy these cars, so why would it cover cars already purchased/leased?
2My sister wants a new Camaro. Not that she plans on losing her job, but she feels a little more comfortable purchasing and owning it without fear in the near term that the repo-man will cometh. Not too long ago she put her name down for an orange SS. A good step up from her beat-up 99 RAV4.
3my boyfriend works in the automotive industry, thankfully his company is not doing anything like this. could you imagine the amount of people taking advantage of this? and i don't mean in a good way. his business would lose tons of money if that were the case. of course Ford and GM can do what they like....well, GM can't anymore.
4I don't think people would take advantage of this on purpose...who actually WANTS to lose their job, even if it means free car payments? I think it's kind of a good program to encourage people to buy a vehicle if they truly need a new one, but I still think a lot of people will hold off on buying a vehicle for a while. It's definitely one of those big ticket items that a lot of people are going to want to defer for the time being.
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