It was announced that GM will give consumers a “no question” asked money back guarantee within the first 60 days of purchase. They are rolling out the plan because they want to show the public that the consumer can have confidence in the quality of their cars.

Things must be worse than expected if GM is giving a money back guarantee. I wonder who owns that company? Oh yea, it is the Government. This shouldn’t be a big surprise since the Government is involved with GM. Beyond this being a bad idea, there is one main reason why car companies don’t offer the ability to return cars after they are purchased. Once they roll off of the lot, they lose thousands of dollars in depreciation. If a lot of those cars come back, they stand to lose more of OUR money.

The executives of GM state that they are confident in the program and don’t expect many of these cars to be returned. I think they are going to find that they are completely wrong in their thinking for several reasons. First, buying a car is an emotional decision in many cases. If you have buyer’s remorse, you can easily return the car. In addition, it is just too easy for anyone to just change their mind. Second, the consumer who potentially faces unemployment has nothing to lose. As unemployment continues to get worse in this country, people who participate in this program are less likely to hang onto their more expensive new cars. Finally, I wouldn’t want to give anyone a way out on a big ticket item in this environment.

I don’t think this has anything to do with GM wanting to give consumers a vote of confidence. I think this is a car company that is desperate and dying. If they really want to prove a point how about a 6 months money back guarantee? Let’s face it, the chances of something breaking in the first 60 days are slim.

I can’t wait to read the fine print. More to come…

Tags: Bob Brooks, Deceptive Money, depreciation, GM, Government, Prudent Money, Unemployment