GM makes big offer with Lock 'n' Roll program

GM offers financing deal on your next two cars.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. really, really wants you.
So badly, in fact, that it is willing to offer you what could amount to a deal of the decade: a chance to lock in a low interest rate on a new GM car or truck, as well as your next vehicle, for as long as 10 years.
The incentive -- announced today and called Lock 'n' Roll -- will be heavily promoted nationwide for the next 20 days and is part of a year-end push by GM to recapture market share.
One pitch hitting newspapers and billboards sums up the deal this way: "What's better than 0 percent APR on your new car? 0 percent APR on your next one too."
"We think that'll be a reminder to consumers that we are at historically low levels of interest rates and that they probably will increase in the future, so this is a great opportunity to get a low rate and lock it in for your next purchase," said Mark LaNeve, vice president of marketing and advertising for GM North America.
Competition
The new offer comes at a time when traditional cash-back rebates, some as high as $7,000, and low-interest financing come-ons have been losing in a market flooded by a mind-numbing array of sales and discounts. Dealers have said they prefer big national programs like Truckfest and Keep America Rolling because they cut through the clutter.
The new GM offer is available to those who buy a new vehicle by the end of the month.
However, not all vehicles sold through the program will come with no-interest financing and not all of GM's vehicles will be included in the program. And as usual with special auto-financing programs, not all consumers will qualify. Those with bad credit could be rejected.
LaNeve said that 98 percent of the vehicles GM sells can be financed with a 0-percent interest rate for 36 months, a 2.9-percent interest rate for 48 months or a 3.9-percent interest rate for 60 months.
So, under Lock 'n' Roll, buyers in one of these programs will be able to duplicate the deal on their next GM product, but with no obligation to buy the same model again or another GM product.
"It's entirely at their option," LaNeve said. "They don't have to use it all. We hope that they do, obviously."
Check details
Although the deal is not available on all of GM's vehicles for the initial purchase, it is for the second purchase. So you could buy a 2005 Chevrolet Aveo with no-interest financing for 36 months and then buy a Hummer H3 with the same deal later.
The fine print of the deal contains a few noteworthy exceptions. For example, you cannot lengthen the term of your financing deal the second time around. So if you buy a Chevy
with no-interest financing for 36 months, you cannot get your second GM product with no- interest financing for 60 months.
Also noteworthy: If a buyer's credit goes down the toilet during the first contract, he or she may not qualify for the second purchase.
GM says the consumer must qualify for both the first and second loans.