CARS.COM — GM will launch a new online program in early February that will allow consumers to select a vehicle from a nationwide used-vehicle inventory and take delivery through a dealer of their choice.
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The vehicles will be late-model used cars with less than 37,000 miles that are being returned from leases and daily rental fleets. They will be backed by the same warranties and benefits as GM's certified pre-owned vehicles, and all four GM brands — Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC — will participate.
GM said the program, called the Factory Pre-Owned Collection, is designed for consumers who increasingly want to shop and conduct more of a car purchase online before they go to a dealer.
"We see a clear trend in the industry where consumers want to do more of this process online, and it needed to be convenient and have everything in one place so they didn't have to go hunt and peck for it," Tom Kinney, GM's senior manager for special projects, said in a telephone interview. "Another big key is that they expect transparency in the process."
Here's how the program will work:
- GM will set aside cars that are returned from leases, daily rental fleets and company vehicles. Instead of selling them at used-car auctions, GM will store them in locations around the country and post them online. GM said the program will typically have more than 30,000 vehicles in inventory.
- The postings will include a free Carfax history report and a condition report that will list dings, scratches and the like, with photos that show the blemishes.
- GM will list a "suggested price" online, but the final price will be negotiated between the dealer and the customer. As a manufacturer, GM is prohibited from setting a fixed price on used cars, the same as on new cars. Kinney said pricing will be based on transaction prices compiled by Kelley Blue Book.
- Consumers will be able to choose the vehicle they want and the dealer they want it delivered to through GM's Shop-Click-Drive feature online. Buyers will be charged a shipping fee for delivery. The fees will be set by dealers and are supposed to be posted along with the suggested price.
- Dealers will prep the cars for customers, but Kinney said they will not receive an extensive inspection or the type of reconditioning that certified pre-owned vehicles typically get. How much prep work a vehicle receives is up to individual dealers.
- The program will include benefits like those in GM's CPO programs. The basic warranty will be extended to 12 months/12,000 miles for Buicks, Chevrolets and GMCs, and to 24 months/20,000 miles for Cadillacs. Buyers will get a three-day/150-mile exchange period and three-month free trials of OnStar and satellite radio, plus roadside assistance while the basic warranty is in effect.
Initially, a majority of the vehicles will be from daily rental fleets, but Kinney said that over time off-lease vehicles will become a bigger chunk of the inventory. GM currently sells most of those vehicles at used-car auctions, but Kinney said those that are in better condition will be reserved for the Factory Pre-Owned Collection.
"We will select a number of them for the collection, and they have to have less than 37,000 miles and be of a certain quality and condition cosmetically before they're eligible to be listed. They're prescreened and selected out of the larger group, so they'll be very high-quality vehicles," he said.
Dealer participation is voluntary. Kinney said GM's 4,200 dealers were notified of the program Wednesday, so the process of signing up dealers had just begun.
from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/1laGEGF
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