New GM Deals for May 2009 – Yawn

May 5, 2009

General Motors has announced new incentives for May 2009 but you shouldn’t get too excited. The deals are okay but a long way from being great. We expected more from GM given that they are in trouble financially and need to sell cars.

However, keep in mind that current incentives can change at any time, even in the middle of the month. So keep a watch here on this web site for later improvements. Chrysler is expected to announce some agressive incentives this week and GM might possibly be waiting to see what it looks like before making any further moves.

The incentives apply to all vehicles in the General Motors stable — Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Hummer, GMC, and Cadillac — and expire on June 1, 2009. All are for 2009 model vehicles.

In general (no pun intended), GM’s incentives are in the form of modest cash-back rebates and semi-low APR loans.

The rebates come in the range of $750 (Saturn) to $1000 and $15000, to $2000 for some models such as the Cadillac DTS. A couple of exceptions: $7000 cash back on the Chevrolet Suburban and $5000 cash back on the Hummer H3.

There are also some “hidden” rebates that apply if you want to lease. GMAC no longer leases, but most dealers have alternative lease companies (large national banks) through which they can lease. The bank lease deals are not that great, so GM is sweetening the deal with the hidden rebates, which reduces lease prices, which lowers monthly payments and makes for some decent, although not great, lease deals.

The “low” APR loan deals are not so low — only 6.9%. It’s certainly better than the near 8% normal rate (depending on the customer’s credit score) but nothing to write home about. There are some 0% offers on some selected models in some parts of the country however.

You can get free price quotes on any General Motors vehicles from Edmunds.com. The quotes will automatically include any cash-back rebates or discounts that are currently available.