Just wanted to place a post for those that may decide not to buy a GM product because of the prospect that it may go under. I don't believe that should be a worry.

There have been posts about private warranties, aftermarket parts, etc. To be honest, some of the notions have completely missed the point, and to a large extent border on the silly. The purpose of a new car warranty is to be able to take your brand new car to the dealer & authorized service department for repair work using factory, not Billy Bob's Garage or Pep Boys to use 2nd rate parts made at a 2nd rate place. In fact, many parts of a warranty will be voided if it's taken to anywhere but an authorizedc dealer.

Make no mistake, if GM simply evaporated from the face of the earth, in more ways than not, with a new GM car, you'd be stuck.

However, that's where the shear size of GM and the fact that GM uses amost exclusively common parts and engineering over a wide number of divisions comes into play.

Worse case scenario that could possibly happen? GM becomes Chevrolet Motors Company?

That means that Chevrolet dealer will still be able to service vehicles from other divisions. Even the Sigma Cadillac CTS carries the same drivetrain as a Zeta Camaro from a service standpoint. And one could be sure, alot of the experts from the Buick & Cadillac dealer would wind up at the Chevrolet dealer, if it assumes all repair and warranty work.

And remember.... this is likely the absolute worse that's going to happen to GM North America.

Although GM is in the worse financial trouble of perhaps any major automaker on the planet, GM has a seemingly endless amount of assets it can spin off or sell. Perhaps none more valuable than GM-China. Even if GM China were sold, GM-NA would still have a pretty good sized business selling parts to the company.


Point is that unlike Studebaker, or any other car companies that have faced bankruptcy, General Motors is frigging huge. Even the the most terrible scenario, I suspect over 50% of it's North American side of the business will survive (Chevrolet accounts for over 50% of GM's total NA sales volume).

Also, unlike Studebaker, GM is actually trying to survive (despite what it appears to those of us watching). Studebaker's board of directeors picked up Sherwood Egbert with the expectation that he would ease the company out of the automobile business and into a diversified company, and he surprized and angered them by actually trying to revive product and becoming a born-again car guy. The board pushed him out of office in less than 2 years. A year later, they closed US manufacturing, and a short time later, sold off parts of the company including the foundary and started buying engines from GM.


Although their actions may look misguided, the GM board of directors do actually seem to be intrested in continuing GM as a car making operation. There are alot of people who still believe they can turn things around. The thing is that between GM being as huge as it is, and the fact that regardless as to if it's rebuilt under nbankruptcy or under federal oversight, General Motors.... in some form or another... will continue to be a car making entity.

And of that car making entity, Chevrolet is by far the largest and strongest brand.... it's almost certainly going to be around, come hell or high water, despite the soon-to-be-hopelessly-obsolete-till-2013 Chevrolet Impala.

As long as there's Chevrolet, there's a place to bring your new GM car or truck.

Therefore... the warranty issue isn't one.

So....Don't be afraid to buy a GM vehicle.

 

All good points... but good luck selling that to the "General Public."

 

The worst case scenario is: GM can't service its debt, and the entire company is liquidated. That's the worst case - period.

 

True.... but the real worst case senior is GM gets bought by a group of investors who think they can save the company, by cloning prius's on all of GM's brands. Then when the company ends up making no money, the investors will then sell GM to China. GM China will become the new name, and all the cars will be made of paint based on lead. With the extremely high doses of lead in America everyone will die, and China will become an empire.

 

I stand corrected...that's bleak.

 

Good post guionM

 

I will be purchasing a new vehicle before august, I'm buying a ford full size suv, gm's future scares me their car will probably depreciate quicker than usual. Ford here I come, if crap hits the fan with ford then I'll buy toyota

 

I rest my case.

 

Who buy's a car on depreciation value? Do the right thing get a TAHOE, It'll last you a lifetime

 

Wow, how'd my pappy and grand pappy survive the 10's, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, ect.... when it was fashionable to put lead in the paint, use asbestos for brakes and insulation, keep the bugs off the food with DDT, spray some crap called agent orange all over the weeds in southeast asia, and use mercury (WTF!) to put a shine of jewelry.

I willing to bet (some shiny interwebz) that if you consume tap water in a fairly old city that used lead pipes your probalby ingesting more over the course of a year than the Chinese mix in the paint of a single product.

 

HAHAHA.... Okay the chinese will put Urainium in the paint. Happy

 

I'm confident GM will come through this (perhaps not unscathed) but they will come through this.

I did my part. I bought a brand new 2008 Trailblazer SS on February 16th. And I will buy a brand new Camaro within the next year as well. So GM better damn well survive! lol.

 

Not entirely accurate.

See http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...3_DearAc898996 for clarification.

Your overall point is well taken though.

 

Unfortunately we don't even have a GM dealer here to take our cars for service. We had a all in one GM dealership that closed up last summer and no one has touched it with the economy the way it is.

Our family has done its share to help GM out this past year. Last summer we bought a 2008 Pontiac Torrent GXP, My parents bought a 2008 Cadillac SRX, and a few months ago my sister bought a 2008 Chevrolet Impala LTZ.
I'd love to pull the trigger on a new Camaro or a G8 GT for a replacement of my 97 Z28.

 

If GM does go into bankruptcy, there will certainly be some guarantee for the warranties, possibly backed by the government. It would simply be impossible for them to sell cars without it.

Also, if I understand it correctly, GM owners would be a party to the bankruptcy, and the judge will likely insure that warranty claims to go the front of the line.