So having just taken delivery on my 2LT, I thought I'd share with you all exactly what kind of discount programs were made available to me... This is info that was really hard for me to track down before making my purchase, so I figured I'd post it here for everyone. I have to say, I saved a LOT more than I was expecting on this car. My downpayment totaled just shy of $6000, and all it cost me out of pocket was $2500.
I had about $1200 in GM Visa points (you can use up to a max of $1500). I used all of those, but there was a nice little surprise. When I was on the phone with the GM Visa ppl while at the dealership, they told me that there was a $1000 student bonus added to my GM Visa points. I was shocked, because I graduated about 5 YEARS ago (June 2004). I mentioned this to the person on the phone, and he said that the bonus was valid only for a few more months, and was set to expire in 2010. THIS BONUS DOESN'T APPEAR ON YOUR MONTHLY EARNINGS STATEMENT!!! I asked him about why it never showed up in my earnings, and he couldn't say why, but hey, I wasn't complaining. Ok, so with the deposit I paid, and the GM Visa points/student bonus, I'm now up to $4700.
Now here's the kicker. That Loyalty Program that GM had a few months ago (the one where everyone was sent a letter, stating 'bring this in and get $1000 off before July 31) has actually been EXTENDED until NOVEMBER. I really don't know why it's called a loyalty program. I've never owned a GM vehicle, nor has anyone in my family, yet both me and my mother received the letters. I again explained this to GM Customer Care, and they just confirmed that yes, im eligible. This was a little tricky though. The dealership said my name didn't show up in their system as being 'eligible.' So I had to not only bring them the letter, but also, I had to get GM Customer Care to call them to confirm. I was told that if I lost the letter, I could still claim the discount, but it would be more tricky... GM Care would have to write a letter to the dealership with a confirmation number or something to that effect...
So moral of the story, before you take delivery, make two important phone calls:
1) Call GM Visa to check your points, and if you've graduted from college or university in the past 5 or 6 years, ASK THEM about the student bonus. I got lucky and their rep was nice enough to mention it without me asking... but you know how those call center people can be. make sure you ask if they don't say anything
2) Call GM Customer service and ask them if you're eligible for the 'loyalty' program. If you never got a letter, just tell them you lost it. At very least, they can look you up and see if your eligible. The offer is good until the end of November now.
So that's how I saved about $3200 on this car. Of course, this doesn't all apply to everyone... But the point is I didn't even know all of it applied to ME. So now anyone in my situation knows what to look for
On a side note, if anyone in the GTA hasn't ordered yet, I HIGHLY recomend Leggat Chevy. 416.743.1810, 360 Rexdale Blvd. They put up with my constant emails, and were very understanding of my constant searching for any kinds of discounts I could get my hands on. They were also nice enough to keep the car in storage for me while I was waiting for the lease on my truck to expire. The fact that they threw in a free 5 day Carnival Cruise was also a nice bonus! Tell 'em Matt with the Yellow Camaro sent ya