GM News: GM Dealers Not Pleased About Pickup Prices

[William Maley]

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

October 22, 2013

Last week, General Motors announced they would be raising the prices on the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra by as much as $1,500. This week, dealers are giving the company a piece of their mind with this decision. They say sales of the two trucks are getting beaten up by discounts and rebates being offered by Ford and Ram to clear out their stock of 2013 models.

"We all know that it's a great truck. But [GM's] position is that the vehicle stands on its own and it doesn't need a bigger rebate. That's not what the market is telling us," said W. Carroll Smith, president of Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena, Texas.

Part of the problem for GM is that its trucks are arriving at the time when the current F-150's is reaching the end of its lifecycle, a fact that Ford has taken advantage of by offering massive discounts. Dealers want GM to fight back by offering more incentives. GM is sticking to its guns however.

"You don't ever want to let the oldest trucks in the market dictate strategy for the newest and best truck in the market," said GM spokesman Jim Cain.

Dealers and analysts do believe that the price disadvantage on GM's new trucks is only temporary and sales will climb back up when Ford and Ram's supply of 2013 models is depleted. However, some dealers believe this move could hurt sales in the long run.

"It looked like we're finally going to get into the game. Then they raise the prices. It's like it kicks you in the head," said Rox Covert, dealer principal at two Chevrolet dealerships and two Buick-GMC stores in the Austin, Texas, area.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[David]

I think these dealers are cry babies and just trying to get an easy way to make a sale. Comparing the New Chevy/GMC trucks to the old Fords and Rams is like comparing night to day. They are huge steps above and if the only customers buying are the cheap skates, that is a customer you can avoid with good reason.

People who really compare the trucks will see that the new trucks are worth the price and way ahead of the old 2013 models.

[jvcmike]

What are they crying for they are dealers, trucks have a good profit margin, cut a deal they do not need GM's blessing to do that. When they add a surcharge to a hot vehicle they thumb their noses at GM, cause they know GM cannot do anything about it. So they need to shut up!!!!

[smk4565]

If they can't sell the new truck at higher prices, either they aren't good dealers or the truck isn't good enough. Probably this is just dealers crying, but I think when the 2015 F150 arrives they will have something to cry about. The F150 is said to be dropping over 700 lbs and rumor is a transmission of 8 or more gears and a new ecoboost engine are in the works.

[bobo]

If sales of the GM trucks were on fire, then the price increase can be justified, but that is not the case. And if their only reason to raise the price by that amount is to offer an equal amount in incentives, that just makes it seem like they need incentives to move inventory. Prices for pickups are already ridiculously high, and this is not helping.

[ocnblu]

Pickup prices are ridiculously high, I very much agree with that statement. To jack the price up another $1500 on a brand new model that still needs to find its feet in the market seems premature, greedy and arrogant. But the dealers are certainly not blameless.

[David]

I remember when the first Camero's came out after being out of production for a while and also with the SSR pickup truck. You could not find a dealer that would sell the auto for below MSRP and in most cases they added 3-5K on top of MSRP calling it Market demand justified and yet while some morons bought at that price, most sat for a while before finally moving.

I do think the point made of the new trucks not being on their feet and the possible rebates is valid.

I wish GM would ignore the rebates and sell at a reasonable price to show value and retain value. This would do them better in the long run than to do stupid 5-10K rebates.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I've read this on another site and the price difference between a new '14 GM pickup and an outgoing '13 F150 was almost $3k. That's a lot of money to someone shopping for end-of-year deals (there are very few 2013 GM pickups left at this time). So GM will not sell as many pickups as Ford and Ram will right now, but once those '13s disappear then the market will re-align itself again.

I will agree with many that stated pickup prices are way too high. I'm hoping the new Canyon satisfies my needs & wants, as a Sierra is looking farther and farther out of reach (unless I wait for the summer and end-of-year sales next year). If GM raised the prices just to release incentives, then their back to their old ways again

[Drew Dowdell]

This is GM raising the price in the segment.... yeah there will be an overlap as the competition sells through its older stock, but watch, you'll see price hikes coming on the other 2 soon enough.