mobile-menu-icon
GM Authority

GM Preventing Dealers From Reporting Vehicle Sales Before Customer Delivery

GM is changing the way in which dealers can report vehicle sales, preventing a vehicle from being reported as sold prior to its delivery.

According to a recent report from Automotive News, which cites a memo from GM to dealers, GM will no longer allow dealers to report a vehicle as sold until after the customer takes possession of said vehicle. The change comes amid a bevy of supply chain issues and delays that have extended delivery times considerably.

Previously, GM dealers would report a vehicle as sold based on whatever law was stipulated by the state in which the dealer was located. As such, some dealers would “pre-report” a vehicle as sold in order to show a higher turn rate as compared to reporting the sale on delivery.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this pre-reporting strategy relied on the delivery of a vehicle just a few weeks after it was invoiced and left the facility where it was produced. Now, however, vehicles are arriving months after being produced, sometimes longer. As such, a vehicle reported as a sale prior to delivery could be be several payments deep and carry expired trials for OnStar and SiriusXM before it even gets into the hands of the customer.

The delays are reportedly not only related to microchip-intensive features, either, but for a range of items, including tires, wiring harnesses, or headlights.

The new strategy not only puts all GM dealers on the same level with regard to turn rate reporting and inventory, but also benefits the customer, who is often left wondering where their vehicle is. As GM Authority reported previously, GM vehicle tracking is a major problem, and often leaves customers in the dark as to when they will finally receive their vehicle, an issue exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply chain issues.

According to the Automotive News report, an unspecified dealer in Texas was reporting sales prior to delivery, but received an “ungodly” number of customer complaints as a result.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM business news, GM dealer news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

Subscribe to GM Authority

For around-the-clock GM news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest GM news. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. This is ridiculous. I ordered a Silverado High Country on December 16, 2021. It was built in March and has been sitting on the lot in Mexico ever since. What is going on with GM? Very disgusting.

    Reply
  2. GM are so BAD, BOU BOU SHAME ON U GM… I had 3 High Country’s before and since no more Chip, no more Chevy H. C. for me GM… BOU, BOU… 🙁

    Reply
  3. This has gone on for far too long for the high-paid execs not to have come up with a solution. That is what they earn their millions of dollars and stock options for? Right?

    Reply
    1. I cannot verify this but my dealer who ordered my van believes it is sitting in line unfinished and has been for sometime. He says he knows of dealers taking money and making all sorts of erroneous statements, but he says he will not and hopes the other local GM dealers are doing the same.

      Reply
  4. Ridiculous! I ordered a Silverado 2500 HD in January 2022 and was built in April 2022 and still have not received it. I have been a dedicated Chevrolet customer my whole life but that is about to change. I see Dodge has a few 2500s on their lots. Might stop in and see what kind of deal they will give me. GM there’s no excuse for this.

    Reply
  5. I’ve been waiting since October 2021 for my Chevy blazer

    Reply
  6. I ordered my 2022 2500HD WT in June of 2021! Over a year later and the truck isn’t even scheduled to be built yet ! I can see why so many are buying Rans now. My uncle ordered one and it took only 4 months to get. Several other lifelong GM truck drivers are driving new Rams now in my area because they can’t wait over a year to get a pickup. Seems GM is more worried about promoting their electric Silverado that won’t come out till who knows when than actually building and selling pickups that people have been waiting over a year to get.

    Reply
  7. I ORDERED A NEW YUCON IN MARCH BEEN CALLING EVERY 3 WEEKS TO SEE IF A BUILT DATE HAS BEEN SET , ALL I GET IS NOT YET , NOW I HERD THAT IF NOT BUILT BUY 7-14-22 THE 2023 WILL START PRODUCTION ON 7-18-22 ANY POSIBLE PRICE INCREASE COULD SOME ONE GIVE ME A ANSWER

    Reply
    1. I am in same boat. Ordered Tahoe High Country in March 22, order was never picked up by Chevy, so even if and when it gets picked up by Chevy it will be priced at the now current prices. (which are even higher for a 2022 now than when I ordered). I feel your pain. I am not holding my breadth that I will ever see my new vehicle. Checked with a local GMC dealer to see “what if” I ordered a 2023 Yukon Denali now. I was told just this week they will not order without an addition markup over MSRP. I guess there are people who will pay it… not me. Pretty much the same with all the GMC dealers in our area.

      Reply
    2. There was a price increase already, plus gm is forcing a new option which is 3 years of Onstar prepaid services weather you want it or not

      Reply
  8. I ordered a LTZ at the end of April. It was accepted 2 days later. It was built the week of 5/23. After sitting at event code 3800 for a month it’s now at 4300(intermediate delivery) but still don’t know when it will actually get delivered. GM U HAVE TO DO BETTER!!

    Reply
    1. Let me know if you hear anything regarding your delivery. Seems like I might be in the same time frame. My LTZ was built the week of 5/30 and has been sitting ever since

      Reply
      1. Hey Phil the executive referral liason emailed me Tuesday and said my vehicle was still on hold waiting for chips with no ETA. I’m gonna check with an advisor on the chevy chat tomorrow and see if anything has changed

        Reply
  9. I ordered a 2022 Malibu on Dec. 6th 2021. Dealership checked my order first week of June. GM has not even processed my order yet. I have been leasing Chevy’s for 28 years, every three years. Needless to say, I love Chevrolet. It make me sad to think I have to say goodbye to GM.
    Joe😞

    Reply
  10. GM is full on collapse right now they have 95K vehicles in storage waiting on parts. I canceled my reservation order from October 2021 it’s time for plan B. It’s been 8 months now and they say there going to start building 2023 without delivering my 2022. F*** outa here.

    Reply
  11. GM should retool the Kokomo electronics (formerly known as the Delco Radio plant) for dedicated chip production. That would also give GM some advantages under the new Gov’t. security plan.

    Reply
  12. I feel all of your pain. my truck was ordered in February and built in May 2022. Sitting on a lot in Mexico. Just give me a real
    ETA!
    Just frustrated.

    Reply
  13. I ordered my GMC 2500 HD first of November 2021 in Palmer, Alaska. Salesman said could be 12-18 months. A week later he called to say I couldn’t get it in the brown I’d ordered so I picked the metallic green instead thinking that would add even more time to my wait but it was sitting in my garage within 5 weeks. I’ve heard similar stories to mine on up to 3 months but nothing like what y’all are saying. Good luck, hope you get yours soon!

    Reply
  14. I am one of the customers that a Chevrolet dealership stated I needed to sign a contract for my 2022 Camaro 1SS in order to secure my purchase of my car before it was delivered and told me my car was expected to be delivered within two weeks. The day I signed the contract was May 23rd. Still no shipping date! My first loan payment is July 6th. I will be contacting the salesman and demanding the dealership pay the monthly note until my car is delivered. I also opened a case with GM Corporate. These dishonest dealerships should be forced to pay a heafty fine!

    Reply
    1. You’re not the only one I smell a class action lawsuit brewing. Dealers are booking sales before delivery of vehicles that initiate monthly payments and SiriusXM trial activations upon customer signing purchase contracts.

      Reply
  15. GM knows a thing or two about cooking the numbers…

    Take Mary Barra for instance. Ms. Barra knows how to count her $20 Million Dollar Bonus, she just couldn’t count past 13 Deaths that GM caused. Interestingly, Meryl Streep receives $20 Million for her performances, so it’s only fitting Ms. Barra does too. One might actually legitimately argue Ms. Barra puts on a better performance…

    No Ms. Barra, GM did not Kill 13 Americans. GM Killed over 125, and seriously injured so many more. But enjoy your $20 Million Dollar Bonus for Lying about it.

    Reply
  16. Gm knows you suckers will take it when you get it.

    Reply
  17. I too ordered a 2021 Tahoe in Nov and was told in Jan 2022 that I had to change to a 2022 which was then accepted by GM . It’s now July and I have been informed that it has been cancelled and moved to 2023 model. Each year move with price increases. Well luckily I don’t need it until 2025 so I can wait. I’ve been a GM person for 50 plus years. I guess they don’t want my business any more.

    Reply
  18. I ordered a 2022 Cadillac Escalade and it took so long I ended up buying one on the lot with them hitting me a $15000 Market Adjustment…I am so pissed off it’s not even funny..These dealers are extremely unethical and are taking advantage of the American people with the Builder allowing it

    Reply
  19. Same Boat. I ordered my 2022 Sierra in Mar. Ive been contacting the dealer and checking the order through GMC message center. Order had stated submitted but not accepted. Last week, the message center couldnt find my order. Contacted dealership, they told me my order rolled over to the 2023 production, not sure when production would start and there will be a price increase.

    Reply
  20. I ordered a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 extended cab because the dealership could not get allocation for the regular LT model only the Z71. So I ordered it May 16th and I was told by the dealer last week that it was supposedly having a build date last week. Seriously? To say supposedly. Even the dealers don’t have much faith in the manufacturer. So now we’ll see how long it takes they told me 2 to 3 months and it’s already almost 2 months. Even though it’s considered sold I don’t think the manufacturer cares and to have all these vehicles sitting Waiting for certain items it’s crazy if it’s something that’s not affecting the person driving the truck such as heated seats then get the trucks delivered!

    Reply
  21. Ordered my 2500HD Black Diamond in Oct of 2021. The truck was built on April 25th and the delivery date of July 1st. Guess what, it didn’t make it What really ticks me of though is the dealer has received 2 other trucks that were built 30 to 40 thousand trucks after mine. Plus it sucks even more when you consider that the dealer I’m buying from is less than 90 miles from the factory in Flint. Hell, just let me come pick it up myself.

    Reply
    1. Hey! I’m flying to Detroit tomorrow to pick up my truck. on 7/21/22. Dealer placed Order on 11/1/21 so 8 months & 3 weeks to the day. Now I just have to hope the truck is truly ready when I get there. Then the 1300 mile drive home.

      Reply
  22. I heard through the grapevine that it is a governmental issue. The US is only allowing so many vehicles to come in that get less than 28 mpg. If you notice a lot of what GM is bringing over the border are your high $ vehicles (Denali’s).

    My husband ordered his 2500HD in December, built April. GM said in May that the tires/rims were on back order. Ok well we will buy tires/rims, so ship with transit tires. It is now July 8th and still no vehicle.

    Last week it did go from Pending Dispatch to a date with the trucking company information. Still not holding my breath. Wondering if other automakers are having the same issue or if this is a GM Issue.

    My husband is ready to jump ship from a GM vehicle. He is a life long GM buyer. It is so sad.

    Reply
    1. This is happening with all the automakers… Try to get a GMC Acadia AWD with a V6 in Canada… Damn near impossible, while the GMC Terrain with the baby 4 banger is parked in every lot… Government quotas are very much in play… I found one in my trim (Denali AWD V6) and in my color 60 miles away but there were only 5 showing on dealer sites throughout Ontario.

      Reply
  23. I ordered my Silverado 3500 HD High Country december 12th 2021……told 10-14 weeks from build to delivery…….Built 3-30-2022……left plant 5-13-22…….financed through gm financial end of May on the BS i was being fed by dealer in regard to “in transit”, 1st payment was middle of this month…..basically 8 months, 1 payment later i have a truck sitting in a lot in Canada depreciating……..Really left with no choice but to wait but once delivered I will be persuing reperations

    Reply
    1. With the shortage of chips in full swing, why in God’s green earth did you sign a finance contract that legally bound you to pay for a product that may or not be manufactured on an agreed-upon date? I shopped online and entered that I wanted a GMC Acadia Denali AWD V6 in “Satin Steel Metallic” paint with certain extra options. Satin Steel Metalic was only available for half the model year, making it a rare color. I am in Ontario Canada. I entered that I wanted the search to cover the whole province and within a week & a half, My SUV was sitting in my driveway. I paid retail price, with no overcharging but had the good GMC molded floor mats for all three rows and cargo area tossed in at dealer cost. Americans can shop this way too. I checked it out for a friend in the USA.

      Reply
      1. Thank God we did not sign any contract. We thought about doing it with the interest rates and incentives they had in place. Trusted our gut and decided not to do it.

        I think at this point GM and the government are in cohoots. I heard through the grapevine that the US is only allowing so many vehicles in that get less than 28mpg. Mary Barra also said that they are trying to push the high dollar vehicles to fund their electric initiative. If you notice there are a lot of high dollar vehicles on the lot for trucks ($80K +). Vehicles like the Denali. My husbands truck is about $56K so I guess that doesn’t meet their threshold.

        We need to start making the chips in the Good Ole USA.

        Reply
        1. I totally agree with you that the government is involved in the fact that we now can’t get the kind of vehicle we want to drive. And yes for sure the US Government is behind it, even if we could get all the parts. And for sure we need to bring the chips back to the US. I have 1K deposit sitting since March this year just in case the dealership “allows” Chevy to build what I want. High Country Tahoe… 6.2 V8 for sure doesn’t make the government happy… If not I am not going to settle for what someone else thinks I should be driving… They can keep their electric crap and then figure out how to dispose of it when it’s used up.

          Reply
          1. Heard through the grapevine again a dealer owner took an electric Silverado to the UP of Michigan in the winter. Had to stop 6 times to charge and they couldn’t pull anything. GM has a long way to go with the electric trucks.

            Reply
      2. I am glad you were able to find what you wanted. I too am looking for Red Tahoe High Country, just about anything other than black or white is rare here in the US. But here in the states even these units are going for anywhere from 4K to 15K OVER MSRP. I draw the line in at MSRP, and there was only one dealer in our area who would even take a deposit to order one at MSRP (for me). Of course, still waiting on that allocation. Like someone mentioned in another comment, I really think the Government is meddling with the manufactures about what they are “allowed” to build. Most liekly some kickback to GM to force people to EV. Not this girl! My 2017 RAM Hemi V8 sits soundly for many more years if needed!

        Reply
  24. My truck is built………with all options. I financed before delivery to capitalize on the 1.9%………..car loan interest is climbing, especially trucks / SUV so being the truck was built end of march and in transit mid may i figured i would have the truck by july………you lose all around, you pay rediculous mark up if buying off the lot, you pay outrageous price for used truck or you wait

    Reply
  25. I ordered a Terrain June 5 2022. I paid $2000 down. Dealer told me it has been built and completed by July 1. Still waiting to hear anything on delivery. Am I entitled to a refund if I find a comparable vehicle available from a different manufacturer?

    Reply
  26. When I ordered my new truck I also put $2k down and I was told that I could, at anytime, ask for my down back, did not even need a reason. Salesperson told me that they could sell my order the same day it arrived for nearly twice what I paid. They even asked me when I came in to close if I’d rather sell it. I jokingly said I would but they had to split the profit with me. Salesperson started to run off to ask his manager as I hollered that I was just joking. Call and ask your salesperson what their policy is but I doubt you’d get a different vehicle any cheaper.

    Reply
  27. Similar situation as others who have left comments. Put a deposit down June 7, 2022 on a 2022 Chevy 2500HD LT that had already been accepted by GM from the dealer. It was produced on 9/9 but hasn’t been delivered and the dealer has no idea when it will be delivered. GM’s customer service is a joke. They repeatedly tell me the dealer is the best source for tracking info but the dealer says they have absolutely zero shipping or delivery information. Utterly ridiculous!!! Even emailed the president of GM to complained but received no response.

    GM has to do better and fix these issues.

    Reply
  28. Yeah I agree……..my deposit was 40k and ordered mine December of 2021, started payments July because they said it was in transit………. I still have not received my truck. I am beyond upset. I’m seeking legal representation at this point……I urge everyone else in my position to do the same. Might as well get compensated for your losses

    Reply
  29. Found a Tahoe “in transit” to the dealership on 9/1/22. Put a deposit down 9/2/22. Was told it would arrive mid month. I call weekly to check the status and it’s always still “in transit” in Texas. Last week they told me it was “delayed for transport.” I do not know what that really means but I did verify it’s still in Texas. The car is already built and was before I even put money down on it. How can it still be sitting somewhere??? It’s not costing me anything at the moment but they’re not making any money on it either. Anybody experience anything similar?

    Reply
  30. The real problem from a customer’s stand point right now actually since the pandemic and all the supply shortages is that GM (the manufacturer) posts already sold vehicles on dealerships’ websites and AutoTrader as available vehicles in inventory, this not only is frustrating to customers who are looking for a car asap but also for the dealerships and salesmen who must be getting phone calls frequently about vehicles that are already sold and not even on the lot yet nor delivered.

    It seems to be an old system that used to work well to entices customers about vehicles that were on their way to the dealerships, which would give the sales team enough time to sell them and if not, well they could use it as a test drive model until sold. It just is misleading today and wastes people’s time.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel