General Motors has announced a new incentive program that it hopes will encourage people to enter the car buying market again. Called GM Total Confidence, the program has four prongs that includes Payment Protection if you lose your job, equity assistance if you trade in your vehicle later for another one from GM, one year of OnStar and the automaker's 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. We're already familiar with the last two components of GM's Total Confidence program, so let's focus on the first two.
GM's payment protection program is much like Hyundai's Assurance Program in that the automaker will cover your payments in the event that you lose your job. GM's program covers you for 24 months and will make up to nine payments valued at up to $500/month. According to GM, if you qualify for state unemployment benefits, you'll qualify for the payment protection to kick in.
The last element of GM's Total Confidence incentive program is equity assistance, or what GM calls Vehicle Value Protection. This part of the program will cover the difference between what you owe on your vehicle and its NADA Clean Retail Value when you trade it in for another GM vehicle. The idea is to wipe out any negative equity caused by vehicle depreciation when you move on to your next car.
The GM Total Confidence incentive program begins tomorrow, April 1 and runs through April 30, 2009, though could be extended if it works and sales go up. You'll be seeing marketing for the program during the Final Four as well, so keep your eyes open.