General Motors is offering a $25 gift card to those who get the faulty ignition switches in their vehicles fixed by December 1.
General Motors, one of the largest automakers in the world, appears overly concerned about its customers' safety. The car maker is enticing consumers with a $25 gift card for getting their cars fixed as more than a million cars recalled for ignition switch problems continue to run on the roads. This is an alarming issue for GM as fault switches have already been linked to at least 29 deaths. If drivers continue to use the cars in the same condition, it poses great risk to their lives.
The recall was originally announced in February, involving 2.6 million cars. The car maker warned that the keys might pop out of the ignition, shutting down the engine, brakes, steering and airbags while the car is running. GM said only about half of the total recalled vehicles are fixed over the course of nine months. The company also ran out of necessary parts for repairs during the process, which delayed the recall even further. According to CNN, the total cost to fix all the remaining vehicles will cross $70 million.
Now, a GM spokeswoman said the company has overcome the shortage of repair parts that can be used to fix the remaining lot. In order to communicate the message in a better way, GM is giving away store gift cards to those who bring in their affected vehicles to dealerships before Dec. 1. The offer is valid for the owners of 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions, Buicks, Chevys, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs that were recalled earlier this year, The New York Times reports.
"This is simply designed to encourage as many people as possible to get their vehicles repaired as quickly as possible," James R. Cain, a company spokesman said.
Owners of these vehicles can get the car to the nearest dealership and choose $25 worth gift card for Amazon, AMC movie theaters, Applebee's, Bass Pro Shops, Red Robin, Starbucks or Walmart.
General Motors had a total of 29 recalls for 13.8 million vehicles as of June. The company also added 7.6 million vehicles to the ignition switch recall back in July. GM reserved up to $1.2 billion toward recall-related repairs, the car maker said in the second quarter.
