Hay, Grand Rapids! I actually know the guys who own Classic Chevrolet, as their son used to play baseball with my brother. I haven't talked to them in a while, but they are normally pretty cool people.
My understanding has been that the "free tires for life" are indeed OEM-replacement versions for their stock cars that would likely be replaced if significant damage had not been done. I would also assume that there are mileage benchmarks that have to be reached before they replace them for free...
I'm not a Classic Chevrolet person when it comes to the Grand Rapids dealers. While I do personally know the family that owns and operates the dealer, I'm far more likely to go down 28th Street to Berger Chevrolet, as they more often than not are quite nice, and my Dad is friends with Matt Berger. Although, we have bought several trucks at Kool Chevrolet on the north side of town...
Every dealer is going to try something, and given how many there are in Grand Rapids, you can see why they would do this. Classic has to go up against Berger, Kool, Fox, Thomet/Good, Wenzel (another guy I know from school), among a few others just outside of town. Some do free oil changes for life (arguably a better deal, IMO), and others offer nothing but their name on the back of the car. Classic, IMO, isn't in a good spot to be selling a lot of new vehicles anymore... That end of 28th Street is pretty much dead, and selling only Chevrolet products has to hurt them just a bit as well.
