Is your used GM among the 2.6 million being recalled? The automaker doesn't want you to delay any more. Get in and have your recalled vehicle fixed.

After all, you're really only hurting yourself when you delay getting your used car repair. As we've pointed out before, delaying the repair of a recalled used car could hurt you when it comes time to sell.

As reported previously here at UsedCars.About.com, "If an owner has ignored a recall on a used car for more than six months, the car is not kept in good mechanical condition, in spite of what the owner might claim.

Ignoring recall notices is a bad sign and demonstrates disinterest by the owner when it comes to mechanical problems."

GM sent out this plea recently. "There are more than 2.6 million vehicles involved in the GM ignition switch recalls first announced in February and March. The recalls include the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR; the Pontiac G5 and Solstice, and the Saturn Ion and Sky. And now with the supply of repair parts increasing daily, GM is urging owners to get their vehicles fixed as soon as possible, free of charge," the announcement said.

By the way, the stories may be apocryphal but don't fall for getting more work done on your GM when you bring it in for the recall work. Only get the necessary work done. Some consumers have complained about service departments discovering other problems when doing the recall work.

Keep in mind that a lot of service writers get rewarded handsomely for getting consumers to get repairs done. It's upselling that benefits the dealership and the employee but hurts you the consumer.

GM goes on to further explain what is happening with the recall. "These recalled ignition switches may inadvertently move out of run position while the car is moving in the case of a jarring event or if the key ring is carrying added weight. Prior to completing the repair, you should remove everything from your key ring except the ignition key."

Here is what you can do while waiting. "GM says it has completed extensive testing and found a single key and ring, without the added weight of other keys, key fobs, or other items, is the safest way to operate the vehicle until the recall repair can be completed by your dealer."

Just make sure your dealer is using the right parts for the recall work. As I explained in an article at BoldRide.com, (another site I write for) GM had to recall its recall. Turns out it was using some of the original defective ignition parts and may have, in some cases, replaced perfectly good ignitions with faulty ones.

The announcement also said, "GM suppliers have been putting together the ignition repair kits three shifts per day, seven days a week since April, and GM dealers have completed more than a third of all repairs to date. GM says it has shipped nearly one-and-a-half million repair kits to dealers. If you have one of the affected vehicles and haven't taken it to a GM dealer for repairs, go to GMIgnitionUpdate.com or call your dealer to start the process."

Why is GM so anxious to get this recall work done? Well, the longer it takes, the longer it stays on the book as a financial liability. For accounting reasons (at least from what I understand as an English major), GM has to carry costs associated with the recall as a liability until completed.

And, it could take a while for the repairs to be done. As Jim Colon, vice president of Toyota Product Communications for Toyota Motor Sales USA, told the New England Motor Press Association back in October 2010, in nine months time the company fixed about 6.2 million of the vehicles. Normally it would have taken 18 months to fix only 5.5 million vehicles. (The usual standard on recalls is 70 percent are fixed in 18 months.) The statistic in brackets means only about 1.5 million of the recalled GMs will be fixed by the end of 2016.

Customers should only use GM-provided keys with a hole, instead of keys with a slot, after the repairs are complete. Anyone with a vehicle impacted by the ignition switch recall announced in February can receive free replacement keys for the life of the vehicle from their dealer at any time.