Auto Companies Offer Big New-Car Incentives in Tough Economy

Large Rebates, Low Interest Loans, 0% APR Loans, and Special Lease Deals Available

Is this a good time to buy or lease a car?

Yes. There hasn't been a better time in years! Most car companies are offering incentives on most left-over 2009 model vehicles, as well as new 2010 vehicles.

The end-of-the-year holidays are an excellent time to look for good deal and incentives because it is typically a slow time for car sales. In fact, it has traditionally been the best time of the year to buy or lease a car because manufacturers are pouring on the incentives and dealers are kicking in with heavy discounts. Because buyers tend to focus on other types of purchases during the holidays, car dealers have to work harder to get buyer's attention and close sales.

In the current tough economy carmakers are taking extraordinary measures to maintain car sales by offering generous incentives in the form of rebates, discounts, low APR loans, and low payment lease deals. Dealers also get hidden factory-to-dealer rebates that can, and usually are, used to pass along to customers as price discounts.

Japanese manufacturers, such as Toyota and Nissan, who have not offered such incentives in the past, are now participating. In fact, Asian car makers have increased incentives this past year at a faster pace than American car makers, although, on average, American car makers have had larger dollar-amount rebates and more 0% loan deals.

The incentives being offered are typically genuine good deals for automotive consumers. Car manufacturers are sacrificing profits for increased sales to keep the pipeline flowing. The best deals are on American cars, whose manufacturers are suffering the most.

What's the catch?

One "catch" is that only some car makes and models have incentives at any particular time, although there are more incentives now on more makes and models than any other time in history.

However, because the rebates and low interest loan deals are time-limited — usually one or two months — customers who are looking for good deals must choose between current deals or take the chance that the next round of incentives will be better.

Another "catch" is that you won't be able to take advantage of both a rebate and a low APR at the same time if both are offered. It's one or the other but not both. For most people, the rebate will be the better deal but you should always compare to make sure. You can use this online auto loan calculator to check it both ways.

What are the best deals?

The absolute best deals will be on last year's leftover models. These are brand new cars and have the highest rebates and make the best buys. Some dealers may have many leftover models to choose from, some may not have any. So you might have to spend time looking to get just the car you want and be a little flexible in your search, in exchange for a good deal.

Generally, when manufacturers and dealers have a high inventory of specific models of last year's vehicles, those models will get the highest incentives — factory-to-customer rebates, dealer price discounts, low-interest (or 0% interest) loans, and factory-to-dealer cash. The vehicles must be sold to make room for this year's models.

How can I find car deals with incentives?

Since rebates and incentives change often and quickly, we recommend you get direct real-time price quotes from dealers near the time you want to buy. You can then get free price quotes from dealers using online pricing services such as Yahoo! Autos. The quotes will automatically include any available rebates, discounts, and incentives and you won't be obligated by any of the offers you are given. It's simple and fast.

Get free price quotes from Yahoo! Autos .
Your quotes will include any currently available rebates and incentives,
and any additional dealer discounts

For more, see LeaseGuide.com