If you are buying a car, truck, SUV or CUV during the month of March 2008 allow me to provide you with some insight so you can make the best buying decision. First of all, from a tree-top perspective the auto industry is down for the first two months of this year. This decline was not unexpected, but it is still upsetting to the industry. Overall domestic brands are getting hit harder than imports, but nobody is doing a large amount of business and that worries every auto executive. At the end of last month domestic companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler posted decreased sales figures for the first two months of this year compared to 2007. Additionally, many imports like BMW, VW, Hyundai, Subaru and Toyota have seen their sales decrease in January and February 2008 as compared to the same months in 2007. As always, there are a few companies that provide an exception to the rule, companies like Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Honda and Mazda have seen their sales increase in 2008’s first two months compared to 2007. But overall, sales figures are not good and that helps you the buyer.
Understanding that sales are not good and this allows you to pay less for your next car is the first step. When you begin your negotiation with a dealer you need to be aggressive in your efforts to get a good price because dealers are willing to discount their cars for real buyers. Once they recognize you are serious about buying a new vehicle now, expect the car salesperson to offer you extremely low pricing! There are two elements that go into the price you pay for a car, the dealer’s discount and the incentives and rebates offered from the manufacturer. As you negotiate put any rebates and incentives into your pricing equation and then attempt to convince the dealership to lower their price. Incentives and rebates change, usually monthly and in my opinion here are the highlights of what’s available to car shoppers this March.
Ford is offering better programs than General Motors. With Ford there are great sign and drive lease programs on many Fords, Lincolns and Mercurys. Additionally, if you are shopping for a full-size sedan there is not a better bargain available anywhere than the Grand Marquis with rebates up to $6,500. General Motors, which consists of several brands including Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, GMC, Hummer, Saab appears to be waiting to announce any big programs because in my opinion there’s not much there now! Nissan is offering rebates of up to $5,000 (on the Titan) or low financing. Acura has financing as low as 0.9%. Toyota offers rebates up to $3,000 (on the ’07 SC430).
Now you need to understand that these rebates and incentives can change by region, but it appears that from the domestic side, Ford’s companies, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury offer the best deals. Toyota seems to offer a bit more than Honda and Nissan feels the pinch and are ready to give buyers a reason to shop them. Remember, you need to know your facts before heading to the dealership, an uninformed shopper pays for their lack of knowledge!