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Deals on New Cars
PolloDiablo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I need a new car, and it seems like this would be a good time to get one. I've only ever bought used cars, but I'm thinking with the various incentives going on it might be worth it to get one straight from a dealer. With all the trouble car companies are in, I've heard that a lot are offering good deals. Where would I look to the the various incentive programs companies are running? Anyone have experience with getting a new car recently?
As a corollary, any recommendations as to what models are best these days? I prefer smallish cars; my last one was a VW Jetta. Cheaper is also better, 20k is probably a ballpark price range.
As a corollary, any recommendations as to what models are best these days? I prefer smallish cars; my last one was a VW Jetta. Cheaper is also better, 20k is probably a ballpark price range.
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I got a new Honda Civic last year, and it's working flawlessly. It was a bit more than $20K (I also got the EX model, which is higher end since I wanted a car that I would be happy with for the next ten years or more as I don't change cars until I drive them into the ground), but you may be able to deal around that. My parents just got a Fit and are liking it from what I understand, which is cheaper than the Civic and you may be able to find for under $20K.
but they're listening to every word I say
Or buy used :P
This is not exactly true. A lot of used cars are commanding prices over blue book value, particularly foreign compacts. A friend of mine just sole his 6 year old Accord for like $1K over blue book.
Sure he got plenty of calls where they said "my bank will only approve me for blue book" but he sold to a cash buyer.
I happened to turn on C-SPAN right when they were debating this in the House
Not true. Right now used car prices are the highest they've ever been (demand for used cars increases due to lack of new car sales, as well as people being able to buy used cars for straight up cash a lot easier than financing a new car). Especially on trucks.
New car prices are the lowest they will probably ever be in our lifetimes.
$0 down payment
0% Financing
$0 first payment
$0 Security deposit
$0 due at delivery
As well, 0% financing offers are plentiful. I know cuz I'm in the market myself. If they were doing 0% financing on the Mazda 3 or the Kia Soul I'd probably have a new car already.
I never finish anyth
You're in the middle of the release cycle, 09 models have been out a while and '10 models won't be out for another month or two, so the 'sign and drive' deals aren't really going on right now.
That's a lease though, and some people don't want to do that.
right on the 1st page there's a link to an Altima Hybrid for $8K less than MSRP, and in the past few weeks i've seen a Hyundai Tiburon for around $11.5K brand new (amazing deal IMHO). most of these deals are made up of multiple stacked incentives/rebates, etc. Also, don't forget that the less popular hybrids give you a tax credit if you're in the US.
if you do currently drive an older car that gets 18MPG or less, then wait for the "Cash for Clunkers" bill to pass... you'll get another $4500 from the Gov't to upgrade
Toyota has 0% financing on some models right now, and Honda has 0.9% on a few as well.
Hyundai has really good pricing right now. They're like Toyota and Honda in that they make cars that are good on gas and run very reliably, but they're much more affordable. And the current run of vehicles are fucking beautiful inside and out.
I've been driving an '04 Elantra GT (the hatchback thing) for 5 years now with no trouble, at all. It came fully loaded with everything but the leather and sunroof (didn't want 'em) and cost like $5,000 less than the next cheapest competitor's vehicle. It is very hard not to sell it and buy the brand new Elantra Touring edition, though I'm managing based simply on the fact that there's nothing wrong with my car and it's still my favourite out of any I've owned (including a brand new at the time Ford Focus (sedan body), a used Mazda 626 and a used Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera).
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Leasing is a scam. You're paying out the ass to rent the vehicle, it's not yours and you're limited in what you can do with it. Financing is the way to go.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
One more thing, if you're in BC, the BC government has a PST reduction on fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, you can find the lists at:
http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/industry_specific/motor_vehicle/motor_vehicle_dealers.htm
Other provinces may have the same thing.
I currently drive a Lexus LS400 '97 with a little over 172k miles on it. I found I got an employee discount from work on Ford and Nissan cars. Currently, I'm leaning heavily towards the Versa, though I think I like the Focus just a tiny bit better. I'll probably be buying the Versa tomorrow.
After trade in, employee discount, and other incentives, total out the door cost for the 09 Versa (new) would be $11,026. It's a white 4 door hatchback 1.8l, automatic, with ABS, air conditioning and FM/CD player.
Is that a good deal for the car? It's my first time buying, and this seems pretty good to me. I dunno if I can do better at other places, the cost is higher for everything else by at least a thousand, and that's with negotiating (which I think I'm doing OK with).
That is only a good deal on the Versa if it is an SL. If it's just an S, how much was your trade in and discount?
Of those you drove, I would go with the Focus (the Matrix is best at the XRS model but is too expensive for your general area). More room, more power, minimal increase in price over the others. And it's a good car compared to it's prior generations. And Ford is now launching a summer incentive where they will pay for the first 3 months and you can either have them take it off the price or you can take it in cash and go on vacation.
What model Focus? SE?
As for the Versa, I think it was the S, as it was automatic, and the SL hatchback only seems to be either manual or CVT. At both Ford and Hyundai, they offered $3000 for my car, Toyota offered $3700, and Nissan offered $4000. Edmunds put my car around $3.3k for trade-in. I'm getting a recent college discount of $500, and the Nissan cash-back of $750. My employee discount is supposed to be invoice - 2.87%. And then dealer fees and tax on top of that. ABS I'm paying extra for. To be honest though, they didn't give me the employee discount price, they didn't have time to look it up. He showed me a number, and said if the discount total ends up being higher, I get what he showed. If it ends up cheaper, they'll beat that price. I have a tentative schedule to pick up the car tomorrow, and have a down payment, though I can take my check back with no penalty. They were going to check my credit (perfect score) to find out financing I guess.
I was in a hurry to leave the Nissan place (needed to feed pets), though they kept me there an extra 40 minutes. The car I test drove would not be the one I'm buying (it didn't have ABS). My plan was to go, check out the white Versa they are holding for me, and purchase it tomorrow after work.
What else should I ask, and should I take the Versa at that price? When I called Ford to ask about my discount (X-Plan) the figure still seemed high ($16,400) for an SE with automatic trasmission and ABS.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I'm looking to buy a car Thursday at the latest, so I need to make a decision pretty soon.
With the Versa, I wouldn't buy it unless it was the SL. It's ~1000 more but it would have bigger tires (and alloy wheels), and if you got the options on the S version for things like power windows and such you would end up near the cost for a standard SL model. That's just my opinion, because with a small compact you can either go "well equipped" or "bare bones", as it makes little sense to add options here and there on a ultra compact vehicle.
EDIT: At what price do you think the Versa 4dr Hatchback S is worth getting?
Though the one time I bought a car that had a rebate I didn't find out about it 'til a day after the transaction occurred. What happened was we agreed on price for my trade-in and the new car and I wrote them a check; couldn't drive it home cause they wanted to "clean it up', whatever. Next day I get a call from them and I think "oh shit, they aren't going to deliver or something." Dude says "come in, we're cutting you a check, apparently a rebate was put into effect the day you bought and we didn't know yet."
I don't think it's like a rebate for computer parts is what I'm saying.
The guy said the base price on the Versa dropped overnight, from $14,600 to 13,864, and I get a furhter discount from VPP, which was better than they expected. On top of the customer cash for $750, and $500 college grad rebate, I get the financing rebate of $1250 as well. So my $11,026 out-the-door price from yesterday becomes $8,784 today. Which sounds really cheap to me. It sounded shady over the phone (couldn't follow all the price changes and cuts), but the end result is a cheaper price, so I'm going with the Versa. I'll see if they try to add any fees tonight when I'm there to buy. Now is it worth it?
Wow, that's really useful. Thanks.