Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi chervin18. Ford is currently providing 3.9% financing for 5 years on the 2005 Expedition. This rate is for consumers who qualify for its top credit tier. The 5.9% financing rate is for consumers who qualify for Ford Credit's top tier and finance an '05 Expedition for 6 years. These rates may be combined with the Ford Credit Bonus Cash that is currently available on this truck. If you opt to take advantage of the combo customer cash - special financing program deal that Ford is currently offering, you can combine $1,000 customer cash with 5.9% financing for 5 years and the Ford Credit Bonus Cash.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

Greetings cali_dvr. General Motors is actually providing 0% financing for 6 years on the 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche. This rate can not be combined with any other incentives offers though. Instead of this special financing rate, GM is providing $3,000 customer cash the '04 Avalanche 2WD and $3,500 on the '04 Avalanche 4WD. There is an additional $500 bonus on '04 Avalanche models that are financed through GMAC in GM's Southeast region.

 

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trckn4life

Well guys I got me an 05'! Lol, I am sooo pumped! I got a 2005 Crew!

cali_dvr

Thanks for the info. Got the call today I was approved for an 04 Avalanche at the 0% for 72 months. The vehicle has 5K miles on it and was a demo from a local celebrity. With 5K miles they are still listing it at 32K. Still waiting to see if its the z71 or not but I do know its 4x4 and if it was given to the celebrity you know its loaded!! What do you think about 32K for a 04? Good or should I look at a different one?

 

One more question. Originally we were looking at Tahoes but my wife and I like the sportiness of the Avalanche. Any reason why I should go with the Tahoe over a Avalanche?

 

ok ok one more question. The new year is right around the corner. Better to get the vehicle now (tomorrow in fact) or wait till after the new year to see what new incentives there's going to be?

CarMan@Edmunds

Congratulations on your new truck, trckn4life! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let us know what you got. Enjoy.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, cali_dvr. I am not all that familiar with Avalanche pricing, but I can tell you that I usually find that dealers are not willing to provide enough of a discount on demos for my taste. I feel as though I would rather have a brand new vehicle that nobody else has driven than what is essentially a low mileage used vehicle, unless I can get the demo for much less than I could get an otherwise identical brand new model for. You should be able to get an idea of what sort of price you should pay for this truck by stopping by the following discussion: "Chevrolet Avalanche: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". I personally prefer the looks of the Tahoe to those of the Avalanche, but other than that I don't see any reason why one is a significantly better truck than the other. They are just different.

 

As far as when to get this truck goes, the longer you wait to purchase a leftover 2004 model, the more difficult it will be for you to find one with the exact combination of color and options that you want. Furthermore, the end of December is usually a pretty good time to purchase a new vehicle. Not only are dealers usually a little more willing to deal at the end of the month, this willingness to deal may be amplified slightly by the fact that it is also the end of the year. If I was personally in the market for an '04 GM truck, I probably would try to get one now, rather than in January.

 

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steven922

I hope some of you can answer a question for me. Our company offers the Ford X Plan and GM Supplier Discount. In general, is it best to go with these programs or can someone get a better price negotiating. I have about a year of payments left on my current car and don't even want to go to a dealer until my car is paid off free and clear as not to waste their time or mine.

I may buy new in a year but was just wondering. Thanks.

cali_dvr

Thanks for all the help and advice! Well the wife and I went down to the dealership and decided on a 04 Avalanche (minus all the plastic). We got a great deal on it and my wife even got to talk to the NLF player that drove the truck as a demo. And to top it all off he's going to meet us tomorrow at the dealership to sign some autographs!! how cool is that???

 

Thanks again!!!

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi steven922. Consumers who are eligible for General Motors' Supplier Purchase program can buy vehicles at 4.5% over its Employee Purchase Program Price. Its Employee Purchase Program price is dealer invoice minus holdback, minus any advertising fees, plus $75. As you can see, the Supplier Purchase Program price is either around or slightly over dealer invoice, so you can probably negotiate as attractive a price, if not better on many GM models on your own.

 

I believe that consumers who are eligible to purchase vehicles through Ford's Supplier Purchase Program ("X-Plan") can do so at a price that is 4% above Ford's Employee Purchase Plan ("A-Plan") price. Any available customer and dealer cash incentives are deducted from this price. I am not exactly sure how Ford's employee prices are calculated, but they are probably fairly similar to GM's.

 

You can always negotiate as attractive a deal as possible on the vehicle that you are interested in and then ask if it is better than the supplier price, which is listed right on the invoice.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, cali_dvr. Congratulations on your new truck and on getting to meet a famous athlete. If you don't mind my asking, who is it? A Raider perhaps?

 

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clone

Car_man, Could you explain the differences (if their are any.) between the In the driveway program, the GM supplier program, and the family first program. You also stated that the GM supplier program is on the invoice? How do I get a look at that? Thank-you.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi clone. If your company qualifies for General Motors' Supplier Purchase Program, you should be able to get access to the following Web site: https://gmsupplierdiscount.com. There you can find pricing information for the vehicle that you are interested in. Similarly, if you qualify for GM's Family First Program, you can find out pricing information by logging into the following site: https://www.gmfamilyfirst.com. As far as what sort of prices you can expect goes, I believe that GM's Supplier Purchase Program and the "In the Driveway" program provide identical prices on vehicles and that the prices that are available through the Family First Program are lower, but you should log into the aforementioned sites to find out specific pricing information.

 

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allison1

Anyone tell me what the Consumer Rebates are as of now for the Ford F series?

 

Thank you!!!!!!!

cali_dvr

We were able to meet Jeremy Newberry of the San Francisco 49s. It was a great experience for my wife and kids. He was a great guy, taking pictures and signing a few footballs we brought. I couldn't believe he came by the dealership just to say hi to us. Really showed the kind of sportsman he is. More celebrities should carry themselves in the fashion he did, I was very impressed.

 

And to top it off he signed the sun visor in the truck!! WOO HOO!

moparbad

$3000 GM Card (including the $2000 "bump" in earnings)

$1500 GMAC Financing bonus

$500 GM Instant Value

$500 Military

$3000 Sunfire Rebate

 

Yep, $8500 off a 2005 Sunfire and I want to thank the knowledgeable information I received from Edmunds. Was able to buy the car at invoice so the end price on the $18,9XX car was $9000.

CarMan@Edmunds

I sure can, allison1. Ford is currently providing $2,000 customer cash on the 2005 F-Series Light Duty Regular Cab and $1,500 on the F-Series Light Duty Super Cab and Super Crew models. Ford is supposed to introduce a new incentives program for January in a few days though.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

That sounds like a really neat experience, cali_dvr. Thanks for sharing.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

Holy cow, moparbad! You were able to buy a car with an MSRP of nineteen thousand bucks for nine thousand. Now that is a heck of a deal. Congratulations on your new car and thanks for taking the time to stop by to tell us about your insane deal.

 

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garryld

I'm buying a new Escape under the x-plan. My question is do you apply FMC credit cash and x-plan credit cash before taxes are figured or after.

CarMan@Edmunds

That is a very good question, garryld. While different states calculate tax on new vehicles differently than others, generally speaking most states charge tax on customer cash incentives but do not on dealer cash incentives because the latter is treated as a manufacturer's price adjustment. The Ford Credit cash that you mentioned is a customer incentive and almost certainly would be taxable, meaning that sales tax would be calculated based upon the price of the vehicle that you are getting prior to the deduction of this cash. The X-Plan cash bonus is a little different in that it is not available to all consumers. I am not positive, but if I had to make an educated guess I would say that since this is an incentive that is intended for consumers, a limited subset of consumers but it is not dealer cash, it probably is taxable.

 

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moparbad

It actually ended up being $8700 plus tax and an added $100 document fee. Document fees should not be a separate cost in my opinion, however, it was hardly relevant to argue a $100 fee on this deal.

 

Was required to pay $510 (6 percent) tax on the $8500 in rebates. Arghhhhh!

 

The interest rate on loan from GMAC is 8.74%. In 3 weeks I'll pay off the GMAC loan, so it will cost me $30 in interest to obtain the $1500 GMAC financing incentive.

 

All in all, my wife is happy with the car and I'm very happy with the cost.

hartt

Are dealers obligated to disclose any/all rebates or is it up to the consumer to be self educated?

We received the $1500 rebate on the vehicle but didn't get the additional $500 for financing through FMC.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi hartt. Consumers are always much better off if they educate themselves about the incentives that are available on the vehicle that they are considering prior to negotiating with dealers. In most instances, dealers are obligated to disclose the fact that a customer incentive is available on a vehicle. They are not however required to disclose dealer incentives. Furthermore, many dealers will not tell consumers about available customer cash incentives during negotiations and try to slip a form that acknowledges the fact that the consumer is signing these incentives over to the dealer when they are filling out all of the necessary paperwork. There is a good chance that you signed something that acknowledges the existence of the $500 bonus cash if it was indeed available on your vehicle in your area when you purchased it.

 

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dirkpitt73

anyone know if there will be a new incentive for '05 Wranglers to replace the measley $500 ending today!?

navyboy65

The GM Incentives just changed and gmbuypower doesn't show 04 stuff now. So if any one can tell me what the incentives are for a silverado with out duramax. I'm in CA.

Thanks

stanwict

Just wondering if GM sent the dealers "coupons" for January 2005?

 

Thanks.

jefferson1964

The $500 incentive on the wrangler was discontinued on 1/03 and no current incentives are available on the 05 wrangler right now. The only vehicle with incentives are the Grand and Liberty Diesel. There are the standard $500 military and recent college graduate discount that still apply.

 

Grand Cherokee which has interest rate incentives or $1,000 off and the liberty diesel which has $1,500 off, both until Feb. 28.

 

I was checking myself as i purchased a wrangler on the Dec. 30 and wanted to see how the incentives changed. This information is per the jeep.com website.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi dirkpitt73. My father-in-law loves your novels. While you mocked the $500 customer cash that was available on the 2005 Jeep Wrangler last month, there is no customer cash at all on this truck in January. DaimlerChrysler did introduce a new $1,000 bonus for '05 Wrangler models that are financed or leased through Chrysler Financial this month though.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi navyboy65. In January, General Motors replaced most of the customer cash and special financing offers that it was providing on 2004 models in December with dealer cash. Specifically, right now it is providing $3,500 dealer cash on the truck that you are interested in. As it is on most other models this month, GM is giving loyal customers an additional $1,500 cash incentive on the '04 Silverado.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi stanwict. Even though General Motors provided instant value certificates to its dealers for several months in a row at the end of 2004, it did not provide dealers with any yet this month. When it has introduced this sort of promotion in the past, it has often done so mid-month to help make a push for respectable sales numbers. I would not be surprised if GM reintroduced these certificates in mid-January, but there certainly is no guarantee that it will do so.

 

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Kirstie_H

Well, I have a question for my co-host - can you clarify the difference between customer cash & dealer cash? It seems kind of obvious, but could you explain the difference in how a customer can use these cash incentives when negotiating?

 

It sounds like the customer cash automatically goes to the customer in the form of a rebate (or downpayment), but that the dealer cash can be used to negotiate.

navyboy65

Hey thanks, thats what gmbuypower just e-mailed me. So it seems the deals didn't change too much. Last time they were offering 3500 + 2000(GMAC)=5500, I can get the $1500 as I own a chevy right now making $7000 (3500+2000(gmac)+1500)!!! So its $500 more that a few days ago!!!! Is there any other possible incentives out there I might be able to use. I just got my GM card but only have like $75 earned. Any dealer incentives out there for 04's???

 

Thanks, Seth

kat7

I'm going to purcahse a Nissan Sentra in about 3-4 weeks (have to wait for loan from our credit union to come through)The year end rebates ended yesterday. Does anyone know how this works? Am I crazy to think that there will be new incentives for President's Day sales?

markf57

car-man:

 

I can't find the incentives for the 04's on any of the regular sites I visit.

 

I'm in the Western region. What are the incentives for an 04 Malibu MAXX?

CarMan@Edmunds

I sure can, kirstie. Customer cash, aka consumer cash or rebates, is a cash incentive offered by a manufacturer that it wants the general public to know about. Automakers advertise this sort of incentive on their Web sites, on television, in print ads, etc... Most dealers will tell consumers about customer cash incentives when asked.

 

Dealer cash on the other hand, is a cash incentive provided by manufacturers directly to dealers when vehicles are sold. It is usually not advertised. This sort of incentive is frequently used by luxury manufacturers who are concerned about their images and their vehicles' residual values, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. They would rather provider support behind the scenes so to speak rather than giving the impression that they are having a fire sale. Consumers who know about this sort of incentive can definitely use it to their advantage during negotiations, but they have to do some research to find out about it.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

No problem, navyboy65. Unfortunately, I believe that you are overestimating the incentives that are available on the 2004 Silverado. There is $3,500 dealer cash plus the $1,500 loyalty cash, but the $2,000 bonus for financing or leasing it through GMAC has expired.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello kat7. Nissan introduced its new January incentives a couple of days ago. Its incentives this month are very similar to its offers in December. If you let me know which model or models you are considering, I would be more than happy to tell you what sort of offers are available on them right now.

 

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi markf57. The reason why you can not find any information on the incentives that GM is providing on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx is that it has replaced its customer cash and special financing offers on this car with dealer cash, which is usually not advertised. Specifically, GM is currently providing $2,500 dealer cash on this car. In addition to this dealer cash, it is providing a $1,500 owner loyalty offer on it.

 

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kat7

Thanks so much. I'm purchasing the Nissan Sentra 1.8S with the Special Edition Package, & abs Brakes Package. We'll be buying it at the end of the month - cash.

mrjette

My sister is looking to lease a Jetta. She has a Passat on lease that expires this month, and likes it. I think she really wants a smaller sedan.

  

I have about $3,000 in GM credit card earnings that I am willing to give her, but would need advice on a comparable GM product AND a way to give my earnings to her. We live in different states (NH & NY), and the card is restricted to household use only (unless someone knows a loophole...). Also, NH has no sales tax so is there an advantage there?

  

Thanks. Mike

CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, kat7. Nissan is currently providing $2,500 customer cash on the 2005 Sentra 1.8S. You can use this cash to your advantage during negotiations. It also has special financing and lease programs on this car, but since you are paying cash these are not relevant in your case.

 

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raul

I am interested in knowing what the incentives and/or rebates are for purchasing a base 04 or 05 Deville are. Any insight would be appreciated. I live in the southeast.

qbrozen

Carsdirect says there is "special pricing" on '05 Accords. Its giving me a target of about $550 under invoice on a 6-speed coupe with NAV. But does anyone know the actual incentive? Thanks. Oh, i'm in NJ.

cartalk

Honda has $500 dealer cash on 2005 Accord coupes (no sedans). They also have 2.9% financing for up to 60 months.

qbrozen

thanks

spotdelivery

Hey, I just bought a 2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8 S on 01/05/05. I would suggest you start combing papers and even go to the dealer. They are giving $2500 cash back on all Nissan Sentras and even though it's not showing at the Nissan website, they are having the "end of year event". For example, The rebates/incentives ended on 01/03/05. The dealer in Tracy, CA had an ad from 12/31/04 in the paper for 2 2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8 s and showed after rebate a price of $11,888 plus tags, tax, ect.

 

Financing was good too. They sent me through the CUDL system which is for Credit Union financing. I had to pay $2 cash to join that particular credit union, but they got me financed for NO MONEY DOWN and a rate of 4.29%!! I think I made a pretty good deal. Then after I got home I looked at the Credit Unions website and they offer a 0.25% rate reduction just for signing up with them for automatic electronic payment each month.

 

So, I really wouldn't wait for your Credit Union to come though because you could really miss out. By the way, ALL the dealerships have been advertising the same model at no more than $11,999 so be aware of that. They need to get rid of the cars and they are discounting!! Good luck.

jsymski

Now check this out jefferson1964... On Jan 5th I went to the Jeep.com site, I also saw the same incentives you did (Grand and Liberty Diesel - I'm interested in the libery diesel as I have one on order). On Jan 6th, after calling the dealer, the incentives were no longer on the website. Dealer said they never existed. I called DC and they said they never existed. If you can find that page again, please email me symskij@hotmail.com !!!!

mpalmer

Hi all,

   I'm looking to purchase a '05 Matrix in about a month. Does anyone if the manufacturer will be offering rebates on this vehicle any time soon? How can I find this information out? Thanks.

 

Marion

kat7

Thanks for the information - did you get it with the special edition package & abs brakes with side air bags?

CarMan@Edmunds

I would be more than happy to tell you what this car's incentives are like right now, raul. In your area, General Motors' Southeast region, there is currently 5.9% financing, $4,000 dealer cash, and $1,500 loyalty cash on the 2005 Cadillac DeVille. If you opt to lease this car instead of finance or pay cash for it, there is $750 loyalty cash and a special lease program. On the 2004 Cadillac DeVille, GM is providing $7,000 dealer cash and $1,500 loyalty cash. That pretty much sums it up, but please make sure to let me know if you have any other questions.

 

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