Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Angel. The dealer holdback for the van that you want should only be calculated based on the van's MSRP as it is delivered from the factory. Any additional conversions that are done to the vehicle after DaimlerChrysler has built it will not receive any holdback allowance.

If a dealership's manufacturer requires it to pay an advertising fee on the vehicles that it sells, I do not believe that it matters if it was ordered from the factory or sold off of their lot. They will likely be charged for advertising either way. Having said that, I personally look at advertising as basically another cost of doing business. Why should the dealership's advertising expense be treated any differently than their expense for the electricity that they use? From my perspective tacking the advertising fee onto the end of deals is just another way for dealerships to make money. Even so, you have to understand that they need to make enough money on your deal to cover all of their expenses and still turn a profit.

You can easily calculate the dealer holdback for the van that you want by multiplying its MSRP, not including the destination charge, by three percent.

Chrysler does not have any dealer cash incentives on its 2000 model year minivans right now. The only minivan dealer cash that is out there is on 1999 models. Their current incentives program is scheduled to expire on Monday. There is a chance that their incentives on this vehicle will change for the better then.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

Lisat4, Jaguar's dealer holdback is 2% of the vehicle's invoice price. This is a useful number to keep in mind during negotiations, but you will not be able to find any Jaguar dealerships that are willing to dip into their holdback to sell you an S-Type.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

im_brentwood

Lisa,

From what I have seen.. the cheapest place to Get an S-Type, oddly enough seems to be on the west coast where I've heard of a few very hard negotiated deals as low as $1000 over invoice. Otherwise.. $2,000 over seems to be a cheap deal on one in most large markets.. in some smaller markets with only one dealer (St Louis.. Louisville.. Denver..etc..) they still seem to be going for close to sticker.

Bill

deborahp

A BMW salesman in Pennsylvania told me that BMW does not give the dealer holdback any longer.
Is that true or is he lying to me ?

ewing3

I have been looking to replace my Jeep. A dealer recently called me and said they had just received information on a new program. Apparently there is new dealer incentive money based on volume. They are taking about $5,000 of MSRP in coming up with the net cap cost for a 2000 Grand Cheerokee Limited with 28K package and V8. I can't find anyplace on the internet that shows that there is dealer incentive money. I am wondering how much it is. Does anyone have any info?

CarMan@Edmunds

Ewing3, the dealership that called you was telling you the truth. I believe that DaimlerChrysler did recently introduce a new Dealer Volume Bonus program on the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Unfortunately, I do not remember the specific dollar amounts that the program allows right now. I will look into it for you and try to post the specifics of the program in this topic tomorrow night.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

boxerhead

I have been trying to find the current incentives for the Ford Windstar in the Northeast. The listing shows that the .9% financing rate program stopped on 3/31/00. A co-worker claims that he heard they were offering $1000 AND .9% financing now. Can somebody confirm and or post the phone number for Ford incentives? Thanks.

david139

I was told the same thing in CT, I'm also trying to find out if this is really true.

Dave

vinnyracer

Hi, carman do you know of any incentives on honda accord at this moment?

I went to a Honda dealer today with my girlfriend. The dealer was called Hardin Honda in Anaheim, CA. There was an ad in this week Friday and Saturday (4-8-00) newspaper that had a sale on all Honda Accord LX sedan and coupe. The price was $16,000. That was $500 below invoice, but it was only on manual transmission. I ask him how can he sell it below invoice and he said there a dealer incentives of either $1,500 or $2,000 (I forgot) of all manual transmission Honda Accord. I ask the sale manager why wasn’t there a incentives on automatic, and he said because no one wants the manual transmission.

I checked about 4 or 5 sites on the internet about rebates and incentives and I couldn’t find anything about special incentives or rebate on Honda Accord 2000, so I don’t know if the dealer was lying to me or not. But he was willing to give me the manual Accord LX sedan or coupe for $16,000.

My girlfriend wanted the automatic Accord LX instead, so she paid $18,000 with the destination charge included (6.9% APR). So did you think she got a good deal or not?

I just worry about the dealer incentives on the Accord. If there was one on the automatic, then I think that I got rip-off. Otherwise $400 above invoice is ok.

mabuchi

Car Man,
I too am looking to get into a new Accord Coupe.
I was told that Honda doesn't offer any incentives or rebates since they have no problem selling their product.
I will be leasing this vehicle and I was wondering if you could tell me what American Honda is offering such as the various money factors and residuals for 36-48 months.
At the dealer I visited, I noticed a charge of $499.00 for gap insurance. Most vehicles I have leased included gap insurance. Is this a dealer specific add on or does American Honda include gap?

CarMan@Edmunds

Vinnyracer, I just mentioned in the other topic that you started that I am not aware of any significant dealer cash incentives on Honda Accords with automatic transmissions at this time. In fact, Honda recently extended the incentives that it had in effect last month for an additional 10 days. So even though the Honda information in our incentives section says that it is expired, it is still good for another couple of days.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

Mabuchi, I am sorry to say that Honda does not presently have any lease support on the Accord. So, if you decide to lease a 2000 Accord through American Honda Finance Corp. (AHFC) you will have to pay their standard lease money factor of .00357 for 36 month and .00398 for 48 month terms. It's possible that the dealership that quoted you a $499 charge for gap insurance was not running your lease through AHFC. All American Honda Finance leases include gap insurance without any additional charges.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

indytab

It seems to me that within the last week or so, the number of customer rebates and incentives on the Edmund's list got significantly shorter. I've read that March sales figures were very high; have the manufacturers pulled back on the rebates/incentives because of the good March sales? Is April typically a hot month, so few rebates and incentives are available? Particularly I noticed that Chevrolet and Ford rebates/incentives have almost disappeared. Any thoughts from the dealers?

vinnyracer

Hi Carman,

Sorry to bother you again.

You said that there was an incentive on Honda Accord last month. I heard that they extend it for about 10 days or so.

What was the incentives amount and was it on the manual only.

Also did you think I got a good deal on my girl friend car #209

Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds

Indytab, there are lots of incentives still out there. This is the beginning of a new quarter and the beginning of the month. As a result the vast majority of automakers' incentives programs recently expired. Edmunds often deletes expired incentives programs and does not re-post them until the newest information has been entered into our system. We are hard at work collecting and entering the most up to date incentives and should begin posting a large number of programs on Friday or Monday at the latest. Ford and GM's second quarter incentives programs are as strong as they ever have been. The fact that the automotive market is so hot and generating record sales has not reduced the number of incentives that manufacturers are issuing. In fact, given all of the competition for consumers some segments of the market have incentives that are as high as they have been in a while.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

indytab

thanks for the information. I had started negotiations the last couple of days in March but ran into some delays. Thought maybe I lost some opportunities by not finishing the deal in March. I'll check in every few days on the data.

You all do a great job: best car website I've visited. Told my co-workers to log on.

CarMan@Edmunds

Indytab, thanks for the kind words. I am glad that you find edmunds.com so helpful.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

Hello again Vinnyracer. If I remember correctly, your girlfriend purchased a 2000 Accord LX Sedan with the 4-cyl. engine and automatic transmission for $18,000. I don't know if she got any additional options on the car, but it definitely sounds to me as though she got a pretty good price.

Off of the top of my head, the only incentive that I remember on the Accord last month was the 3.9% to 5.9% special financing on 2000 models. We are in a transition period right now, where the incentives that were extended for 10 days are just about expire to or just expired and I haven't seen Honda's new program yet. I personally don't expect and dramatic changes in the Honda Accord incentives.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

deeber

Car_Man, I've been researching the price of the EB Expedition for a few months now. Armed with all this info, I visited a couple of local dealerships, and began the bargaining process. I finally got down close to the deal I was looking for, but I was concerned about a $187 price difference. The dealer's invoice price showed $187 higher. Because it was just that one item, I figured there was a misquote or something on Edmunds, so I ordered the vehicle at $250 over invoice. Was I correct in my assumption? If so, why are there differences?

Btw, I really appreciate the effort and attention you put forth in answering everyone's questions. You're extremely informative and helpful.

CarMan@Edmunds

Deeber, it is hard for me to say whether or not the Edmunds.com invoice information for the vehicle that you are interested in was on the money. I can tell you that 99.999% of the time it is exactly correct. Manufacturers do frequently make mid-model year price adjustments to certain vehicles that take a little while to update on this Web site. If you are still curious about the exact invoice price of the truck that you purchased, I suggest that you compare the information that the dealership showed you and the information that you found here with a third source like Kelley's Blue Book. You can visit that Web site at www.kbb.com. If their pricing data matches what you found here chances are that it's right. Either way, you still got a good deal on your Expedition.

By the way, thank you for the compliment. I am glad that you find my advise so helpful. Enjoy your new truck!

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

im_brentwood

I dunno..

But I bet it's some kinda regional advertising deal.. if not.. could just be a glom..Seems like an odd figure to make up tho. Usually BS Chagres are Like $195. 479..etc..

Bill

tex6969

car-man hav a ? about the incentives, listed on edmonds. under 2000 gmc it shows avalible interest rates for the Sierra GMT 800 1/2ton ext. cab. excl. 4 door. what is {gmt 800} refer to?

CarMan@Edmunds

Tex6969, the code GMT 800 refers to which specific Sierra model the truck is. If I am not mistaken, I believe that the GMT 800 is the newly redesigned Sierra and the GMT 400 is the old "Classic" Sierra.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

ravecci

I am in the process of buying a 2000 Hyundai Sonata. Edmunds'indicates that a rebate and low financing are usually mutually exclusive when negotiating price. Is this also true for Dealer Incentives? When I negotiated my price, the salesman told me I could either get the dealer incentive or the low finance. I chose the low finance because it worked out better for me as compared to a loan I could get commercially. But now I'm not sure if the salesman was being truthful when he said the dealer would not get the incentive if I chose low financing. Edmunds' is not clear on whether dealer incentives and low financing are mutually exclusive also.

Anyone out there know ?

CarMan@Edmunds

Ravecci, whether or not dealer cash and special financing programs can be combined varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from vehicle to vehicle. In this specific case, I believe that the person that you spoke with at the Hynudai dealership was telling you the truth. The Hyundai special financing and dealer cash programs that are in effect right now can not be combined.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

anonymous

I can't seem to find any information on rebates and incentives for leftover 1999 Econoline Conversion vans. Any ideas where to look? The only ones I've seen so far refer to the 2000 models. Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds

The vast majority of Ford's 1999 model year incentives expired at the end of April. Ford does not currently have any special financing, special lease, or cash promotions on the 1999 Econoline. This is why you haven't been able to find any information on '99 programs for this vehicle.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

Given the fact that this topic has been inactive
for several weeks, I have decided to freeze it.
It will be either archived or deleted at some
point in the near future. If you would like to
discuss issues that are similar to the ones that
are touched upon in this topic, please feel free
to start a new one. Thanks.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

donm4

Car Man,
I'm currently negotiating a lease for a loaded Durango. I've got a great price negotiated (30,000) which is supposed to be 300 over dealer invoice. After the price was negotiated these are the lease numbers he said were the best he could do. Excellent credit
$4,000 dn.
$395 mo.
15,000 mi.
He said this is the best lease plan he could get and it's chrysler current 3yr plan.
I told him I needed payments under 400, which is why the down of 4000 is so high. This sounds way high.
I called another dealership to find out if there was any rebates on the durango. They said 1500$. But my dealer says I cant get a rebate with this lease plan.!?! I probably would do the deal if I get the $1500 back. (2500 dn.)
Whats wrong with this deal? Any advice or direction appreciated.
Thanks,
DM

CarMan@Edmunds

DM, let me begin by saying that its never a good idea to put so much money down on a leased vehicle. By putting $4,000 down, you risk losing all of that money if your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen and not recovered.

Chrysler Financial's three year lease term does not have the lowest lease money factor for the Durango, but when you take the extra 12 months to spread out the vehicle's depreciation into account the 36 month term is still probably your best bet.

Your monthly payments will depend upon the exact Durango model that you are leasing. You didn't mention how the truck that you are looking at is equipped, so it is hard for me to compare the deal that you were quoted with the one that I have seen. So, I will post the Durango lease that I've seen here so that you can compare it on your own. Chrysler has recently been nationally advertising a 36 month lease on the 2000 Durango SLT 4x4 for $349 per month with $1,635 down and 12,000 miles per year. This sounds much more reasonable than the deal that you were quoted.

I definitely suggest that you shop around a little bit at a couple of other Dodge dealerships in your area. It is usually a good idea to get quotes from at least two or three different dealerships so that you can determine the market price for the vehicle that you want in your part of the country.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

donm4

Thanks for your response. Here is a few more details along with the neg. price.
2000 D
cloth High buckets
heavy duty serv. group
4wd
4 wheel anti-lock
3rd seat
4.7l
power heated fold awy mirrors
rear ac
infinity speakers 8
31x10.5r15 all season tires
preferred package 26g
lease details
3 yr-15k-395 mo.-4000dn
30,296 neg. price
Should, or can I demand 2000 dn. and also demand the rebate. (which he says I do not get with this Chrysler lease deal)
Thanks,
Don

CarMan@Edmunds

Don, I don't believe that the cash that's available on the Durango can be combined with the supported lease program. Furthermore, I really don't think that you should "demand" anything from the dealership that you're currently dealing with. Instead shop around a little but and if you want, come back to them with the lowest price that you find elsewhere. This will give you a lot more leverage in your negotiations.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

I just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that as of yesterday, General Motors began a new on-line marketing promotion that allows consumers to apply for a discount of up to an additional $750 per vehicle. In addition to the $750, this program also has a component that provides consumers with $50 Certificates for GiftCertificates.com if they test drive a GM product prior to July 15th. If you would like any additional information on this program, such as which vehicles the $750 is available on or how to apply, please feel free to let me know.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

willimjo

Car_Man -
By all means, let's hear it. How does a person participate and on which vehicles? You mentioned this was a on-line promotion, but I didn't find anything about it on the gm.com site.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi willimjo. I am sorry that it took me so long to get back to you. For some reason this topic never showed up with a "New" tag for my account. I would be happy to provide you with some additional information on this program. Officially this new on-line coupon program is called "GM Ticket to Ride." You can apply for both the $50 GiftCertificates.com offer and the vehicle coupon worth up to $750 at the web site www.gmtickettoride.com.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

md2002

Please note that there is a rebate on the 2000 4RUNNER. It is $750. You hardly ever see one on a 4RUNNER. I would check this out.

outeast1

Last month, I noticed that Ford had a 0.9% financing incentive on Focuses in my area. I don't recall the ending date of that incentive, but both my salesperson and I thought it ended at the end of June. When I went in to buy my car on June 5th, I found out that the incentive supposedly ended at the end of May. Am I going crazy, or is Ford in the habit of pulling incentives early? The current incentive is now 4.9% until July 5th. Because of the financing increase, I did not buy that day. Right now, I am trying to decide if I should wait to see what, if any, new incentives will be available in July or if I should just buy now and resign myself that it will cost me about $800 more over the life of the loan. On one hand, I want to wait, because I'm hoping there will be good year end incentives(ie 0.9% financing). On the other, I've heard that because the Focus is selling so well right now that there will be no year end incentives.

Hoping someone can shed some light on my dilemma...

CarMan@Edmunds

Outeast1, if you would like to verify what the dealerships have told you about Ford Focus financing, pay a visit to the Web site www.fordvehicles.com. There you can select the Focus from a list of cars and find out what sort of incentives are available on it (only consumer cash and special financing programs) in your zip code.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

clyburn_rr

I saw that on June 9, 2000 someone posted that Toyota is offering a rebate of $750.00 on the 4 Runner. Does anybody know where I can look for this on the Web ?

CarMan@Edmunds

Clyburn_rr, yes Toyota has introduced cash incentives on the 4Runner in certain areas for the first time that I can ever remember. I believe that this action is to help their dealers unload their current 4Runner inventory before all of Toyota's new trucks begin to arrive in dealerships. Toyota's incentives seem to concentrate on a few specific models, but the exact incentive amounts usually vary depending upon the part of the country that you live in. If you let me know where you plan on purchasing your new 4Runner, I would be glad to try to find out what the exact incentives program is in your neck of the woods.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

wbenedict

With the advertised prices I've been seeing there must be some rebates or incentives involved in the discounts offered on new Maxima's. I haven't seen any of this info publicized. Any help?

clyburn_rr

Thanks for your quick response. I live in Cypress, CA 90630. I plan to buy my vehicle within a 20 mile radius of where I live. Please check your e-mail for more details.

clyburn_rr

Sorry, another question. When do the dealers get the 2001 models? Also, can I use the Dealer Holdback of 3% of the MSRP as a negotiating point as well ?

89jeep

I want to buy a 2000 Elantra - in July. The dealer says the current $750 rebate expires on June 30th, and he never knows whether the next rebate will be better. Should I jump for the current rebate, or wait till July? I would think the manufacturer would increase, not decrease, the rebate nearer the end of the year??
Thanks for any help you can give me!

CarMan@Edmunds

89jeep, that is a very good question. It is very true that most manufacturers' incentives programs run for a month or two and that individual dealerships usually do not know for certain what will happen to a certain vehicle's incentives after the expiration date. Hyundai's consumer cash incentive on the 2000 Elantra has remained constant for several months now. I definitely do not think that the cash on this vehicle is going anywhere and don't believe that there is any reason to rush out and get one before June 30th. The $750 that's on this car right now will almost definitely be there after that date. It is difficult to say whether or not Hyundai will increase the consumer cash on the Elantra for July. Even if they do, I don't expect any dramatic movement of more than $250.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

Wbenedict, no Nissan doesn't have any sort of cash incentives on the 2000 Maxima, yet. Having said that, it definitely seems to me as though the market for the new 2000 Maxima is beginning to soften up considerably. Infiniti recently introduced dealer cash on the new 2000 I30 this month. That car is essentially the same as the 2000 Maxima. So it would not surprise me to see some sort of cash incentive on the Maxima in the near future. Nissan usually revises their incentives on a monthly basis, so keep your eyes on the vehicle's incentives for July. There's definitely no guarantee that they will, but there's a chance that they will introduce some sort of cash then.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

CarMan@Edmunds

Clyburn_rr, many 2001 versions of certain vehicles are already in showrooms. The rest of the 2001 models will be introduced over the next several months. I don't know the exact delivery date of the 2001 4Runner, but there is a very good chance that your dealership would know.

As far as dealer holdback is concerned, I definitely do not recommend mentioning it in your negotiations. It is a good idea to be aware of the holdback and what it does for a dealer's gross profit on the vehicles that it sells. However, dealerships usually resent the fact that consumers know about their holdback and mentioning it often serves to break down negotiations. Despite the recent introduction of incentives on this truck, the 4Runner still remains a relatively popular vehicle that dealerships definitely will not dip into their holdback to sell.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

clyburn_rr

Carman ...
Were you able to find out what the exact incentives program is in my neck of the woods?
Cypress, CA 90630

CarMan@Edmunds

Clyburn_rr, I'll make some calls and see if I can find out what the 2000 Toyota 4Runner incentive is in your neck of the woods. Stay tuned...

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

popoff

I just finished reading your article on dealer holdback. I think it bears mentioning that your definition of holdback is incorrect! You indicate that holdback represents financing and maintenance provided by the manufacturer. Nothing could be further from the truth! What you refer to as holdback is actually a finance credit. Holdback is an entirely different animal in itself. A dealer cannot negotiate holdback as it is an actual part of the cost of the car to his corporation. A dealer could negotiate his/her finance credit if they chose to.