Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Good answer, stubborn1. You certainly are more knowledgeable about the tax laws in Wisconsin than I am.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

You're welcome, focuserror. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

jbrown316 · August 2004

Hi, I found a nice '04 Chevy Venture that is listed as a demo car (driven around by a salesperson for a few months) and it has 5000 miles on it. MSRP is 28,245 and TMV is 26,145 The KBB used car retail for this is 23,175 but technically, it's not used because you still get the $4500 incentive on new Ventures (plus $1000 GMAC finiance rebate). How should I approach this as far as a good starting price?

bigbutr · August 2004

Couldn't find the original post about all of the incentives on the 2004.5 S40, other than the one about the free premium package. Can you regale me again with your knowledge about what Volvo is offering in the form of dealer cash since I know I already don't qualify for their top tier rates, thus making my decision to finance elsewhere clear.
In my looking at a lease, I was given payments of $370 (39 months, 15,000 miles a year) and a cap cost of $23,900 for one that MSRP'd at $28,245, so I'm guessing it's around $2000. Something doesn't seem right there and, to add doubt, an ad came out in the local paper two days later offering the same car with a sale price of $23,840.
Thanks for yet more help in this wild, wacky world of incentives.

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hello jbrown316. I am not personally a big fan of purchasing demos. Even through they are basically nothing more than low mileage used vehicles, most dealers treat them just as if they were new and seek very close to new vehicle prices for them. I would much rather bave a brand new Venture than one that has 5,000 miles on it, if I am only going to get a $500 or $750 additional discount on it ($.10 to $.15 cents per mile). It never hurts to see what sort of price you can get this demo for, but given the fact that you should not have much difficulty getting a brand new one for a few hundred over invoice minus any available incentives I wouldn't purchase the demo unless there was a significant discount available on top of that.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hey bigbutr. I would be more than happy to help you out. You are already aware of the free premium package offer that Volvo is running on the 2004.5 S40. On 2004.5 models that are not equipped with premium packages, Volvo is providing $1,000 dealer cash. That's pretty much it on this car right now.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

steine13 · August 2004

Why buy it at all? The venture is reasonably pleasant if a bit coarse, but it has terrible crash scores, lousy resale, and it's being replaced shortly. These things were out of date in '99. Can we show you something in a nice CE Sienna, or maybe a leftover Odyssey? Why not lease one of those? I'm not a big fan of leasing, but the Ody deal is very attractive.

If you gots to buy a GM vehicle, buy a Vibe or consider a truck, or almost any car with the 3.8 V6 in it. The Venture is a mediocre vehicle, and in the long run, you're paying extra for the privilege of driving it. In three year's time with 30k or more, it will not be worth $10k.

I agree with what Car_man said about demos in general and this one in particular.

-Mathias

jaserb · August 2004

Try an MPV. They may be a little smaller than the Venture or Odyssey but they're great little vans and they're giving them away - I got over $7k under sticker for mine (brand new) between discounts, $4k in rebates and dealer cash. The MPV is the only Japanese minivan that's still actually made in Japan and has most of the cool features you'll find on the other vans, and way more than a Venture. I'm not sure why they're not more popular, other than maybe the somewhat smaller size.

-Jason

Kirstie_H · August 2004

The original question was about whether the price on the Venture was reasonable, not whether or not the vehicle itself is a good or bad choice - remember, everyone has different needs and wants, and it's impossible to tell another person what's best for them - therefore, you're giving unsolicited advice!

To discuss the different vehicles available in the van market, please visit our dedicated Vans message board.

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

jaserb · August 2004

that introduced a completely unrelated leasing discussion on the Inconsiderate Buyers board?

A guy is looking at a van and asking about rebates. Mathias and I offer a couple of alternatives with some strong incentives, and we get slapped down? The hosting sure seems to be capricious and arbitrary lately. Especially when blatant, personal attacks right here in this forum slide by without even a mention:

aceagent Aug 11, 2004 3:05pm

My $.02. Now I'll crawl back into my hole and wait to speak until I am spoken to.

-Jason

kyfdx · August 2004

I was hoping that would crawl away and die.... LOL

regards,
kyfdx

Kirstie_H · August 2004

jaserb, it wasn't meant as a slap down - I'm sorry if you took it that way. But, the question was specifically about pricing on the Venture. For the record, the Incon Buyers thread started out on topic, then drifted - my fault!! We do like to keep as close to topic as possible, though sometimes we all drift. The Vans board is just a better place to get info on all of the different vans available.

Regarding the post you pointed out, it was simply missed. This happens because hosts are human, and we also don't sit on the boards 24/7. It's gone now. If you ever see a post that is offensive or violates our membership agreement, please don't hesitate to e-mail a host - we appreciate it!

If you've got any more comments or questions on board moderation, just post in Ask the Town Hall Hosts. Thanks!

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

kyfdx · August 2004

See, I was hoping that was just missed and not the Host's opinion as well.... LOL

Thanks,
kyfdx

ccc132435 · August 2004

I live in Louisiana (Louisiana Driver's License), the Special offer and incentive for a Malibu says $3500.00 (with an * refering that the GMAC bonus is included) or the different APR plus the $500.00. Let says I do not want the the "GMAC prefered aprs" Am I going to get $3,500.00 rebate or $4,000.00?. Also, one of the dealersships I have been dealing with is in Gulfport,Mississipi in a county where Chevrolet/GMAC is offering a better rebate ($4000/$1000). If I bought the Malibu form this last dealership Will I get the higher rebate? or I will get one for Louisiana. Please let me know I am almost ready to close my deal.

http://www.chevrolet.com/specialoffers/south_east.jsp

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hi ccc132435. General Motors' customer cash incentive on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu for consumers who do not finance through GMAC is currently $3,000. The additional $1,000 that is referenced on the Chevrolet site is what is called "GMAC bonus cash." This is an additional incentive for consumers in GM's Southeast region who finance or lease through GMAC. Mississippi is in GM's Southeast region. Louisiana is in GM's South Central region, which only has $500 GMAC bonus cash on this model at this time. Unfortunately, if I am not mistaken, you are only eligible for the cash incentives that are available where you live, not where you actually purchase your vehicle.

I have heard that a number of consumers are financing through GMAC at its standard interest rate to take advantage of this additional cash and then just refinancing their loan through a different banks after a month or two at a more attractive rate. I do not believe that GMAC's loans have any sort of pre-payment penalty.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

hydn · August 2004

Does anyone have any historical information on incentives in September? I was looking to buy a full sized truck and the incentives now are nice. But with the current environment of high gas cost, I figured the next round of incentives would be even better. All but one of the dealers in my area have 7-10 trucks that would like to purchase (one has only 3). If there where no trucks to purchase in mid/late September, it wouldn't be that bad (I would just wait or buy used).

I guess the bottom line is what do you think the next round of incentives will be like on full sized trucks (Chevy, GMC, Ford)? 1000 more? Same? I just wondered about historically what happens and what you think about trucks this year?

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hi hydn. Vehicles' incentives generally increase as the model year progresses. While it is difficult to predict what manufacturers will do with their future incentives programs with 100% accuracy, I personally feel as though it is safe to assume that the incentives on large pickups will be at least as aggressive in September as they are now, if not more so. Furthermore, the traditional domestic automakers really do not have very many 2005 model year large pickups out there yet, so I doubt that you have to worry about missing out on any of the remaining 2004s. As a result, I don't think that you have much to lose by waiting until mid-September to buy.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

robinkay · August 2004

Ok - this may be a really stupid question, but I've looked and can't find the answer - can I keep the rebate as cash, or does it have to be applied to the price of the vehicle? Would like to use it to pay off other bills.

dbgindy · August 2004

Most people apply it to the down payment but you are free to do with it what you will so getting it as a check to you is definitely an option.

Duncan

KCRam · August 2004

Be sure to check in with Edmunds.com's Phil Reed during one of his two chat session tomorrow on "More Strategies for Smart Car Buyers" tomorrow (Wednesday) Aug 25 at noon PDT/3pm EDT and 6pm PDT/9pm EDT. Use the link at the top of the page or go to the Town Hall home page for more info.

kcram
Host
Smart Shopper and Wagons Message Boards

nortsr1 · August 2004

Carman,
In checking the GM regional incentive rebate website, it shows a $4500.00 rebate and $1500.00 incentive if financed thru GMAC. Does this mean it can be combined for a $6000.00 reduction if useing GMAC finance?? I realize this is the last year for the Tracker with GM, but with my GM card points, I can get almost $8000.00 off??? I previously had a 2002 Tracker (traded same in last year)...but wtih that combo, I am thinking about getting a new 2004 for a second vehicle if I can get that amount off. With invoice pricing and the $8000.00 off, I can probably pick up a new one for about $12,000.00
I checked several Chevrolet dealers in the Florida area where I live and there aren't too many left in stock (according to their inventory websites).

steine13 · August 2004

...for the GM Card. Esp. the old blue one. Like I've got :-)
-Mathias

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hey nortsr1. General Motors is currently providing $4,500 customer cash that can not be combined with its special financing rates on the 2004 Chevrolet Tracker. It is also providing $1,500 GMAC bonus cash on this model. The only way that you can take advantage of both of these cash offers is to finance this truck through GMAC using its standard interest rate, which is not very good. I believe that its lowest standard rate is in the mid 7% range. GMAC does not have any sort of pre-payment penalty on its loans. Some consumers are financing through it using its standard rates to take advantage of the additional bonus cash and then paying off the loan after a month or two using cash that they had saved or by refinancing through another bank. If you want to take advantage of the 0% financing that GM is offering for 5 years on the '04 Tracker, you can do so and get the $1,500 GMAC cash, but not the $4,500. Confusing, huh? All of the above offers may be combined with your earned GM Card points.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

steine13 · August 2004

... at least in my area, if you're a GM Card holder, get another $1k added to your GM Card bonus if you buy before Sep 30th. Really.
I got it in the mail, and someone I know just had a nice $1k surprise when he went to pick up his '05 Vibe.
-Mathias
East Lansing, MI

ccc132435 · August 2004

In my search for a Malibu LT I found that there are 2 different "Standard Vehicle Price" for the same type of Vehicle:

VIN: 1G1ZU54834F232483 $23,270.00 (Medium Gray Metallic)

VIN: 1G1ZU54894F120738 $22,870.00 (Mediuem gray Metallic)

Could you please explain why the difference?

steine13 · August 2004

Most likely, the difference is time.
IOW, a price change between the two build dates.
-Mathias

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Mathias, GM sure is throwing a lot of money at its cars now, isn't it. You can get a heck of a deal on a pretty nice vehicle, like the Vibe.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

It is difficult to say why the prices of these two cars are different, ccc132435. As Mathias mentioned, it is possible that they were built at different times, one before and one after a price increase by General Motors. Price increases are very very common with the traditional domestic manufacturers now. They seem to raise prices at least four or five times on some models throughout the model year. I think that thy do so at least in part to help offset the huge expenses that are associated with all of the incentives that they are offering.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

pgooseman · August 2004

Car man,
Looking for some help with purchasing a new 2004 Impala base model.

Here is what I have done so far.

I've contacted a few dealers online and have received the following quote.
MSRP - $22,325
Quote - $15,406
This includes $3,500 rebate, $1,000 GMAC financing and my GMS supplier discount/regular discount is $2,419.

I'm just trying to do some legwork online first before I go to the dealership.
I currently do not know the details on this one but a newspaper add from a local dealership was advertising $14,595 for a new 2004. I do not believe this is for a demo model but a new 2004.

Do you know how this dealership could possible come with the $14,595 amount based on the current incentives for this car ? Using the quote I received above this cost is approximately $811 below the $15,406 amount. Could it just be that they are will to knock it down an extra $800 ? Is there a holdback for around this amount ? I'll find out for sure once I call the dealership but just thought someone else could give their opinion.

If I could get this car for $14,595 I also have $1,300 in GM Card rebates and an additional $500 in bonus cash. This would put me at $12,795 which in my opinion is a great deal but I could be wrong.
What should I be paying for a 2004 base model Impala ?
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Peter

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hi Peter. You seem to have a very good grasp of the consumer incentives that General Motors is currently providing on the 2004 Chevrolet Impala. I suspect that the dealership that is advertising a lower price on the car that you are interested in is using the instant value certificates that GM recently provided to dealers to arrive at that low price. From time to time, usually when sales aren't as strong as they had hoped, GM will provide its dealers with a bunch of these $500 coupons that they can apply to deals. Up to two of these certificates, $1,000 total, may be used per deal, but dealers do not have enough of them to use on every sale. The advertised price is probably the lowest that this dealer could sell this car for. I highly doubt that they will provide this price on every Impala that they sell. I also doubt that the dealer that you are currently working with is going to use its certificates on a GM supplier deal. The Impala is not my favorite car in the world, but heck if you can get a brand new one for $12,795 go for it, that's practically free.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

ccc132435 · August 2004

Carman.-

What are the GM Instant Value Certificates you are talking about? How long have they been in the market?. I am trying to land a deal on a LT.

BTW, I know the question is not related to this forum but here we go: If I am planning to keep the car more than 5 years (I will pass it to my teenager after 6 years and I drive 21K per year) Would you settle for a Malibu V6 or for a Camry V6? Any comments will be appreciated.

bigbutr · August 2004

Hey carman,

Just checking in to see if Volvo has done anything with its current incentives. I went by the local lot and some '05 S40s are in and the ads I've seen for the 04.5's are around $23,880 for 2.4 with premium package and metallic paint. I really like the S40 but would prefer the S60 since it's a little bigger for a family of 3. I hope to move on something in the next month or so. Thanks for your help.

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

Ccc132435, GM introduced its current round of $500 instant value certificates on August 20th. I think that it did so because it was having a pretty poor month, sales-wise. I've heard that GM's August sales will be down in the neighborhood of 6% or so, unless it really pulled itself up by the boot straps last weekend.

If I planned on keeping a car for the long haul, in general no question I would pick a Toyota product over a General Motors product. As long as you maintain them properly and change their oil frequently most Toyotas will run for a long, long time. Of course, GM has a lot more incentives on the Malibu that Toyota does on the Camry, but that is a whole "other can o worms."

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

Hey bigbutr. To the best of my knowledge, Volvo has not made any enhancements to its incentives recently. It is scheduled to release its new September program today, September 1st. Please feel free to check back with me in a few days and I will be more than happy to fill you in on any changes.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

art_vandelay · September 2004

pgooseman above brought up GM Supplier/Vendor discount pricing, for which I'm eligible. I have a question... how do I determine WHAT the discount is? I'm also eligible for Ford Partner discounts and their pricing structure for these discounts is very clear. GM's is not. At least I can't find it on gmsupplierdiscount.com - any ideas?

Also above, someone asked if the cash incentive has to be applied to the purchase price of a vehicle and the answer was "no"... just want to clarify that that's absolutely correct. I'm upside down on my current note, and if I can get a decent price on a Cavalier or Grand Am before the current incentives, then I could apply the incentives to cover my negative equity. Right? (I hope so!)

Now, wondering if this quote is anything to get worked up about... I'm thinking not so much. They originally only quoted me a $1033 supplier discount off of what seems like a high MSRP... I balked, so they started an additional $362 below that.

2004 Cavalier LS Sport
Black
Sunroof
MSRP 20095
Supplier price 19061.27
(dealer) Price 18699
Rebate 3500
Rebate 500 good thru 9/7/04
GMAC financing 1000
Total Price 13699 plus TTL

Thanks in advance for any input!

lariat10 · September 2004

Carman

My son is interested in a 2004 ranger pickup the current rebate is 3000. Any ford credit or bonus clearance cash available for this truck.

James

betmath · September 2004

"GMAC using its standard interest rate, which is not very good. I believe that its lowest standard rate is in the mid 7% range."

CarMan...so you're saying that by taking the $1500 GMAC bonus cash, you couldn not get a 4.9 or 5.9% interest rate through dealer financing...even with a top tier credit/finance rating? I thought with 0-60 month financing offered at 0% (w/o cash back)that the interest rates WITH cash back would then adjust to a range of 3.9 - 6.9.

I guess Ford financing would be the same, too (7% with $1500 Ford finance cash back)?

I was anticipating (with excellent credit) being able to take advantage of the full $6000 rebates with either Ford or GM, and then also get a 4.9% interest rate on top of that through their financing. Not to be expected?

Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

Hi art_vandelay (a Seinfeld reference I believe, right

?). If you are upside down on your current vehicle you can absolutely use the proceeds from any available incentives to pay off your loan. This sort of thing happens all the time. In fact, consumers who are really buried in their trades often do not have any choice but to purchase a vehicle that has a lot of incentives on it because most banks will only finance a certain percentage of a vehicle's MSRP, preventing them from rolling the thousands of dollars that they are upside down into their next loan or lease.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

Hi James. In some parts of the country, there is $1,000 Ford Credit bonus cash available on '04 Ranger SuperCab models. I believe hat this additional cash is only scheduled to run through September 7th though. You can combine this money with a lease or the 0% financing that is being offered through Ford Credit, but it can not be combined with the $3,000 customer cash unless you finance through Ford using its unsupported finance rates, which are not very attractive. So if you are interested in financing this truck through Ford Credit you may want to ask a few local dealers about this program.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

Betmath, the only way to get the GMAC bonus cash is to finance or lease through GMAC. Normally when a consumer chooses to finance, but not use a manufacturer's special low financing rates dealers arrange financing for them through an independent bank rather than using their captive finance company's standard interest rate. This is because most captive finance companies' standard interest rates are not very attractive, especially the domestic manufacturers' rates. The 4% to 5% interest rates that you mentioned in your post are available through independent banks. I believe that GMAC's unsupported interest rates, which you would have to use to add the GMAC bonus cash to GM's normal customer cash, are in the 7% to 8% range. You can always finance your vehicle through GMAC or Ford Credit using their standard rates to take advantage of the full cash allowance and refinance your vehicle at some point down the road, but you need to find out exactly how long you are required to hold onto the loan to qualify for the bonus cash before doing so.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

betmath · September 2004

Thanks. Glad I asked.

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

No problem, betmath.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

art_vandelay · September 2004

Thanks Car_man for the input on incentives. Talked to my loan officer at my credit union today and she confirmed this for me too. I am indeed "really buried" as you put it, and this seems like a decent opportunity to staunch the bleeding.

Good man catching the Seinfeld reference.. but still, NO SOUP FOR YOU!

rroyce10 · September 2004

**Looking for some help with purchasing a new 2004 Impala base model** ...

Recommendation: spend the extra $1,500ish and grab the LS .. it's worth the money, the extra options, you will appreciate the vehicle more, plus you will see it at trade time, and then some ............

Terry.

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

You're welcome, art_vandelay. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

art_vandelay · September 2004

Car_man, you're giving AND intelligent.

I think I've got a deal going where the rebates and clearance discounts cover my negative equity. Of course, I'm still right back in the same upside down situation, but at least it's with a new car under warranty. And I'm forcing myself to suck it up and finance for only 36 months so that I don't find myself in the same situation again with my next car. I've definitely learned my lesson. It's a Festivus miracle!

art_vandelay · September 2004

betmath, you are correct... you will not get those 4.9-5.9% rates. I was told at a Ford dealership yesterday that with a FICO of 720 or better, the best rate financing through Ford to get the additional $1000 incentive would be 6.9%. That eats up that $1000 real fast in interest over the course of a term, unless you're planning to refinance the loan immediately through another source at a better rate.

HOWEVER, they did say that Ford doesn't care how much you finance through them, just that you finance... so conceivably, I suppose a person could pay a huge percentage of the cost of the vehicle as a cash down payment and finance only a small amount, just to get that additional $1000 incentive, then pay off the rest of the loan over a short contract term or even in a lump sum. I actually heard them advising another customer of something similar... he's shopping for a house at the same time and didn't want an excess amount of outstanding debt, so he asked if he could pay ~$25K as a down on his deal and finance the remaining $6K and they told him yes.

betmath · September 2004

"I was told at a Ford dealership yesterday that with a FICO of 720 or better, the best rate financing through Ford to get the additional $1000 incentive would be 6.9%."

art_vandaley - the very specifics of your response is exactly that extra info I needed before approaching my Ford dealer in the next few days. Thanks!

mgriffin · September 2004

Car Man or anyone
I have a 99 explorer xlt 4wd. I'm buried It has 114k and I owe 14K. I think I can get out of it and into another explorer with the rebates offered and good negotiating. 2 questions. How close to nada trade value do you think it is realistic for me to expect to receive, also the current rebates end sept 30. I know you can't be sure but do you think there is much of a chance for the rebates to go up in October?

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

I am not familiar with what NADA's trade-in value for this vehicle is like, but generally speaking I have found that the books tend to overvalue vehicles that have over 100,000 miles on them. Dealers will almost never sell vehicles with 100K+ miles on their lots, but instead will wholesale them and not receive as much money as they would have for a vehicle with lower mileage. You should be able to get a good, realistic idea of its current worth by stopping by the following discussion that appears here on the Smart Shoppers Message Board of the Edmunds.com Town Hall: "Real-World Trade-In Values". One of our most knowledgeable community members, Terry, hangs out in that area and he is usually willing to give consumers an idea of what their vehicles are currently worth if they provide him is an accurate description of it and let him know where they live.

As far as the incentives that are currently available on the 2004 Ford Explorer go, I believe that Ford is providing $4,500 to $5,000 customer cash on this model. The exact amount depends upon what part of the country you are in.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles