Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

michaels2 · May 2005

Do rebates "historically" increase in late summer/fall as the new models start to show up? I know it depends on make and availability, etc. But just generally speaking, are rebates "usually" higher in fall?

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Thanks for the additional information, beeper29x. It is difficult to say what Hyundai's future incentives will be like on the Tuscon, even by looking at the incentives that it has provided on vehicles in the past. This is the first month that Hyundai has offered consumer incentives on this truck. Specifically, right now Hyundai is providing 3.5% financing for up to 4 years and 3.75% for 5 years or $500 customer cash or a special lease on the '05 Tuscon. Generally speaking, manufacturers' incentives on vehicles increase as the model year progresses. Similarly, the longer a new vehicle has been out, the higher its incentives usually are. As a result, I personally don't think that you need to rush out and purchase this truck before the end of the month. I suspect that Hyundai's incentives on the Tuscon will be at least as generous, perhaps even more so later on in the year.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Absolutely michaels2. At the end of the model year, automakers usually enhance their incentives on leftover vehicles to help make room on dealers' lots for new ones. Generally speaking, incentives on most 2005 models will continue to become more agressive as the model year winds down. The only thing that you risk by waiting until very late in the model year to buy the new car or truck that you are interested in is the possibility that you will not find a leftover model with the exact combination of color and options that you want.

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nascarnole · May 2005

Hi,
I am a newbie and would appreciate your help. Since there doesn't appear to be a way to search an automaker's incentive history, I'm looking for advice. The Honda salesperson called me today and said that this weekend they will offer 1.9% for 60 months on anything in stock, including Ridgelines, which we are seriously considering.

Will this deal return on Labor Day weekend or at the close of the model year, or should I jump on it now?

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Welcome nascarnole. Honda seems to love offering brand-wide special financing rates during three day weekend holidays, like Memorial Day. I have seen them make similar offers numerous times in the past. Having said this, there is no guarantee that Honda will offer a special financing program on all models in September for Labor Day. I don't remember it doing so last year. Of course there is a chance that it will, but even if Honda does offer some sort of large special financing program on its vehicles in September for Labor Day, with interest rates seemingly on the rise there is no guarantee that its rate will be as low as the one that it offers this weekend.

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delange · May 2005

I just called my local Honda dealer, and they didn't know anything about the 1.9% on any instock car. Do you happen to know if it was a Honda finance deal, or one that the dealer arranged? I'll go ahead and get the one we want at that rate if we can find it.

bluewolf · May 2005

Several questions for you CarMan, thanks!

I can't find proof of Accord $900 dealer cash anyplace. One internet salesman who was offering an Accord LX for $250 under invoice denied it altogether, and basically acted offended.

Is discussing Honda's 3% hold back off limits with these guys?

I realize a doc fee is non-negotiable, at least it seems that way. But why are Phx area dealer (of all brands) charging $300-400 doc fees when I read about dealers in other states charging around $50? Is this pure profit?

Lastly, why are Accord prices around $800 lower in LA than Phoenix?

dawg_fan · May 2005

i don't know why it took me so long to find this site but i'm so glad i did. I'm planning on purchasing a new GM truck (chevy or gmc).either a 1500 crew cab 4wd,or 2500 crew cab 4wd diesel, i've looked and looked but can't find any planned incentives after the current ones expire 5/31/05. From news reports i'm reading, GM is wanting to reduce incentives (rates and rebates) to stop some bleeding. Do you have any indication of what is gonna happen or should i go ahead and take the plunge memorial weekend. Good cash back combined with gm supplier discount i recieve would be ideal.

dawg_fan · May 2005

i recieve gm supplier discount (which is about $4500 off msrp). I've been told by several salespeople that this combined with any manf. rebates is the final price,no room for negotiating,then i've heard from a couple others that said there is still a little room to work... which is true????

danf1 · May 2005

Supplier pricing is preset by GM and appears on the invoice of the car. It is non negetiable. My reccomendation would be to negotiate your best price first, then mention the supplier program. That way you know which way is better for you.

dawg_fan · May 2005

any word on what is planned after memorial day weekend?? current offers expire 5/31/05

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey bluewolf. There isn't exactly $900 dealer cash on the 2005 Honda Accord this month. Dealers have the potential to earn that much through a volume based program that Honda is running this month. Most dealers will probably earn around $400 to $550 dealer cash per Accord in May through this program. $250 under invoice is a decent price for an Accord right now. I definitely would not bring up dealer holdback in your negotiations if I was in your situation. It usually only serves to offend dealers and mentioning it won't get you this car for any less money. If you aren't happy with $250 under invoice, which is fair, you can always comparison shop with a few other dealers in your area to see if you can beat it. A $400 doc fee is a little on the high side, so make sure to take this charge into account when looking at the total cost of this car and doing your comparison shopping. Accord prices may be lower in the Los Angeles area than they are in your area because there is likely stiffer competition between dealers in that area. Also, the higher sales volume that LA stores generate may enable them to qualify for higher levels of cash through the aforementioned objective based dealer cash program.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Welcome dawg_fan. The reason why you haven't seen any information out there on General Motors' future incentives is that it does not want consumers to know about them. Think about it, if consumers knew that GM's incentives were going to increase in June (as they often do as the model year progresses), they would wait to purchase and GM's sales at the end of May would tank. I doubt that GM's dealers will even know exactly what its June incentives will be like until they are published early next week.

I also have read articles that General Motors would like to cut back on its dependency on incentives in the future, but most of the articles that I have read on the subject have said that it will go about limiting incentives by lowering its MSRPs on vehicles. Since GM has not cut its prices on Silverados or Sierras yet, I don't expect its incentives on these trucks to drop in the near future. Of course, it is difficult to predict what automakers will do with their future incentives programs with 100% accuracy.

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lulu4 · May 2005

My dealer has an 05 V70 with 7K on it. What kind of discount should I expect? Also any volvo incentives on the V70? Need this info asap. Thanks alot.

sh_maestro · May 2005

The 1.9% APR that Honda advertises is only for buyers with a good credit rating, right? I'm a first time buyer with a "fair" credit history, I suppose (haven't made any major buys to date - just plane tickets and other small personal expenditures which I've paid off well in time).

In your opinion, what is the APR rate range for a buyer in my position? Is it drastically higher, or somewhat close to 1.9%? I'm not sure if this is vehicle specific, in which case I'm looking at an Accord Coupe.

Thanks in advance.

charlotte7 · May 2005

Carman, what's the likelihood of manufacturers giving incentives on new models? Specifically, I'm looking at the Mazda5 and the Chevy HHR. Do you think we can expect new models to have some rebates, or not? I have access to the S-plan and the GM Supplier Discount Plan, but I was wondering if there might be anything else.

bluewolf · May 2005

Hey thank you very much Car_Man, that was very helpful.

I won't bring up holdback, really no good reason to go there.

$295 doc fee is the most common here. Is this at all negotiable? My Dad insists it's pure profit for the dealer, but more experienced car shoppers than myself have told me I'm wasting my breath trying to get the doc fee down. Better to concentrate on the price of the car. Sound good?

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi lulu4. The problem that I have with demo vehicles is that in my opinion most dealers never seem to be willing to provide enough in the way of discounts on them to justify purchasing what is essentially a low mileage used vehicle over an otherwise equivalent brand new one. Volvo is currently providing $3,000 dealer cash on the 2005 well equipped V70 2.4, V70 2.5T, and V70 T5 and $4,000 dealer cash on the on V70 R and stripped V70 2.4 models. On the particular model that you are interested in, I personally would want a price that is below invoice and then have any available dealer cash incentives deducted. For more feedback on Volvo V70 pricing, stop by the following discussion: "Volvo XC70/V70: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hello sh_maestro. A first time car buyer may have a tough time qualifying for the 1.9% 3 year financing rate that Honda is currently offering on the 2005 Accord, Civic, and Insight and 1.9% 5 year rate that it is currently offering on the Element. Having said this, Honda often has special finance rates for consumers who don't qualify for its top credit tier. You still may be able to qualify for a low rate, just not the lowest available.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi charlotte7. For GM's and Mazda's sake, I hope that they don't come right out the gates with incentives on these cars. Brand new models like these usually sell well enough on their own that they don't have to have any support available on them for at least a couple of months. Only time will tell exactly when incentives are introduced on these cars. My educated guess is that neither will initially have any cash or low finance rates on them.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're very welcome, bluewolf. Doc fees are essentially profit for dealers (before someone chimes in and says it, I know that there are a lot of expenses associated with the sale of vehicles). I always advise consumers who come across annoyingly high doc fees to think of them as part of the total price for the vehicle that they want. If the price that the dealer that you are working with, including any little fees that they try to tack on, is lower than or similar to the total price that you could get this car for at other area dealers, then go for it.

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carbuyer25 · May 2005

I've heard that these dealer incentives vary by region. Is that true? If so, what does the Southeast (North Carolina) look like? and is it expected to change for June?

Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi carbuyer25. I am under the impression that the dealer stairstep program that Honda was running on the Accord and Civic in May was a national program. Though the exact objectives that are necessary to achieve different payments per unit do vary from dealer to dealer, and there may be come regional trends in these objectives. This program is actually scheduled to run through June 30th and Honda's special lease programs are scheduled to run through July 5th. The only May offers that are scheduled to expire are Honda's low financing rates and I am fairly sure that they will be replaced with a similar program in June.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

A number of you have recently asked about what GM's June incentives will be like. While the program is not scheduled to start until tomorrow, word has leaked that GM plans on allowing all consumers, not just its employees, to purchase vehicles through its Employee Purchase Program in June. If this is indeed the case, one should be able to get a heck of a deal on GM products next month. More details to come...

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malco · May 2005

Thanks for the info, Car_man! Please keep us informed if you hear anything more on GM in the next couple of days. I am ready to swoop on a new Silverado or Sierra 1500 extended cab if the price looks good.

Thanks again,

Malcolm

rpgivguru · June 2005

Car_man,

Thanks for the info. It is a heck of a deal for most people....

But what about those of us who are always eligible for the Employee Purchase Program?
Seems like it might be better for me to wait to get that new Colorado I've been wanting till GM offers other incentives.

What do you think?

Thanks,
rpgIVguru

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You're very welcome, Malcolm. Hopefully the rumors turn out to be true and you are able to get an outstanding deal on the truck that you've had your eye on.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You're absolutely right, rpgIVguru. If GM does end up extending its employee purchase program to the general public it doesn't do much for its employees who want to purchase a new vehicle this month. In fact, if I was a GM employee I personally would be pretty irritated with the program. It sort of cheapens one of the best perks of working for an automaker, the ability to get a better deal on vehicles than most people, and cheapens GM's product image as well. If General Motors only offers a modest level of cash incentives on the Colorado this month because it is allowing consumers to purchase through the employee program and there is not any additional incentive for GM employees to buy then you would probably be better off holding off on your purchase until mid-July and seeing what sort of incentives it provides then.

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jeffyscott · June 2005

Edmunds indicated that up to 48 months at 2.9% was available on new Jetta Value Edition in May. A couple of dealers had confimed to me that rate is available for that term. The dealer we purchased from, on May 28, indicated the 2.9% was only available up to 24 months. Their price was very good (about $50 under invoice after adding back in the "processing fee") and they were the only dealer within 100 miles with the exact car my wife wanted, so we took the deal with the 24 month financing.

Is it possible that different VW dealers would have different incentives available or is someone mistaken about the incentives that were in place?

tkcane · June 2005

Any info yet on June GM Incentives?

thanks in advance

dawg_fan · June 2005

so if i'm understanding this right, (depending on if rumors are true about employee pricing), consumers will recieve employee pricing PLUS any cash allowances on top of that... if that is the case there will definetly be a new Silverado or Sierra purchase this month.

robr2 · June 2005

Anything new on the wagon? Current is $2000 dealer cash.

96corolla · June 2005

Does anyone know what the June Toyota incentives are yet??? Specifically, I'm wondering about the Sienna. Thanks.

rpgivguru · June 2005

GM's web site is currently showing

60mo@0%, 72mo@1.9% or up to $3,000 depending on model.

For example, the above is for a Blazer.

Colorado is 2.9, 4.9 or $2,000 respectively.

Don't see any mention of Employee Purchase to the public

rpgIVguru

rpgivguru · June 2005

Should have mentinoed that the above is for the North Central region.

rpgIVguru

ray80 · June 2005

Check out media.gm.com under GM is Proud to Invite America to be Part of its Family

no1b4me1 · June 2005

Looks like GM reduced the rebates/financing and replaced the $1000 hot button cash with this offer for June. Anyone know how much off published invoice pricing the employee receives? I was looking at a LaCrosse and would have got the $1000 plus 0% financing for 36 months...now the offer is 1.9% financing for 36 months and no $1000 hot button cash. So this means if I finance 20,000 I'll be paying an extra $750 in finance costs and losing the $1000 hot button which means I better get a price at least $1750 cheaper now than I was getting in MAY just to get the same deal offered last month. Is this GM employee pricing any better than what was offered last month ?

jjunk · June 2005

Base LaCrosse CX w/ no options. MSRP - $23495 GMS - $20943.98
CSX w/ no options MSRP - $28995 GMS - $25811.48
Most factory options have a decent discount also.
CF5 Power Sunroof List - $900 Employee $774
JL4 Stabilitrak List - $495 Employee - $ 425.70

no1b4me1 · June 2005

jjunk, thanks for the info. The offer in May with 0% financing for 36 months and $1000 hot button was a better deal for the LaCrosse CX. The CX invoice is $21,554 so the GMS is $611 under invoice. So this deal is basically equivalent to paying $1100 over invoice in May. GM could have at least kept the financing the same as May, but they changed that and dropped the rebate if you were considering going that route vs. financing. Not a good deal IMHO.

jjunk · June 2005

I agree. The vehicles I was looking at last month are $1500 more this month since I already get GMS pricing. I needed $1500 less before I would purchase. Here's hoping GM will knock 3 grand off sometime soon.

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi jeffyscott. In May, Volkswagen was providing 2.9% financing for up to 4 years and 3.9% for 5 years on non-diesel 2005.5 Jettas and 1.9% for up to 4 years and 2.9% for 5 years on 2005 non-diesel Jettas. This program was available nationally, so the dealer that you purchased from definitely could have offered it to you if they had wanted to.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hello tkcane. As I mentioned yesterday, General Motors is indeed opening up its employee purchase program to all consumers this month. In addition to being able to purchase GM products at this special price, it also has some cash and financing offers out there. If you let me know which model or models you are interested in, I would be happy to tell you what other incentives are available on it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You understand GM's current incentive program correctly, dawg_fan. Even though GM eliminated the bonus cash that it was providing on its vehicles in May, it still has low finance rates and customer cash on most of its products. You definitely should be able to get a better deal on this truck that you are interested in this month than in May, plus you get the added bonus of not having to haggle to get that price.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hey robr2. The dealer cash that Volkswagen is providing on the 2005 Passat is exactly the same in June as it was last month.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Greetings 96corolla. I have seen Toyota's new June incentives, however because its program varies by region I need you to tell me what state you are in to give you an accurate idea of what it is currently like on the model that you are interested in.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

No1b4me1, while the prices that are available through GM's Employee Purchase program vary by model I believe that most consumers will be able to get a better deal on the vehicle that they are interested in than if they had taken advantage of last month's "Hot Button" promotion. Through the employee program, you can buy the Buick LaCrosse that you want at invoice minus holdback and any advertising charges plus a nominal $75 charge. I believe that GM's dealer holdback is 3% of vehicle's full MSRPs. So let's say that you would have paid a couple hundred dollars over invoice for this car last month in addition to saving that, you would save on holdback which on a mid-level LaCrosse that has an MSRP of say $26,500 would be $795. As you can see, I definitely think that you are making out better by purchasing through this new program.

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robr2 · June 2005

Thanks carman.

jeffyscott · June 2005

Thanks Car man. What would be their motivation for telling me VW was not offering 48 months at 2.9%? My understanding is there is not any sort of cash to dealer alternative on any of the VW financing, so I thought there was no benefit to them to lie to me about it. Therefore, I had assumed that what they were telling me was true.

96corolla · June 2005

I'm in Northeast PA, wondering what the incentives are on the 2005 Sienna. I've heard it is 1K cash back until mid june or something, but I'm more interesting in financing deals. It has been 3.9 for 60 and I'm wondering if its changed at all. Thanks a lot.

no1b4me1 · June 2005

Car man, in NO way is this a better deal than what was offered last month. Using the LaCrosse, since that was the car I was interested in. The offer in May was 0% for 36 months PLUS $1000 hot button cash. Now the offer in June is 1.9% for 36 months at GMS pricing. Let's say in MAY I could buy the LaCrosse for $300 over invoice, before hot button. I than apply the $1000 "hot button" incentive and I'm basically at the deal being offered right now of invoice - holdback. OK, so the deal is the same but if I want to finance I get screwed. I'll pay an additional $750 dollars in finance charges for a $20,000 loan at 1.9% vs. paying $0 in finance charges for $20,000 at 0%.
GM CHANGED THE FINANCING FROM 0 % in MAY TO 1.9 % in JUNE for a 36 month loan on the LaCrosse. They also lowered the rebate (if you were thinking of using it instead of the low financing) by $500 on the LaCrosse. I also noticed the TAHOE rebates were reduced from $4500 to $3000. This is what the GM beancounters are doing...you want Employee pricing, we'll give it you but you'll be paying the same or more than you did in MAY.
I guess if you were not paying attention to the offers in May, this might sound like a great offer, but in reality it would cost me $750 more (finance charge difference) to buy a LaCrosse now than it would have in May.

Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

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