Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

paul138 · June 2005

Car Man,

so when you say "resonable" you mean I could probabaly do a little better?
Becuase I HATE leaving $$ on the table
I have not given them a counter offer yet.
And do dealers really deal a little more at the end of the month?
becuase we plan to buy next week on the 29th or 30th.
thanks
Paul

darius2k · June 2005

I'm rather new at this and have a few questions:

1. I notice that the 'true market value' price on Edmunds for a Kia I'm interested in is $16,046, and that they have a cash back rebate for $1,750. Should I expect to be able to get the car at (or near) this price AND get the $1,750 rebate as well? Or will the dealer insist on adding $1,750 to whatever price we negotiate on in order to 'balance out' the rebate?

2. Because of where i work, I have access to discounts with certain manufacturers, such as Ford (x-plan), Nissan, Mazda (s-plan), etc. The discount is usually a certain percentage above invoice price. Question is - if I use those discounts, should I expect to have access to whatever rebates the manufacturer is offering? For example, Ford is currently offering $2,500 cash back for the Focus. If I could use my employee discount plus get the $2,500 rebate, that would be pretty sweet:)

qbrozen · June 2005

1. usually edmunds takes this into account on TMV, but you will see it as a separate line item on the breakdown on the MSRP/INVOICE/TMV final calculation screen.

2. Yes, employee or supplier pricing is BEFORE rebates. And, yes, you still qualify for them, so you take the employee/supplier price and subtract rebates.

olysan · June 2005

Been considering an expedition, and just got an interesting offer from Ford:

"Dear Mike,
Thank you for your recent request for more information about a Ford Division product. As a result of your Internet inquiry, Ford Division is pleased to extend to you an exclusive Internet Bonus Incentive offer on 2005 model year Explorer and Expedition products. We hope you'll take advantage of this special offer from Ford Division:

Purchase or lease a 2005 Explorer or Expedition, financed through Ford Credit, now through 8/31/2005 and Ford will pay your first two months payments (Up to $1,200) and offer you a $500 Visa® Reward Card on top of the current Ford Division National incentive offers.

Here's what this incredible offer means to you today (Up to $6,700):

2005 SUV Selldown Internet offer (Up to $1,700)
 Up to $1,200 to Pay Your First Two Months Payments
 & $500 Ford Visa® Reward Card
Plus Ford Division National Incentives
 Up to $5,000 Retail Customer Cash Offers*

To take advantage of this exclusive Internet offer, print this e-mail and take it to your preferred Ford Dealer. If you are unable to view this e-mail, click the link at the top of the page to view an on-line version.

To learn more about available Ford Division National incentive offers, click here."

Regards
Mike

kyfdx · June 2005

Basically... Ford Credit is offering you an extra $1700 rebate if you finance the new Expedition with them at market interest rates.

That might be as high as 7.9%...

olysan · June 2005

Could be a good deal if the rate is reasonable. There's a $5000 rebate in lieu of low aprs so I'm probably looking at market rates anyway.

Pet peeve....With all the information available today, it's still seems extremely difficult to get current/accurate finance rates.

Mike

ifyoubuildit · June 2005

If in any way you plan on payiing if off soon, take the rebate and ford financing - you'll come up ahead

gobigblew · June 2005

I have a simple question about rebates. The current rebates for Toyota ends in about a week or so. Can I order a Sienna or purchase a vehicle on its way to a dealership and still get the rebate even if the van won't show up until middle or end of July? I was told by a dealer that even though the van I want is on its way, the rebate won't apply if it shows up after the rebate expires.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

toyotaken · June 2005

Chris,

The rebates are set by the manufacturer and run from month-to-month based upon the date the vehicle was actually picked up for delivery. So if you pick up your new van in July the July incentives will prevail.

Hope this helps.

Ken

boltguy · June 2005

I would guess that the rebates apply to whatever date is on the loan paperwork. I don't know if it would be possible to sign the contract prior to the dealership actually receiving the vehicle. Maybe that isn't such a good idea anyway, as you wouldn't have a chance to inspect the car first.

delrick · June 2005

I have experience with GM vehicles where the deal held so long as the dealer recieved the factory invoice before the cutiff.

At least twice, I have had vehicles in transit when the "deal" expired, but was able to close on the deal terms because the dealer had the fax notice in hand.

nortsr1 · June 2005

GM in the Driveway certificates. Can you please tell me if I use the GM Diveway certificate...Is the dealer then forbidden to charge any extra fees except for tax, tags and title? I know when I purchased a Ford with the X-Plan, the dealer was not allowed to charge any "extra" fees.
With the GM Supplier price now offered by GM, the dealers seem to be able to charge a 499.00 fee (Florida area dealers) that is pre-typed on the sales contract.When I questioned this fee,the dealer told me that even the actual GM employees have to pay this fee (yet I had a dealer about 100 miles away explicitly tell me that there are "NO Additional fees'" except for the tax, tags and title)...so I got up and walked out. What is trhe RIGHT and HONEST way for the GM in the Drieway plan to be honored???

jjunk · June 2005

For a true employee purchase with a gm authorization number the following applies.

"Documentation fees
Effective September 1, 2004, dealers will be permitted to assess up to $75 in documentary fees on each delivery to an eligible purchaser under the terms of these programs, unless otherwise provided by state or local laws or regulations. Each dealer is responsible for complying with applicable laws and regulations."

Obviously this doesn't hold true for this promotion (or many dealers are very publicly breaking the rules) but I would argue the point. If the dealer won't budge walk and find another who will.

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Paul, it definitely does not hurt to purchase vehicles at the end of the month. Dealers definitely seem to be a little more willing to negotiate then in an effort to squeeze a few more sales in right before the buzzer so to speak. $450 over invoice is a good price for a Nissan Maxima. I suppose that you may be able to do slightly better than this, but not much. For more feedback on what others have recently paid for similar vehicles, make sure to stop by the following discussion: "Nissan Maxima: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi darius2k. You never mentioned which specific Kia model you are interested in, but I suspect that one would be able to get most Kia models at slightly over dealer invoice before the deduction of any available cash incentives right now. Taking the $1,750 customer cash that is available on the vehicle that you want into account, you probably would be able to get it for around $1,500 under invoice. As far as the employee or supplier purchase plans for the other brands that you mentioned go, yes any available cash incentives should be deducted from the selling price of the car or truck that you buy through these programs.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Thanks for the info, Mike. That is a heck of a deal. If you are in the market for an Expedition now is a pretty good time to get one.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi Chris. Most likely, you will only be able to take advantage of the cash incentives that are available on the vehicle that you are interested in when you physically take delivery of it. Having said this, I would not worry too much about missing out on the customer cash that is available on the Toyota Sienna if I was in your situation. While there are no guarantees, there is a very good chance that Toyota will extend or perhaps even enhance the cash incentives that it is providing on this model in July.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi nortsr1. It would not surprise me if a GM dealer tried to tack an additional fee onto the purchase of a vehicle using an "In the Driveway" certificate, but I do not think that they are supposed to do so. With GM's current employee purchase program, dealers are only allowed to tack on a $75 fee.

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nortsr1 · June 2005

Thankyou. I walked and am going to another dealer.

paul138 · June 2005

car man

thanks for all your help on my many questions!!!
Paul

mgordineer · June 2005

Car Man

Today I was in a Honda dealership ready to purchase a new CRV. To make a long story short, they did not meet my price. I was then told, Honda does not over price their vehicles, comparing themselves to American made cars. Is this true or was I fed a line?

Thanks
MGordineer

kyfdx · June 2005

Hard to know.... What was the MSRP and what was your offer?

It sounds like a line, but with some truth to it...

mgordineer · June 2005

Thanks for such a quick response.

The sticker price on the CRV LX was 21,910. They came down only $1230. I expected at least $3000.

mgordineer

kyfdx · June 2005

Invoice on that model is $20,280.. In this case, the dealership was being honest with you... The better deals that are reported here are right around invoice... So, maybe only $1600-$1700 to play with here...

You can read up here, and find out what other Town Hall members are paying:

Honda CR-V: Prices Paid & Buying Experience

There are no other dealer incentives in effect on the CR-V at this time...

regards,
kyfdx

marywilson · June 2005

Hi:

I purchased a Chevy Maxx a few months ago, and I think it is a wonderful vehicle. Now my sister is in the market for a new car, I have recommended Chevy Maxx for her.
When I bought mine, my local dealer gave me 1500 off MSRP, plus GM had a 2000 incentive on Maxx, for a total discount of 3500 off.
Can anyone answer if this current employee discount price has already included all applicable incentives? List price is 23360, and employee price is 18800.
I did read through two previous posts, 2970, regarding this employee price can take additional discount from current incentive, but two dealers near me said this is it.
Whatever the website shows is the final selling price, no additional discount.
This is contrary to whatother members have posted.
Can anyone provides more insights?

Thanks to all

toyotaken · June 2005

Different areas of the country have different incentives from the manufacturers. The GMS pricing should be the same regardless of where you are, but other rebates, or special apr's may vary substantially from one area to another.

Hope this helps.

Ken

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You're welcome, nortsr1.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

No problem Paul. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi MGordineer. This sounds like typical sales talk to me. A base Honda CR-V has a spread of $1,797 between its full MSRP and dealer invoice prices. Taking a look at some similar offerings from domestic automakers, a base Chevrolet Equinox has a profit margin of around $1,817, a base Ford Escape has a margin of around $1,608, and a base Jeep Liberty has a margin of around only $1,173. As you can see, there is as much room for negotiation or more on the 2005 Honda CR-V as there is on much of its domestic competition. Having said this, the demand for the CR-V seems to be greater than it is for any of the other vehicles that I mentioned and dealers seem to be getting much closer to full MSRP on it than they are on the others. The biggest difference between the CR-V and domestic products is that Honda is not currently offering any cash incentives on it, while GM, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler have cash incentives totaling thousands of dollars on their small SUVs. These cash incentives will dramatically increase the spread between their full MSRPs and selling prices. There's no way that you will be able to negotiate a discount of $3,000 on a Honda CR-V right now. The discount that you were quoted looks fairly reasonable, but you may be able to beat it by a couple hundred dollars if you were to comparison shop with a few other dealers. For more feedback on how much you should pay for this truck, make sure to stop by the following discussion: "Honda CR-V: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hello marywilson. General Motors' employee purchase price for the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx should already include the $2,000 customer cash that is currently available on it. There is an easy way to check if the employee purchase price that your sister was quoted on this vehicle is correct. This program allows consumers to purchase new GM vehicles at dealer invoice minus holdback minus any available cash incentives plus a $75 charge. You can find out what this car's invoice price is by looking it up in the following section of this site: Edmunds.com New Vehicle Pricing. Once you have this number, subtract dealer holdback. You can find out how it is calculated by visiting the following page: Edmunds.com - Dealer Holdback.

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nortsr1 · June 2005

think that if GM extends their program for another month or so, do you believe they will "UP" the 2000.00 incentive on the discontinued Pontiac Sunfire and Chevy cavalier???

steine13 · June 2005

"The sticker price on the CRV LX was 21,910. They came down only $1230. I expected at least $3000."

At that point, they'd be paying you money to take the car. No way.

For any car you're interested in, find the sticker price (that you often have to do on the lot), then find the invoice price online (right here at Edmunds is good), find the incentives, if any, and then look around in the forums to find out what the going rate is.

Since you've made the excellent step to come to Edmunds, you should have no trouble negotiating these steps. The idea of $3k off is not going to happen and amounts to a waste of time for you and the dealer.

BTW, incentives are sometimes tricky to find. Always go to the manuf. web site, go to Edmunds (I despise the format, but the info is there), go to cars dot com, and then come right to this board and see what's going on. Also the "prices paid" boards, keeping in mind some of the postings there are a bunch of hoo-hoo.

CRV's are a GREAT deal at invoice + a few hundred.
If you can get past the exterior. Ugh.

-Mathias
(who has a Villager w/ the gold package AND a Vibe and shouldn't make remarks about exterior design..)

daron · June 2005

How do I find out if there are any FTD incentives for the 2005 Camry?

Thanks

D

marywilson · June 2005

Thank You Car_man:

This is a good deal. I think she will end up buying a Malibu Maxx just like me.

Mary

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

That is a very good question, nortsr1. Let's put it this way, I don't think that you have anything to lose by waiting to purchase your new car if GM does indeed decide to extend its Employee Purchase Price for Everyone program. At the very least, it would probably continue the $2,000 customer cash that it is currently providing on these cars and possibly enhance it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi daron. I do not believe that Toyota is providing any dealer cash incentives on the 2005 Camry at this time. For more information on what sort of incentives are available on this car in your area, stop by the Edmunds.com Incentives Page and enter your zipcode.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You're very welcome Mary.

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jay46 · June 2005

Mr. Car Man,

Question does Acura have any current incentives or special financing for the Acura RL? I'm looking to buy soon in the Northern California region. I heard that the car is not selling as well as expected. Is buying the car at invoice possible. Thanks

dsayed · June 2005

The $3500 rebate or 1.9/2.9% financing is supposed to expire today.
Does anyone know what the July incentives will be?

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hello jay46. I've heard that in mid-June Acura introduced a $2,500 cash incentive on leases of the 2005 RL. this is the only incentive that is available on this car and it is actually the first time that Acura has provided any sort of support on the redesigned version of this RL. Most of Acura's incentives are scheduled to run through July 5th. It is difficult to say at this time what its new July incentives on the RL will be like. Please feel free to check back with me towards the end of the week though and I will be more than happy to fill you in on what I have been able to find out about its new program. Talk to you then.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi dsayed. I actually believe that Volkswagen's June incentives on the 2005 Touareg are scheduled to run through July 5th. I haven't seen Volkswagen's new July incentive program yet, but I suspect that I will have a good idea of what it is like by the end of the week. Please feel free to post a reminder in this discussion for me then and I will be more than happy to fill you in on what I have been able to find out.

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bjp4 · July 2005

Im going to purchase a Jeep. Until the fifth, jeep is offering 1000 cash incentive. I read that they are probably going to implement employee pricing for everyone, similar to Gm, on the july 6th. however, they havent made it official publically and all the reports i have read indicate that the program is not a 100% go yet. Should i purchase my vehicle now in order to get the 1000 off before it expires? Should i make a deal now asking the dealer for a price similar to the employee price in hopes that the delear will make the deal knowing that prices will drop in two days anyway? or should i just wait and give up the grand? Anybody have anymore info on Chrysler's "employee discount for all"? thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi bjp4. If I was in the market for a new Jeep, I personally would definitely wait until DaimlerChrysler rolls out its new July incentives on the 6th. While there is no guarantee that its new July program will be more attractive than it was in June, I would bet a ton of money that it will be. There's no guarantee that the $1,000 cash incentive that is currently available on the model that you are interested in will go away. It is extremely possible that it will be available in addition to the special employee purchase price that DaimlerChrysler will almost certainly introduce for July. If you would like, stop back in this discussion in a couple of days and I will be more than happy to fill you in on what I have been able to find out about the new incentives that are available on the truck that you are interested in.

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teflon80 · July 2005

Any word on the July incentives for VW Passat gls FWD ? sedan and wagon respectively?

Thanks!

glockfan · July 2005

Carman,

Any word on the GM Incentives for July? Do you think they will ever offer the discounts and the 0% interest?? Thanks

ray80 · July 2005

Gm has announced return (or continuation) of employee discount program from July 6 through Aug 1.

adiehl13 · July 2005

Anyone hear what Toyota is doing after today re: incentives? Looking to purchase a Sienna. $750.00 cash back in my area now, but with the 2006 model rolling into lots in the near future I'm hoping that the incentive will be even better. Also, is it really better to wait until the end of the month? I'm playing a tough game right now in that whatever is left of 2005 models is it.

nortsr1 · July 2005

I also read in the DetrioitFreePress, that not only has GM extended their GMS Plan until Aug.1st...but that Ford has the Family plan this month (I think that is the X-Plan, but I am not certain). Anyone??? They also said Chrysler will announce something this week.

purplebug · July 2005

Okay,cheapo that I am. I ordered my car in May, if it is delivered in July, or whenever the new employee pricing is available, do I qualify for that program?

Thanks in advance

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi teflon80. I haven't seen Volkswagen's new July incentives yet, but I believe that they will be introduced today. Please feel free to post a reminder in this discussion in a day or two and I will be more than happy to fill you in on what the new program is like for the car that you are interested in. Talk to you soon.

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Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments

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