Archive for December, 2009
How to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost
Auto insurance is one of those necessary evils of owning and driving cars. Most states require at least some liability insurance to protect other people in case you cause an accident. Although the laws don’t require you have collision or comprehensive coverage, most auto loan companies and banks do.
Keep in mind that car insurance costs [...]
What is Gap Insurance? Why is it Important?
Many car buyers (and leasers) have never heard of gap insurance. But it should be an important consideration in any car buying or leasing process.
What is gap insurance? Why would you need it?
Let’s say you bought a new car and paid $30,000. You made $2000 down payment and financed the remaining $28,000 with an auto loan, [...]
Saturn and Pontiac – Get $7000+ Off
In an unusual move today, General Motors let dealers know that they would receive $7000 for each Saturn or Pontiac they still have in inventory.
This is money they will use to provide customer price discounts.
It’s being called a “fire sale.”
As you may know, the Saturn and Pontiac brands have been discontinued by GM. However, dealers [...]
Should You Lease Your Next Car?
Many people could easily qualify and be paying far less in monthly car payments if they leased their car.
However, they don’t because they 1) don’t understand leasing and are afraid of it, 2) think it’s like throw-your-money-away apartment leasing (which it’s not), 3) think it’s only for businesses and tax savings, or 4) have gotten [...]
Hidden Dealer Cash for Big New-Car Discounts
It’s called “dealer cash” or “marketing support” or “factory-to-dealer rebate” but it’s all the same thing. It’s “secret” money that car manufacturers give to dealers for each car sold, out of sight to dealers’ customers.
When a dealer or manufacturer has too many of certain vehicles and sales are slow, the manufacturer will encourage him to [...]
Great Deals on “Car of the Year”
You might know, or not, that Motor Trend magazine each year bestows it’s prestigous Car of the Year award to the vehicle it deems best overall in a multitude of categories.
They’ve been doing it for 60 years and their opinions are well respected in the industry, and by automotive buyers.
Some of the categories that Motor [...]
Auto Insurance Can Affect Your Car Deal
Most new car buyers don’t think about the cost of auto insurance until after the purchase, which can often be a mistake.
As you may already know, the cost of car insurance can vary greatly between different makes and models. If you buy a car that has high insurance premiums, the total of your car payments and insurance payments [...]
Lease Takeovers for Great Car Deals
Most people who are thinking about buying a new car want the most car for the lowest possible monthly payment.
One way to do that is to use the information on this web site regarding which brands and models have current manufacturers’ incentives — rebates, bonuses, low interest loans.
These deals are only good for a [...]
Best 2009 Year-End Deals on New Cars
Nearly all car manufacturers add special year-end incentives at the end of the calendar year, normally a slow sales period. This year — 2009 — is no exception. The best deals are coming from American car makers such as Ford, GM, and Chrysler.
If you want to take advantage of special end-of-year deals, you have to act [...]
Understand How Auto Loans Work and Get the Best Deals
Unless you are paying hard cash for your new or used car, your auto loan financing can make the difference between a great deal and a bad deal.
An inexperienced car buyer might assume that an auto loan is nothing more than working out an affordable monthly payment amount with his dealer.
However, an affordable payment doesn’t [...]
2010 Car Deals – Better or Worse?
As we enter the first months of 2010, we find the automobile industry in sad shape. Sales are at record lows. Entire brands, such as Pontiac and Saturn, have disappeared. Manufacturing has been cut back on remaining brands. Fewer models are being offered. Dealerships have gone bankrupt or cut out by their car makers.
That’s the [...]
Cheap Cars – Best Car Deals
Where are the cheap cars?
Where are the best deals?
Everybody knows that all new cars have window stickers that display MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price), which is the full retail price of the car. Of course, we all know that nobody pays full retail price anymore.
So, who and what determines the actual price we pay for [...]
Best Car Rebates for December
Car sales in December are typically slow. So car manufacturers and dealers try to do the things that help improve sales during this period. One of those things is a factory-to-customer rebate incentive.
Rebates come from car manufacturers as a way of reducing vehicle purchase prices, which helps increase sales. When a customer buys a car, [...]
0% APR Loan Deals – Good Deal or Not?
Car makers are offering 0% APR loans (zero percent interest) as incentives on many makes and models during these times of slow car sales. Sounds great. But is it really? What does it really mean?
Let’s take an example in which you agree to buy a car and finance $15,000 for 48 months at 6.70% APR [...]
Good Chrysler Deals for December
Chrysler has announced new incentives on its line of vehicles for December 2009. These incentives expire on January 4, 2010.
The new Chrysler incentives are in the form of direct factory-to-customer rebates, zero-percent loans, low-interest loans, and “hidden” factory-to-dealer rebates that are usually applied as price discounts.
The Chrysler company has announced no special lease deals because [...]
Dodge Adds New Incentives for December
Dodge has announced new incentives for the month of December 2009 (expires on 01/04/2010).
Generally, the new incentives make for some very good deals on many models, especially on leftover 2009 models. Don’t expect any incentives, however, on the hot selling Challenger.
Mostly, the Dodge deals come in the form of direct customer rebates and 0% APR [...]
Where Are the Car Lease Deals?
Currently (December 2009) there are a good number of good car lease deals available from several car companies. These are special deals with lower than normal monthly payments.
Among the companies with good lease incentives for December are:
Land Rover – 2009/2010 Range Rover and 2009/2010 Range Rover Sport models
Jaguar – 2010 XF and XK models
Acura – 2009 [...]