April 2010 Car Deals and Incentives?

April 6, 2010

april car deals Just like every month, we don’t know exactly what car manufacturers are going to offer us next month (April) in the way of rebates, low-interest loans, special lease deals, or whatever they may choose to throw our way.

Most of the current incentives end on March 31, 2010, which means the absolute earliest we’ll hear about any new incentives will be April 1. However, most manufacturers wait a few days into the month before announcing new deals. This allows them to analyze the results of last month’s plan, which helps them figure out what to do with this month’s plan. If they see some things that worked, they’ll continue or improve them. Things that didn’t work or were too expensive will get discarded.

[ UPDATE 4/6/2010: As of this date, major car makers have not yet announced incentives for April 2010. Are they waiting to see what the other guys, like Toyota, are going to do first? Somebody has to make the first move. On the other hand, sales in March were much improved, which might mean fewer incentives this month. But, again, nobody knows for sure. ]

[ UPDATE 4/7/2010: Toyota announced today that they will continue most March incentives, including 2 years free maintenance, through April. ]

Unfortunately, there is no “secret” source of information about new monthly incentive programs. Car makers don’t even tell their dealers until the day the programs become effective. We will know when the dealers know. Keep watching this web site for new announcements. We’ll tell you which programs are worth considering and which are not.

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, we expect some excellent incentives this year (and we’ve already seen some good examples) because new car sales still haven’t recovered from the dismal situation in 2009. Although a recovery seems to be taking place, it’s happening very slowly and car manufacturers will surely want to help it along with an offering of incentives.

The frustrating part for automotive consumers is whether to accept from among the current deals and buy (or lease) now — or is it better to wait and hope the deals will get better sometime later. There is no clear answer to that question. Since we don’t know exactly what future deals (if any) will look like, it’s best to make your decisions on what you do know — what you know now. If you are in the market for a new car now and can get a good deal now, go for it and don’t worry about the future. Enjoy your new car while others are still waiting and hoping.