Volkswagen

Additionally, other models that don’t get 0% APR loans, do get low-interest (typically 1.9%) loan deals. Not all styles get such deals.

The above mentioned lease rebates (typically in the $500-$1500 range) only apply if the customer leases through Volkswagen’s captive finance company, VCI. The lease deals include reduced money factors (finance rates) and improved lease-end residual values to create low monthly payments.

If you don’t understand how car leasing works, we recommend that you read the Lease Guide at LeaseGuide.com.

Here are a few examples of current Volkswagen lease deals:

2010 Volkswagen Jetta – $199 a month, 36 months, 36K miles total allowance, $1999 due at signing

2010 Volkswagen Routan S - $289 a month, 36 months, 36K miles total allowance, $2499 due at signing 

2010 Volkswagen New Beetle – $199 a month, 36 months, 36K miles total allowance, $1999 due at signing 

2010 Volkswagen GTI – $279 a month, 36 months, 36K miles total allowance, $2299 due at signing 

2010 Volkswagen Golf – $199 a month, 36 months, 36K miles total allowance, $1999 due at signing

Nissan

The Nissan deals are all for 2010 model vehicles and all deals end on 4/30/2010. And of course, as usual, you can take either the low interest loan deal or the rebate, but not both.

These Nissan incentives are fairly agressive and are genuinely good deals if you are in the market for one of their vehicles.

Here is a summary of the current Nissan deals being offered for April:

Nissan Altima – $1000 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 1.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Armada – $4000 rebate or 0% APR for 12-60 months

Nissan Frontier – $2000 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 0.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Maxima – $2500 rebate or 0% APR for 12-60 months

Nissan Murano – $1250 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 0.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Pathfinder – $2500 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 0.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Rogue – $1250 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 0.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Sentra – $2000 rebate or 0% APR for 12-60 months, 1.9% for 72 months

Nissan Titan -  $4000 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 0.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Versa – $1500 rebate or 0% APR for 12-36 months, 0.9% for 48-60 months

Nissan Xterra – $2250 rebate or 0% APR for 12-60 months

You can get free price quotes on any of the above cars from Edmunds.com.The quotes will automatically include any cash-back rebates or discounts that are currently available.

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.

Honda

What is interesting about these deals is that they are offering what they call a “0-0-0-0″ deal. This means zero down payment, zero due at signing (except for local registration and tag fees), zero security fee, and zero first month’s payment.

These are 36 month leases and 12K miles allowance per year (36K miles total).

These are genuinely good lease deals, as are all Honda deals, that include a nice price (cap cost) discount, a nice low money factor (interest), and a nice high lease-end residual. Combined, these factors make for a low monthly payment. If you don’t understand how car leasing works, we strongly suggest you read the Lease Guide at LeaseGuide.com.

Here are some of the current Honda “0-0-0-0″ lease deals:

2010 Honda Accord Coupe – $280 a month

2010 Honda Accord Sedan – $250 a month

2010 Honda Crosstour – $390 a month

2010 Honda CR-V – $300 a month

2010 Honda CR-V 4WD – $310 a month

2010 Honda Civic Coupe – $210 a month

2010 Honda Civic Sedan – $190 a month

2010 Honda Element – $320 a month

2010 Honda Fit – $250 a month

2010 Honda Insight – $240 a month

2010 Honda Odyssey – $300 a month

2010 Honda Pilot – $350 a month

2010 Honda Ridgeline – $460 a month

If you are willing to make a down payment (cap cost reduction) and make your first month’s payment on these deals, you can lower your monthly payment substantially.

If you don’t understand car leasing, we strongly suggest you learn how it works and how to determine if it is right for you. We recommend that you visit LeaseGuide.com for a free car leasing guide.

However, in these times of slow sales for all, BMW manages to slip in some pretty good deals without being too obvious. The current deals — good for March and April 2010 — include various combinations of  ”Spring Drive Credit” (wouldn’t want to call it a rebate, would we), owner loyalty cash credits,  low-interest loans, and special lease deals.

In some cases, BMW makes it a little complicated with some models that have “secret” factory-to-dealer cash (they call it Build Out Dealer Cash) that can’t be combined with some special financing and lease deals. Furthermore, some deals are only available in selected regions of the country.

Here are some examples of current BMW new-car deals:

BMW 128I coupe – $1500 credit and 0.9% APR loan for 24 months (2.9% for 60 months), or $339 a month special lease

BMW 135i couple – $1500 credit and 0.9% APR loan for 24 months (2.9% for 60 months), or $399 a month special lease

BMW 335i sedan – $2500 credit and 0.9 APR loan for 24 months (3.9% for 60 months), or $419 a month special lease

BMW 335i coupe – $2500 credit and 0.9 APR loan for 24 months (3.9% for 60 months), or $439 a month special lease

BMW 550i sedan – $1500 owner loyalty cash, 2.9% APR loan for up to 60 months, $6000 factory-to-dealer cash, or $809 a month special lease

BMW 650i coupe –  2.9% APR loan rate for up to 60 months, $10,000 factory-to-dealer cash, or $1129 a month special lease

BMW Z4 sDrive351 convertible – $2500 credit and 2.9% APR loan for 24/60 months, or $679 a month special lease

You can get free price quotes on any of the above BMW vehicles from Edmunds.com.The quotes will automatically include any cash-back rebates or discounts that are currently available.