Everywhere.

Nearly every car company is currently offering incentives of some kind. Deals are actually not hard to find if you know where to look.

Some of these deals are outstanding, some very good, and others only so-so.

Luxury Brands

High-end luxury car companies, such as Porsche, Audi, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Mercedes, don’t normally offer common incentives for fear of looking like a discount car brand. When they do, it’s in the form of “bonuses” or “allowances” but not “rebates.” Or it might be in the form of special leases, where the “discounting” is not so obvious.

For example, at the time of this writing, Mercedes is offering a number of very attractive lease deals across its model lines. They are also offering 1.9% APR loan deals but in these days of record-low finance rates, 1.9% is good but not really an outstanding deal, especially when it’s limited to 24-36 month loans. The lease deals are better.

Same for Infiniti, who is currently (January 2012) offering a number of very good lease deals (all $0 cash due at signing) on all 2012 models except hybrids, and 1.9% APR loans for up to 60 months (better than Mercedes). Depending on where you live, there may be deals on left-over 2011 models.

Audi currently has no incentives for January (at the time of this writing) but even those for December 2011 were not very interesting – a few mediocre lease deals in which they make the first month’s payment and waive the security deposit (who doesn’t). Not much to get excited about.

BMW actually has some outstanding lease deals going on at this time (see New BMW Lease Offers for January) and some factory-to-dealer cash on a few models that translate into purchase price discounts.

Acura offers good lease deals on one selected style within each of its model lines. These are of the $0-$0-$0 variety ($0 down, $0 first payment, $0 security deposit) and are genuinely good deals.

Lexus has no deals worth mentioning, except possibly on a few left-over last-year’s models, or certified used cars.

Land Rover has lease deals on the Ranger Rover Sport and LR4 that are only rated Good by LeaseGuide.com, as well as 1.9% APR loan rates for only 36 months. Nothing here to jump up and down about.

Non-Luxury Brands

The very best deals in 2012 will come from American car brands such as Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, and Ram. They offered some of the best incentives in the business in 2011 and are expected to do the same or better in 2012.

The most recent deals from these American companies include generous rebates, 0% APR loans (and other low-interest loans), special lease deals (although usually not as good as foreign car brands), and factory-to-dealer cash that dealers use to discount prices. Cadillac is offering a number of good $0 down leases. Left-over 2011 models are especially good deals right now.

At this time, Honda and Toyota are offering a few good deals, especially on leases, but you’ll have to wait until they’ve fully recovered from last years disasters in Japan before you see the best deals. Honda continues to offer their popular “$0 due at signing“ leases. These are genuinely good lease deals — much better than customers could negoitate for themselves.

Hyundai is coming on strong with some great deals on selected models. Their award-winning Elantra model is now being offered with a special lease deal (see Car of the Year for Only $179).

Nissan has 0% APR loan rates — for up to 60 months — on nearly every model, including 2012 and left-over 2011 models.

Subaru’s current incentives include 42-month lease deals on one style of each of its models or 1.9% APR loan rates. However, we don’t recommend 42-month leases on vehicles that only have 36-month warranties. You’re exposed for 6 months to paying for expensive out-of-warranty repairs near the end of the lease.

Mazda currently has a whole variety of new incentives including a number of moderately attractive 36 month leases with relatively low down payment requirements, a few 1.9% APR loan deals for up to 60 months, and a number of 0.0% APR loan deals that are combined with up to $1000 customer cash (rebate).

Mitsubishi is offering outstanding 24-month leases on its 2012 Lancer ES and SE ($189/month) and Lancer Sportback ES ($196/month). There are also 0% APR loan deals for up to 36 months on 2012 models and up to 60 months on 2011 models. Also available are rebates of up to $3500 on 2011 models and customer loyalty bonuses of $500. All in all, a nice set of deals from Mitsubishi.

Volkswagen usually has a nice selection of special lease deals across its model line. These are nearly always good deals and are better than customers could negotiate for themselves. They also offer a number of 0% APR loans for up to 72 months, which is a bit unusual.

Saab, the car company, has filed bankruptcy but dealers still have left-over vehicles at low, low prices.

Fiat has announced new $0 down leases its 500 and 500c models.

Deals Can Change

As you probably already know, car deals and incentives can (and usually do) change month-to-month, and sometimes week-to-week. Deals can vary depending on the region of the country you live in and can differ by dealer.

One of the best ways to know exactly what deals are best in your area is to use an online service such as TrueCar that not only shows you what local people are paying for specific car makes and models, but also the lowest price you should expect to pay, factoring in all current incentives. It’s free and they give you a guaranteed price quote that will be honored at local dealers.

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Fortunately, a number of car makers announced deals at the beginning of November that are good through December 2011. At the time of this writing, we expect to know about deals from all the car companies during the first week of December.

General Motors (Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC) in particular has a number of good $0-down lease deals on selected models good until 1/3/2012. Actually, it’s even better; it’s zero cash due at lease signing — sign and drive — which means no down payment, no security deposit, and no first month’s payment — on most but not all of the lease deals. There are also a few 0% APR loan deals.

Of the companies who have already announced new-car incentives that we’ve previously discussed on this web site are:

BMW (http://best-car-deals.buyerreports.org/bmw-offers-outstanding-leases-november-and-december)

Chevrolet (http://best-car-deals.buyerreports.org/new-chevrolet-deals-for-november-and-december-2011)

Honda (http://best-car-deals.buyerreports.org/special-honda-leases-for-november-and-december)

Other December car deals are available as follows:

2012 Buick Regal w/LEA – Special lease: $313/month, 39 months, 39K miles, $0 due at lease signing

2012 Buick Regal w/LHU – Special lease: $337/month, 39 months, 39K miles, $0 due at lease signing

2012 Buick Lacrosse - Special lease: $331/month, 39 months, 39K miles, $0 due at lease signing

2012 Buick Enclave – 0% APR loan rate for up to 60 months

2011 Buick Lucerne – 0% APR loan rate for up to 60 months

2012 Cadillac CTS Coupe – Special lease: $419/month, 36 months, 30K miles, 0$ due at lease signing

2012 Cadillac CTS Coupe – 0% APR loan rate for up to 36 months

2012 Cadillac Escalade – Special lease: $749/month, 36 months, 30K miles, $0 due at signing

2012 Cadillac Escalade – 0% APR loan rate for up to 36 months

2012 Cadillac SRX – Special lease: $479/month, 36 months, 30K miles, $0 due at signing

2012 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe – Special lease: $288/month, 39 months, 39K miles, $0 due at lease signing

2012 Chevrolet Corvette – Special lease: $559/month, 39 months, 39K miles

2012 Chevrolet Cruze – Special lease: $199/month, 39 months, 39k miles

2012 Chevrolet Impala – Special lease: $299/month, 39 months, 39K miles

2012 Chevrolet Impala – 0% APR loan rate for up to 60 months

2012 Chevrolet Malibu – Special lease: $229/month, 39 months, 39K miles, $0 due at lease signing

2012 Chevrolet Malibu – 0% APR loan rate for up to 60 months

Similar deals are also available on selected 2012 GMC models. Toyota and Volkswagen have a few current 0% APR loans deals on selected models that are good through December, but we expect more incentives to be announced in the first week of December.

As we always remind our readers, car deals and incentives sometimes vary from region to region.

We also remind that special lease deals and zero-percent loan rates are only available to “qualified” customers, which means customers who have a good credit score. It’s always a good idea to know your current credit score before you visit a dealer to get any special deal. Fortunately, you can get your most recent credit score online at web sites such as FreeCreditScore.comwhere you can see your score immediately with a simple sign on.

Stay tuned as we announce more new-car incentives later.

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BMW

They’ve just announced some of the best leases we’ve seen this year that are good during November and through the end of 2011.

Deals are especially good on 2011 3-Series models. Here are some examples, all for 36 months, 30,000 miles:

2011 BMW 328i Sedan – $349/month, $3574 cash due at signing, plus $1500 allowance

2011 BMW 328i xDrive Sedan – $369/month, $3594 cash due at signing, plus $1500 allowance

2011 BMW 335i Sedan – $409/month, $4134 cash due at signing,  plus $1500 allowance and $1305 option credit

2011 BMW 335i xDrive Sedan – $429/month, $4154 cash due at signing, plus $1500 allowance and $1840 option credit

2011 BMW 335d Sedan – $429/month, $3654 cash due at signing, plus $1500 allowance and $3500 ECO credit

There are similar good lease deals on 50 different 2012 BMW models, in every model line from the 1-Series to the Z4. Depending on the Series, there are credit allowances that range from $500 to $2500, in addition to option credits for most models of up to $3500.

All of the current BMW lease deals have been evaluated by LeaseGuide.com using its unique Lease Value Calculator that scores and rates any car lease as Poor / Average / Good / Excellent / Outstanding when compared to average leases. Generally, all the current 2011 BMW lease deals rate Outstanding —  as good as it gets. Nearly all of the 2012 BMW lease deals rate Excellent. All of the deals are well worth considering and are much better than a customer could negotiate for himself.

Folks, if you have been thinking about leasing a BMW, now is a good time to do it. It just doesn’t get any better. Also know that BMW provides free scheduled maintenance on these vehicles for 4 years or 50,000 miles, along with free roadside assistance. 

Of course these special deals are available only to “qualified” customers, which means customers having a good credit score. If you are interested in taking advantage of one these deals, it’s a good idea to know your latest credit score before you visit your dealer. You credit score is available online at services such as FreeCreditScore.com. You can see your most current score immediately.

For information and details about finding $0 zero down car leases, visit LeaseGuide.com.

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Honda

They are offering their famous incredibly attractive car lease deals that require no cash money at lease signing (except for the usual official tag and registration fees).

This means $0 for first month’s payment, $0 down payment (lease cap cost reduction), and $0 for security deposit. It’s what they call their $0-$0-$0 lease that other companies only rarely offer. Honda offers these special leases almost monthly.

The Honda leases are for 36 months and 12,000 miles/year. By not paying the first month’s payment, you only make 35 payments, not 36.

For August (until September 6, 2011) the current Honda $0-$0-$0 lease deals are as follows:

2011 Honda Accord LX Sedan (5-speed Auto) – $240/month lease

2011 Honda Accord LX-S Coupe (5-speed Auto) – $270/month lease

2011 Honda CR-V 2WD LX (5-speed Auto) – $280/month lease

2011 Honda Crosstour EX 2WD (5-speed Auto) – $310/month lease

2011 Honda Pilot 2WD LX (5-speed Auto) – $340/month lease

2011 Honda Odyssey LX (5-speed Auto) – $360/month lease

Of the above leases, the Accord and Crosstour deals are the best, rated as “Outstanding” by LeaseGuide.com. The CR-V, Pilot, and Odyssey all are rated “Excellent”, with the Pilot being the best deal of these three.

If you are in the market for a great car lease deal, always check with Honda because they consistently, month after month, offer some of the best deals in the business.

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Of course, Honda and Toyota were hit particularly hard in the March earthquakes and have experienced some shortages in certain models and styles. In that kind of situation, it is expected that we would not see an abundance of sales incentives.

We list the current lease incentives below that have monthly payments of $200 or less. All require a down payment (cap cost reduction) as well as the first month’s payment up front (due at lease signing). Most include a mileage allowance of 12,000 miles per year, for terms between 24 and 39 months. Most expire on August 1, 2011.

Also note that only selected styles of the listed models are available with the low lease payments. You must choose the style(s) being offered to get the deal.

These special lease deals being offered are nearly all excellent deals, as rated by LeaseGuide.com. Car companies create the deals by lowering price and money factor (finance rate), raising lease-end residual value. In combination, this amounts to low monthly payments — much better than customers could negotiate for themselves.

Here are the current cheapest car lease deals for July 2011:

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All current Hyundai incentives expire on May 2, 2011. 

These leases are made possible by reducing vehicle prices, reducing finance cost (lease money factor), and boosting estimated lease-end residual values. The combination of all these factors means you get a low monthly payment without need to negotiate. In fact, you could not get these kinds of deals by negotiating with a dealer — who doesn’t have the ability to change money factor or residual values, only price.

If you don’t understand car leasing or how to determine if you are a good leasing candidate, we recommend you visit LeaseGuide.com where you’ll find not only a great (free) car leasing guide and expert advice, but also a useful lease calculator with which you can determine your monthly lease payments based on changes to various factors.

Here are some of the current Hyundai special lease offers. All these leases have been rated “Good” to “Excellent” by LeaseGuide.com.

2011 Hyundai Elantra 1.8L GLS Auto – $169/month, 36 months, $1699 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring GLS Auto – $199/month, 24 or 36 months, $1999 due at signing. (Hint: the 36 month lease is the better deal)

2011 Hyundai Equus Signature – $739/month, 36 months, $4999 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Genesis Sedan 3.8L V6 Standard Package – $399/month, 36 months, $2298 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T Manual – $259/month, 36 months, $2699 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS Manual – $299/month, 36 months, $2699 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.4 GLS Auto – $199/month, 36 months, $2399 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Tucson 2.4 GLS FWD Auto – $259/month, 36 months, $2499 due at signing.

2011 Hyundai Veracruz – $359/month, 36 months, $2299 due at signing.

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The reason that leasing took a slide is not that automotive consumers didn’t want it; car manufacturers (especially American manufacturers) lost their shirts by being too agressive with their lease deals. Consumers loved it but many car makers lost millions and millions of dollars.

So they slowed down and even stopped leasing in some cases. Now, in 2010, they are returning — in a big way. Not so much by the American companies yet, but nearly all other car companies are now offering some of the best lease deals we’ve seen in a long time.

Some of the car makers currently offering special car lease deals are Honda, Acura, Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Scion, Subaru, Volkswagen, Volvo, Infiniti, Audi, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover. General Motors is offering a few special leases, but Chrysler and Ford are offering none.

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 benefits, or 4) have gotten bad advice from friends or relatives (who don’t understand it either).

So what are the benefits of leasing?

First, monthly payments are 30%-60% less than car loan payments, for the same car. Second, if you like to trade cars every few years, with leasing, you don’t have the hassle of selling or trading a used car. Third, there’s usually no down payment required. Fourth, in most states, you save on sales tax. And fifth, you get automatic free GAP insurance with most leases (in case your car is stolen or wrecked). 

Car leasing is not renting. It’s simply an alternative way of financing a car if you know you will want another new car in 3-4 years. You pay only for the part of the car you use — the amount that it depreciates in value — rather than the entire price of the car. People who buy cars with loans lose money on trade or sale due to depreciation.

Car leasing works best for people who drive an average number of miles each year (about 15K miles), who have a stable lifestyle (ending a lease early can be expensive), and who take good care of their cars (returning a leased car with damages can be expensive).

Monthly car lease payments depend on several factors. Most important is the price of the car. Many people who lease don’t undertand that you should negotiate the price of the car, or take advantage of rebates, the same as if you were buying the car. The lower the price, the lower your monthly lease payments.

Second, the lease-end residual value is important. This is the estimated value of the vehicle at the end of the lease. The higher the residual value, the lower your monthly payment. Some car brands and models have higher lease residual values than others. See How to Get the Best Lease Deals for more details.

Third, money factor should be as low as possible. Money factor is an expression of the interest rate you pay on your lease financing. It’s a small number such as .0022, which is equivalent to 5.28% APR interest. Just multiply the money factor by 2400 to get equivalent interest rate. The lower the money factor, the lower your monthly lease payment.

Leasing is not right for everyone. But if you are a good leasing candidate, you can save money on your new cars if you lease — especially now that so many car companies are offering incredible lease deals.

To better understand car leasing, we recommend that you visit LeaseGuide.com and check out the free Car Leasing Guide, which is an online aid to understanding how car leasing works. There’s also a Lease Calculator you can use to calculate monthly lease payments for any new car.

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 limited time, usually one month, and you have to act quickly if you want to take advantage.

However, if you are looking for even lower monthly payments, you should consider leasing your next new car. Car leasing is often misunderstood and is confused with renting, which it is not.

It’s a fact that monthly lease payments are always lower by 30%-50% than loan payments for the same car, same term, same interest rate ( see Lease or Buy: Which is Better? ).

Car makers often have special limited-time lease deals which make leasing even better. 

But there is an even better, lower cost way to lease that many people are not aware of.

It’s called a lease transfer, or lease takeover.  

Let’s take a look at an example of how a lease takeover works.

You find someone who wants, or needs, to get out of their car lease early. You can take over, or assume, their car and lease for the remaining time on their contract. If they originally took out a 3 year lease and now want out after only 1 year, you can take over the lease for the remaining 2 years. You pay a small transfer fee to the lease company and the deal is done.

What’s the advantage of taking over someone’s car lease?

By taking over a car lease, you avoid all the up-front charges normally associated with leasing — no down payment. If the original lessee made a large down payment to reduce the size of his monthly payments, you get that benefit. In many cases, the person wanting out of his lease will even pay you a cash incentive to make the deal even sweeter.

How do you find people who want out of their leases?

A number of online companies specialize in listing cars that are available for lease transfers. They act like a “dating service” between people who have available leases, and people who would like to take over a lease. They charge a fee to the person wanting out of his lease. The company that is the biggest and best is Swapalease. Go to the web site and browse. You can search based on the type of car and the monthly payment you want.

Taking over a lease is a great way to drive an affordable late model car if you don’t have the money for a brand new car. Even if you do have the money, it’s one of the most cost effective ways to acquire a vehicle.

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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 MDX, 2010 RDX, 2010 RL, and 2010 TSX models

BMW – 2010 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, X3, X5, X6, 2009 and 2010 Z4 models

Honda – 2010 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Insight, Odyssey, and Pilot models

Infiniti – 2010 EX35, 2009 FX35, 2009 FX50, 2009 G37, 2010 M35, 2010 M45, 2010 QX56 models

Volkswagen – 2009 CC, Eos, GLI, STI, Jetta, New Beetle, Passat, Rabbit, Routan, Tiguan, and Touareg 2 models

As we have explained in other places on this web site, car manufacturers create special limited-time good car lease deals to help move vehicles during slow sales periods, as well as to help move out last year’s models as new year’s models are brought in.

Special leases are nearly always genuine good deals. Prices have been reduced, money factors have been reduced, and lease-end residuals have been increased. The combination of all these factors makes for low lease payments.

To qualify for the special lease incentives you must have a good credit score and you usually must make a modest down payment in order to get the low monthly payment.

If you need to better understand car leasing — how it works and how to get good deals — we suggest you visit our sister web site LeaseGuide.com where you will find a car lease guide, advice, lease calculators, and an optional Lease Kit.

Here’s are some of the best deals:

By far, the best deals are on left-over 2008 models (see Leftover 2008 Models for Cheap). We’re not talking about used cars here. We’re talking about brand new 2008 vehicles that are still on dealers’ lots waiting to be sold. Some dealers have a large number of leftovers, some only have a few, and some have none. Of course your choices are limited but the prices are the best.

Next, for 2009 models, Infiniti, Hummer, Saab, Mercedes, Nissan, and Land Rover have the highest factory-to-dealer cash on most of their vehicle models — in the $2000-$9000 range ($13,000 on some Mercedes models), depending on vehicle. This is “hidden” money given to dealers by the manufacturer to help him sell vehicles. Dealers can use the money for advertising, tent sales, or discounts. Most of the money goes back to customers in the form of large price discounts.

For direct factory-to-customer cash rebates, Chrysler, Infiniti, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, and GM are currently offering the best rebates on most models. For example, Nissan has $5000 on the Armada and Titan, $2500 on the Pathfinder, and $2000 on the Sentra. Acura, GM, Mitsubishi, and Subaru also have some very attractive rebates on many 2009 models.

The best 0% APR and low interest loans are being offered by Chrysler, GM, Ford, Suzuki, Toyota, Lexus, and Land Rover. Remember, in most cases, you can’t take the low interest loan AND rebates. You choose one or the other.

The best lease deals are being offered by Honda and Acura (on a select few models and styles), BMW (some models), Infiniti, Mazda, and Mercedes. These deals have highly discount prices, low money factors, and high lease-end residuals — all of which makes for low monthly lease payments. If you are interested in leasing, make you understand how it works so that you don’t make mistakes. See LeaseGuide.com for explanations and advice.

In our opinion, the best overall deals are now on Honda, Infiniti, and Mazda vehicles. Surprisingly, the American brands, GM, Chrysler, and Ford are offering only so-so deals, not great deals.

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.

Leases are especially attractive to people who need to finance a car at the lowest possible monthly payment. Leases are always less expensive than a similar loan. Why? Because you pay for only part of the car’s value — the part you “use up” — and you return the car (with it’s remaining unused value) back to the lease company. It sounds like renting, but it is not.

If you don’t understand how car leasing works, you are advised to do so before you lease. Leasing is a little more complicated than buying with a loan, which makes it easier to make mistakes if you don’t know what you are doing. To learn everything you need to know about car leasing, visit our sister web site, LeaseGuide.com.

Now, on with the good lease deals for June. These deals end June 30, 2009. Deals may vary by dealer and region.

Although there are some great lease deals currently being offered on high-end cars such as BMW, Mercedes, and others, we are showing you the absolute lowest cost leases now available, which tend to be on low-medium-priced cars.

Honda has a number of good leases right now. The best lease is on the Honda Civic DX-VP 1.8 sedan – $ 149 a month, 36 months, 12K annual miles, and $2699 due at signing. You can get the Civic Hybrid sedan for $199 a month, $2299 due at signing. Or the Civic LX sedan for only $199 a month, $1999 due at signing.

Honda has lease deals on a few styles of the Accord model. The Honda Accord LX sedan comes with a nice $199 a month payment, 36 months, 12K annual miles, and $2699 due at signing.

Nissan is also offering a similar deal on the Nissan Sentra FE+ 2.0 SR – $149 a month, 39 months, 12K annual miles, and $$2499 due at signing. The similar Sentra FE+ 2.0 sedan is $159 a month, with $2449 due at signing.

Mazda offers some excellent leases on the sporty MAZDA3. You can get the MAZDA3 iSport sedan (4-speed automatic transmission)  for only $169 a month, 36 months, 12K miles a year, and $2764 due at signing. The same car with 5-speed automatic transmission goes for $189 a month, and $2784 due at signing. The slightly higher cost MAZDA3 iTouring sedan has a lease deal at $196 a month, $2791 due at signing.

Subaru is also offering some good limited-time lease deals. You can get a Subaru Impreza 2.5i sedan with manual transmission for $179 a month, 36 months, 10K annual miles, and $1120 down payment (cap cost reduction). The same car with automatic transmission goes for $188 a month. The Subaru Legacy 2.5i Special Edition sedan is being offered at $191 a month, 36 months, $1800 down.

Finally, coming in among the “under $200-a-month” crowd is Volkswagen with the Volkswagen New Beetle 2.5 hatchback and the Volkswagen Rabbit S hatchback, both at $199 a month, 36 months, 12K miles per year, and $$2699 due at signing.

Remember, before you lease you should learn how leasing works. See LeaseGuide.com where you will find tips, expert advice, easy-to-understand explanations, and even a lease payment calculator.

Not true. Except for the American car makers, leasing is very much alive.

In fact, many car companies such as Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, BMW, Nissan, Infiniti, Toyota, Subaru,Volkswagen, and Volvo have increased their leasing activity to take advantage of the opportunity and are currently offering special “subvented” lease deals for June 2009.

For example, you can lease a new 2009 Volkswagen Jetta sedan for only $179 a month, 36 months, with $2499 due at signing, and no security deposit. There is a similar deal on the Jetta Wagon for $239 a month.  These are fantastic deals.  

Another good deal: a 2009 Honda Civic LX sedan for only $199 a month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing.

Or lease a hot new 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan for only $399 a month, 36 months, $2599 due at signing. This is a special promotional lease only on this particular model.

BMW has a lease deal on the BMW 335i coupe for $489 a month, 36 months, $5214 due at signing, and a $500 security deposit. This deal expires at the end of June.

Again, other car makers such as Acura, Audi, Mitsubishi, Kia, Mercedes, Volvo, and Land Rover also have limited-time lease deals being offer right now – until June 30, 2009.

What’s the catch?

The special lease deals are only for certain models and styles. If you don’t like those particular models, you can still get normal non-subvented leases from those companies. You also need to make sure you understand how leasing works and how to determine if you make a good leasing candidate. For that, you can visit our sister web site, LeaseGuide.com.

Mazda

The Mazda3 lease deal is for $189 a month, 36 months, 10K miles per year, and $2784 due at signing. The due-at-signing amount includes 1st month’s payment and lease acquisition fee. No security fee is required.

If you can handle the due-at-signing amount, drive no more than 10,000 miles per year, and like the model being promoted, this is a great deal. You won’t find a similar deal being offered by any other car manufacturer right now.

If you don’t want the Mazda3 i Sport 4-door, there are other lease deals available on other styles of the Mazda3. For examply, you can get the 2010 Mazda3 s Sport 5-door for $229 a month, the 2009 Mazda5 Sport for $269 a month, the 2009 Mazda6  i Sport for $239 a month, the 2009 CX-7 Sport FWD for $309, the 2009 CX-9 Sport FWD for $369 a month, 2009 MX-5 Miata Sport for only $259 a month, a 2009 RX-8 Sport for $339 a month, and a 2009 Tribute i Sport FWD for $349 a month. 

These Mazda lease offers expire on June 1, 2009 so you don’t have long to make up you mind.

If you decide not to lease, you can also get a nice 2.9% APR loan rate for these same cars.

If you need to understand how car leasing works and how to decide if it is right for you, we suggest that you visit our sister site at LeaseGuide.com.

General Motors

However, keep in mind that current incentives can change at any time, even in the middle of the month. So keep a watch here on this web site for later improvements. Chrysler is expected to announce some agressive incentives this week and GM might possibly be waiting to see what it looks like before making any further moves.

The incentives apply to all vehicles in the General Motors stable — Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Hummer, GMC, and Cadillac — and expire on June 1, 2009. All are for 2009 model vehicles.

In general (no pun intended), GM’s incentives are in the form of modest cash-back rebates and semi-low APR loans.

The rebates come in the range of $750 (Saturn) to $1000 and $15000, to $2000 for some models such as the Cadillac DTS.  A couple of exceptions: $7000 cash back on the Chevrolet Suburban and $5000 cash back on the Hummer H3.

There are also some “hidden” rebates that apply if you want to lease. GMAC no longer leases, but most dealers have alternative lease companies (large national banks) through which they can lease. The bank lease deals are not that great, so GM is sweetening the deal with the hidden rebates, which reduces lease prices, which lowers monthly payments and makes for some decent, although not great,  lease deals.

The “low” APR loan deals are not so low — only 6.9%. It’s certainly better than the near 8% normal rate (depending on the customer’s credit score) but nothing to write home about. There are some 0% offers on some selected models in some parts of the country however.

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

Volvo

The reason the lease deals are so good is that nearly all include a hefty factory-to-dealer rebate as well as some dealer discount. The result is a low lease price, which significantly reduces the monthly payment amount.

All the deals require a moderate cash-due-at-signing amount which includes a down payment, first month’s payment, and other required fees. And most of the deals are restricted to a particular style within a model line, as shown below.

All the Volvo lease deals for May are based on 36 months with 10.5K annual mileage allowance. These are genuinely good leases for the models being promoted. If you are interested, make sure you like the particular model and style, and that the mileage restriction and cash-due-at-signing requirement is agreeable to you. Also make sure you understand how leasing works if you’ve never leased before. The following web site will provide the information and advice you need: LeaseGuide.com. 

If you decide not to lease, the large factory-to-dealer rebates can significantly reduce your purchase price, assusming your dealer is willing to part with some or all of his money. The rebate amounts are shown below with the lease deals. To repeat, you do not have to lease to take advantage of the dealer’s “hidden” rebates.

Here are the current Volvo lease deals. All are available until June 1, 2009.

Volvo C70 convertible – $499 a month, $2998 due at signing (based on $4500 factory-to-dealer cash)

Volvo C30 (manual transmission) – $299 a month, $2999 due at signing (based on $1750 factory-to-dealer cash and $1000 direct dealer discount)

Volvo C30 (auto transmission) – $319 a month, $3019 due at signing (based on $1750 factory-to-dealer cash and $1000 direct dealer discount)

Volvo S40 2.4i style – $299 a month, $2999 due at signing (based on $2500 factory-to-dealer cash)

Volvo S80 3.2 style – $449 a month, $2948 due at signing (based on $6500 factory-to-dealer cash)

Volvo XC60 (2010 model, T6 sytle) – $495 a month, $2994 due at signing (additional $2000 rebate for current owners of Acura, Audi, BMW, Lexus, or Mercedes)

Volvo XC90 3.2 style – $499 a month, $2998 due at signing (based on $4000 factory-to-dealer cash) (additional $1500 to current Volvo owners/lessees)

Note that some of these deals are not available in some regions of the U.S. and that most deals require customer to have good credit.

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

The Subaru Tribeca gets the best deal with a $2500 rebate or 2.9%-4.9% (depends on loan term) low-interest loans.

The Subaru Outback gets a $2000 cash-back rebate or 2.9%-4.9% APR loans.

The Subaru Legacy gets a possible $1000 rebate (depending on region of U.S.) or a 2.9% APR (12/24/36 months).

The Subaru Impreza and Forester get 2.9%/4.9% APR loan rates but no rebates.

All Subaru models have new lease deals, which are genuine good deals. All the leases based on 10K miles per year and only require $999 down payment (cap cost reduction). Taxes and official fees may be required as part of the amount due at signing.

Here is an example of the lease deals for the 2009 Subaru Outback:

$366 a month – 39 months

$377 a month – 36 months

$380 a month – 42 months

$388 a month – 48 months

$510 a month – 24 months

All of these deals expire at the end of April 2009 and require a good credit score to qualify.

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

They’ve lost so much money in the last few years due to over-estimating lease-end residuals that they can’t afford to continue.

However, foreign carmakers haven’t been hurt as badly and are taking advantage of the situation. If you’ve seen Honda’s commercials on TV they are reminding viewers that they are still leasing and have great deals.

In fact, Honda has sweetened the pot by putting some outstanding lease deals on many of their models, including the Accord, CR-V, Civic, Odyssey, and Pilot. The deals range from a low $149 a month on a Civic DX-VP sedan, to $199 a month on an Accord LX sedan, to $239 on a CR-V, to $269 on the popular Odyssey minivan, and $299 on a Honda Pilot LX SUV.   

Most of these deals require upfront cash for down payment, first month’s payment, and fees. However Honda is also offering alternative deals on all the above models that have higher monthly payments but only require upfront cash equal to a single monthly payment. Wow.

When these deals are analyzed, we find that not only have prices been reduced, but customers are also getting very good lease-end residuals and low money factors (finance rates).

If you like the car model and it’s options, and you like the payment, you just can’t go wrong with a Honda.

Find out more about these Honda models with retail prices, invoice prices, TMV prices, incentives, and get free online price quotes.

There are actually two different lease deals on the same car, which we’ve never seen done by Honda before.
 
Deal #1: The first lease deal is $249 a month for 36 months, 12K miles per year, and a low, low, low $249 due at lease signing (plus official state tag and registration fees of course).  This is incredible.

Deal #2: The second deal for the same car is $189 a month for 36 months, 12K miles per year, and $1999 due at lease signing, of which $1215 is down payment and the rest is first month’s payment and an acquisition fee (that is rolled into the lease on the other deal above).

These very nice lease deals on the ever-popular Honda Civic will expire on May 5, 2009. We don’t know if the deals will get any better than this.

Research this car, get actual invoice and true market values (TMV) with rebates, and request free online price quotes.