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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Mazda

Some of these deals are for 2010 model vehicles, some for 2011 models, and even some for 2012 models that are currently available. All deals end on March 31, 2011.

Here are examples of the best new Mazda deals:

2011 Mazda2 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, no payment for up to 90 days

2011 Mazda3 - 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, no payment for up to 90 days, $500 factory-to-dealer cash — $189/month special lease for 36 months (Mazda3 4-door) or $219/month, 36 months (Mazda3 hatchback)

2010 Mazda3 - 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, $750 rebate

2012 Mazda5 –  1.9% APR loan for up to 36 months — $267/month special lease for 36 months

2010 Mazda5 – 0% APR loan for up to 36 months, $500 rebate, $1500 factory-to-dealer cash

2011 Mazda6 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, no payment for up to 90 days, $500 factory-to-dealer cash — $239/month special lease for 36 months

2010 Mazda6 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, $750 rebate

2011 Tribute – 3.9% APR loan for up to 60 months, $1000 factory-to-dealer cash — $329/month special lease for 36 months

2010 Tribute – 0% APR loan for up to 36 months, $2500 factory-to-dealer cash

2011 CX-9 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, no payment for up to 90 days, $500 factory-to-dealer cash — $359/month special lease for 36 months

2010 CX-9 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, $750 rebate

2011 CX-7 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, no payment for up to 90 days, $500 rebate — $259/month special lease for 36 months

2011 CX-7 – 0% APR loan for up to 60 months, $750 rebate, $2000 factory-to-dealer cash

2011 MX-5 Miata – $269/month special lease for 36 months (MX-5 Sport) or $339/month (Touring Retractable Hardtop)

2010 MX-5 Miata – $3000 factory-to-dealer cash

2010 RX-8 – $3000 factory-to-dealer cash

These are excellent incentives from Mazda for March 2011, especially the lease deals. All the current lease deals are rated “Excellent” by LeaseGuide.com.

You can get free price quotes on any of the above Mazda vehicle from Edmunds.com.The quotes will automatically include any incentives that are currently available.

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Listed below are the leases with the lowest monthly payments. In most cases, the leases require a down payment in order to get the low payment. You can always choose to make no down payment but your monthly payments will, of course, be higher. Honda actually offers lease deals both ways – with down payment, and with $0 down payment.

All of the deals shown below have been evaluated as “Excellent” by the Lease Evaluator calculator, which is part of the Lease Kit offered by LeaseGuide.com. These factory-sponsered deals are better than you could negotiate for yourself at a dealer.

Here are some of the current low-payment car lease deals being offered:

2011 Honda Civic DX-VP 4dr Sedan (4cyl automatic) – $139/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing — or $170/month, $0 due at signing

2011 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR 4dr Sedan (4cyl CVT) – $139/month, 39 months, $1999 due at signing

2011 Honda Fit 4dr Hatchback (4cyl automatic) – $139/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing — or $190/month, $0 due at signing

2011 Honda Civic LX 4dr Sedan (4cyl automatic) – $149/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing — or $200/month, $0 due at signing

2011 Nissan Versa 1.8 S 4dr Hatchback (4cyl automatic) – $159/month, 39 months, $1999 due at signing

2011 Susuki SX4 LE 4dr Sedan (4cyl manual) – $159/month, 39 months, $2004 due at signing

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4dr Sedan (4cyl CVT) – $169/month, 36 months, $2768 due at signing

2010 Subaru Impreza 2.5i 4dr Sedan AWD (4cyl manual) – $169/month, 42 months, $1477 due at signing

Before you decide to lease, it is important to understand how car leasing works and how to determine if leasing is right for you. We suggest looking at the LeaseGuide.com web site where you’ll find a free Lease Guide, lease vs. buy calculator, and expert advice.

However, there is one kind of incentive that is not advertised, at least not directly. We often call it a “hidden rebate” or “secret rebate.” In the auto industry it’s called marketing support or factory-to-dealer cash.

The rebate is “hidden” because it flows directly from the car company to dealers. It is provided to dealers as a way of helping them sell or lease cars. The rebate is not a constant and is not offered on all makes and models. It’s offered on a month by month basis, the same as direct customer rebates. It might be offered one month, and not another. The amount of the “hidden” rebate can vary widely, depending on how badly the manufacturer wants to help sell a particular model vehicle.

Dealers can use marketing support money almost any way they want if it helps sell cars. They could use it to pay for advertising, tent sales, or special promotions. However, most if not all of the money is given to customers as a price discount. When a dealer kicks in his own discount, added to the marketing support discount, customers can walk away with a terrific deal. This is how dealers can sell cars at “below invoice price.”

At the time of this writing, the following manufacturers are providing “hidden rebates” to dealers. These rebates may not apply to all models or styles and often require that the customer finance their purchase or lease through the manufacturer’s finance company (example: Ford Motor Credit).

• 2010 BMW M6, 6-Series, X3 – $4000-$$12,500
• 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser, Sebring – $1000
• 2010 Jeep Wrangler – $750
• 2011 Cadillac CTS, DTS, STS – $3500
• 2011 Cadillac Escalade – $2000
• 2011 Chevrolet Aveo, Corvette, HHR, Impala – up to $4000
• 2010 Chevrolet Aveo, Cobalt, HHR, Impala – up to $5000
• 2010 Pontiac Vibe – $3000
• 2010 Acura RL, TL, ZDX – $2000-$4000
• 2010 Honda Odyssey, Ridgeline, Civic Hybrid – $1500
• 2010 Honda Accord, Crosstour, Civic, Insight – up to $1200
• 2011 Mazda Tribute – $1500
• 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata, RX-8, Tribute – $3000-$3500
• 2010 Mazda CX-7, CX-9, Mazda5, Mazda6 – $1500-$2000
• 2010 Mercedes CL, CLS, R-Class, S-Class, SLK – up to $10,000
• 2010 Mercedes C-Class, E-Class, GL, GLK, M-Class – $1500-$5000
• 2010 Saab 9-5 – $2000
• 2010 Subaru Impreza – $1000
• 2011 Toyota Camry – $1500
• 2010 Toyota Tundra – $4000
• 2010 Toyota Avalon, Camry – $2000
• 2010 Toyota Corolla, Highlander, RAV4 – $1500
• 2010 Volvo  C70, S80, V70, XC70, XC90 – $1000-$5500
• 2010 Volvo C30, S40, V50, XC60 – $1000-$1500

Edmunds.com.The quotes will automatically include any cash-back rebates or discounts that are currently available.

You can get free price quotes on any of the above cars from

Mazda

Some of the deals even have $0 down and first month’s payment made for you. And no security deposit. This means you pay nothing up front (except for some possible official tag and registration fees that vary according to where you live).

Here are examples of some of the good Mazda leases available now:

2010 Mazda3 i Touring sedan – $270 a month, 42 months, 42K miles allowance, 0$ due at signing, $0 first month’s payment 

2010 Mazda3 i Sport sedan – $239 a month, 42 months, 42K miles allowance, 0$ due at signing, $0 first month’s payment

2010 Mazda6 i Touring sedan – $288 a month, 42 months, 42K miles allowance, 0$ due at signing, $0 first month’s payment

2010 Mazda6 i Sport sedan – $269 a month, 42 months, 42K miles allowance, 0$ due at signing, $0 first month’s payment

2010 Mazda5 Touring minivan- $317 a month, 36 months, 36K miles allowance, $2912 due at signing

2010 Mazda5 Sport minivan- $299 a month, 36 months, 36K miles allowance, $2894 due at signing

2010 RX-8 Sports coupe – $339 a month, 36 months, 36K miles allowance, $3434 due at signing

2010 Tribute i Sport SUV – $329 a month, 36 months, 36K miles allowance, $2924 due at signing

These special promotional Mazda lease deals have discounted prices, low money factors, and high lease-end residuals, which all together makes for low monthly payments — much lower than normal. If you have been thinking about a Mazda, now is a good time to lease.

If you don’t understand how car leasing works, you should. We recommend LeaseGuide.com as a good resource to learn about leasing and to determine if you are a good leasing candidate. Everybody isn’t.

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.

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.

Mazda has just introduced short-term (only for the month of April 2009) incentives (rebates and low-interest loans – no lease deals) on most of it’s models. The cash-back rebates are especially impressive, and the low APR loans are not too bad either.

There’s a nice $2000 rebate on the 2009 Mazda3, but not on the already available 2010 model, although the 2010 Mazda3 does have a 2.9%/4.9% APR rate on 36/60 month loans.

The Mazda5 gets a strange $500 rebate but only if you finance through Chase Auto Finance. And there’s a low APR offer that is also a little strange, although attractive. It’s 0.9%/2.9%/4.9% on 36/60/72 month loans. In this case, you may do better to go with the loans instead of the rebate, which is not usually our recommendation.

The Mazda6 gets $1000 cash-back and 0%/2.9%/4.9% on 36/60/72 month loans. By contrast, the Mazda RX-8 gets low APR loans, but no cash-back.

The ever-popular Mazda MX-5 Miata has no current incentives.

The Mazda Tribute gets $2000, the CX-9 and CX-7 get $1000, along with low interest loan deals. Of course, you know that you can take the cash OR the loan deals, but not both. And the deals are available only to “qualified” buyers with good credit scores.

The Mazdaspeed Mazda3 gets only a $1000 rebate, but no low APR loan deals.

Just a reminder that incentives can vary by region of the country. Also be reminded that you can, and should, negotiate your own discounts from your dealer, on top of any incentives offered by the car manufacturer.

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