However, that’s about to change.

Car deals are about to get even better.

You see, Toyota and Honda had been market leaders until the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March. Production was impacted, inventory dwindled, and sales suffered. There was little need to offer aggressive sales  incentives if their cars were in short supply. Taking advantage of the situation, American (GM, Ford, Chrysler) and Korean (Hyundai/Kia) car companies have been offering some attractive incentives to capture customers and maket share.

Other Japanese brands such as Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura have also been impacted in varying degrees.

However….Japanese car makers are rapidly recovering. Manufacturing production is growing steadily month to month. Supply is increasing at dealers. Between now and the end of 2011, full recovery is expected.

The Japanese are going to be very eager to regain lost sales and customers. As a result, we expect to see some of the best new car deals and incentives of the year starting as early as September and rolling past the end of the year into the first months of 2012. The companies will not only be competing with other Japanese car makers but with the American, European, and Korean companies who have tried to take business away while they were incapacitated. Everybody will have to rachet up their ante to stay in the game.

The result could be an all-out food-fight with dueling rebates, low interest rates, and special lease deals, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long time — maybe ever. Some experts discount this idea, saying it won’t be as significant as all that due to the repressed economy. We’ll have to wait and see.

However, there is no doubt that we’ll see some of the best car deals we’ve seen this year during the coming months of 2011. These deals will be on leftover 2010 models (best deals), new and leftover 2011 models, and even new 2012 models.

 ###

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

However, Ford dealers still have leftover 2009 vehicles. Yes, that’s right — 2009 vehicles. They are currently offering huge discounts on those vehicles. The only catch is that you might not be able to find exactly the model, style, options, and color you want. The key to success is to be flexible and be willing to take what you can find.

Although you might balk at buying what seems to be a 2 year old car, these are brand new cars with full manufacturer’s warranty and lemon law protection. In some cases, styling hasn’t changed much, if any, in two years and the cars still look like this year’s models.

For these leftover 2009 cars, Ford gives dealers a “hidden” factory-to-dealer rebate (“marketing support”) that dealers then use to discount prices to customers.

Following are examples of the current Ford factory-to-dealer rebates for leftover 2009 models:

• Ford Explorer, F-150, Mustang – up to $5500
• Ford Edge,  Flex, Ranger – up to $4000
• Ford Expedition, Focus – up to $3500
• Ford Explorer Sport Trac – up to $2500
• Lincoln Town Car – $8000
• Lincoln Navigator – $6500
• Lincoln MKS, MKX, MKZ – up to $5500
• Mercury Grand Marquis, Mountaineer – $5500-$6500

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

Zero percent loans require you to pay no finance charges, or interest, on your loan for the life of the loan.

In most cases, the 0% offer is only good for certain loan terms, such as 24 or 36 months, or longer. Slightly higher rates apply to longer loans — still good rates.

Here are examples of some of the makes and models that currently have 0% APR loan rates. In most cases, the offers expire on November 1, 2010.

• 2010 Mini Cooper
• 2010 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram models (except Dodge Challenger 
• 2010 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models (except hybrid models)
• 2011 Buick Enclave
• 2011 Chevrolet models (except Aveo, Cruze, Corvette)
• 2011 GMC models
• 2010 Buick Lucerne, Enclave, Lacross
• 2010 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, DTS, SRX, STS
• 2010 Chevrolet models
• 2010 GMC models
• 2010 Hummer
• 2010 Saab 9-3
• 2011 Hyundai Accent, Elantra Touring
• 2010 Hyundai models (except Genesis Coupe, Tucson)
• 2010 Mazda models (except RX8)
• 2011 Mitsubishi models (except Eclipse)
• 2010 Mitsubishi models
• 2011 Nissan models (except Armada, Titan)
• 2010 Nissan models
• 2010 Infiniti FX35, FX50, EX35, G37)
• 2010 Suzuki models
• 2011 Toyota Tundra, Camry, Sienna
• 2010 Toyota models
• 2010 Volkswagen models

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

Most dealers now have large incentives on leftover 2010 models where 2011 models are already out.  Ford even has some big deals on leftover 2009 models, where available. The deals are outstanding but you might not have a big choice in colors or styles. Being flexible is the key to getting the best deals.

However, this doesn’t mean that good deals can’t be had on new models too.

For example, we’re seeing some great incentives and rebates on 2011 models from Chrysler and General Motors. These deals expire on November 1, 2010.

Chrysler currently has rebates in the range of $1000-$2000 on the 2011 Dodge Dakota and Nitro, Jeep Liberty, and Ram 1500,2500, and 3500. Chrysler also is offering low-interest loans on these 2011 models.

General Motors has rebates of up to $2500 on Buick Lucerne, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Malibu, Traverse, Impala, Colorado, Aveo, and Cruze. Reabtes up to $2500 are also available on GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Canyon.

In addition, General Motors also has “hidden” factory-to-dealer” rebates on the 2011 Cadillac CTS, DTS, STS ($3500), Cadillac Escalade ($2000), and Chevrolet Aveo, Corvette, HHR, and Impala ($4000).

General Motors is also offering low-interest loans, including 0% APR rates, on most of the above 2011 models.

Some vehicles have 0% APR loans for other loan terms. For example, the 2009 Ford Explorer gets 0% for 36, 48, and 60 months.

Ford’s current deals are a little strange in that some vehicles get better incentives on the 2010 models than on 2009 models. This might be explained by a shortage of 2009 inventory as a result of the very successful “cash-for-clunkers” program in August and September. There’s no need to put incentives on vehicles they don’t have to sell.

Following are some examples of current Ford new-car deals for October (until 11/02/2009). As usual, customers must accept either the rebate or the low-interest loan, but not both. We advise that, in most cases, rebates are usually a better deal, especially if the customer needs down payment money — which the rebate can serve for.

2010 Ford Edge – $2000 customer rebate, 0% APR  loan rate for 36 months, 0.9% for 60 months, 1.9% for 60 months, and 3.9% for 72 months.

2009 Ford Edge – $1500 rebate, 0% APR for 36/48/60 months, 1.9% for 72 month

2010 Ford Escape – $1000 rebate, 0%/1.9%/2.9%/4.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Escape – no special incentives

2010 Ford Expedition – $3000 rebate, 0%/1.9%/2.9%/4.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Expedition – $2000 rebate, 0%/0.9%/1.9%/3.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2010 Ford Explorer – $2000 rebate, 0%/1.9%/2.9%/4.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Explorer – $3000 rebate, 0% APR for 36/48/60 months and 1.9% for 72 months

2010 Ford F150 – $2000 rebate, 0%/2.9%/3.9%/5.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford F150 – $2500 rebate, 0% APR for 36/48/60 months and 1.9% for 72 months

2010 Ford Flex – $1500 rebate, 0%/0.9%/1.9%/3.0% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Flex – $2500 rebate, 0% APR for 36/48/60 months and 1.9% for 72 months

2010 Ford Focus – $500 rebate, 0%/4.9%/5.9%/7.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Focus – $1000 rebate, 0%/4.9%/5.9%/7.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2010 Ford Fusion – $500 rebate, 0%/2.9%/3.9%/5.9%  for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Fusion – no special incentives

2010 Ford Mustang – $500 rebate, 0%/2.9%/3.9%/5.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Mustang – $1500 rebate, 0%/1.9%/2.9%/4.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2010 Ford Taurus – $500 rebate, 0%/3.9%/4.9%/6.9% for 36/48/60/72 months

2009 Ford Taurus – no special incentives

2009 Ford Taurus X – no special incentives

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

Acura

The incentives include low-interest loans, special lease deals, and factory-to-dealer cash that dealers can pass along to customers as price discounts. Acura, like most other luxury car makers, doesn’t want to be viewed as a “discount” brand. Therefore, they offer no direct factory-to-customer rebates but, instead, offer other ways of creating attractive deals.

The new Acura incentives are a little out of the ordinary in a couple of ways. First, the factory-to-dealer cash is only offered on 2009 models that the dealer already had in inventory as late as September 9, 2009. The cash rebates, therefore, provide incentive for dealers to to get rid of “old” cars that have been sitting on the lot for a month or more — by using the rebate as a price discount for customers.

The second way in which the new Acura incentives are different is that customers can combine the factory-to-dealer cash with low-interest loans. Such combinations are not usually allowed.

Here is a summary of the new Acura deals. All apply to 2009 models unless otherwise indicated.

Acura MDX – $2000 conditional factory-to-dealer cash rebate (see above discussion of special conditions of this rebate), and 1.9% APR loan rate for 24/36 months and 2.9% for 60 months. A special lease deal is available for the Base model: $469 a month, 36 months, 10K mileage allowance, and $3299 due at signing, which includes the first month’s payment, a down payment (cap cost reduction), and a bank fee (acquisition fee).

 Acura RDX – $1500 conditional dealer cash (see above discussion). For the 2010 RDX Base model, a special lease deal is available: $399 a month, $3599 due at signing.

Acura RL – $3000 conditional dealer cash. For the 2010 RL, $2000 dealer cash and a special lease deal:  $569 a month, $3999 due at signing.

Acura TL – $2000 conditional dealer cash and low interest loan rates: 1.9% APR for 24/36 months and 2.9% for 60 months. The same low APR rates also apply to the 2010 TL but not the dealer cash.

Acura TSX – $1250 conditional dealer cash. For the 2010 TSX, two special lease deals are offered for October. For the 2010 TSX Base 2.4L 4-cylinder auto transmission, $299 a month, $3599 due at signing. For the 2010 TSX Base 3.5L 6-cylinder auto transmission, $359 a month, $3799 due at signing.

If you don’t understand how car leasing works and would like to learn, we suggest LeaseGuide.com. The site contains a free guide to car leasing and payment calculators.

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

Audi

Just to be clear, the “loyalty” rebates being offered are for current owners or leasers of 2003 or newer Audi vehicles. The vehicles do not have to be traded to qualify.

As is typical of Audi, the company does not want to be viewed as a discount car brand. Therefore they don’t offer straight out rebates. However, along with the “loyalty” rebates, they currently have generous factory-to-dealer cash that dealer’s usually pass along to customers in the form of price discounts (not rebates). 

Let’s take a look at the new October Audi deals:

Audi A3 – $1000 customer loyalty bonus rebate, $2500 factory-to-dealer cash, and 0.9% APR loan rate for 12/36 months, 1.4% for 48 months, and 1.9% for 60 months.

Audi A4 – $2000 loyalty rebate, $5000 dealer cash, and 0.9% APR loans for 12/36/48/60 months.

Audi A5 – $1500 loyalty rebate, $1000 dealer cash, and 3.9% APR for 12/36 months, 4.4% for 48 months, and 4.9% for 60 months.

Audi A6 – $3000 loyalty rebate, $4000 dealer cash, and 1.9% APR for 12/36 months, 2.4% for 48 months, and 2.9% for 60 months.

Audi A8 – $5000 loyalty rebate, $5000 dealer cash, and 1.9% APR for 12/36 months, 2.4% for 48 months, and 2.9% for 60 months.

Audi Q5 – $1000 loyalty bonus, $1000 dealer cash, and 3.9% APR for 12/36 months, 4.4% for 48 months, and 4.9% for 60 months.

Audi Q7 – $5000 loyalty bonus, $4000 dealer cash, and 1.9% APR for 12/36 months, 2.4% for 48 months, and 2.9% for 60 months.

Audi S6 – $4000 loyalty bonus, $4000 dealer cash, and 2.9% APR for 12/36 months, 3.4% for 48 months, and 3.9% for 60 months.

Audi S8 – $5000 loyalty bonus, $5000 dealer cash, and 2.9% APR for 12/36 months, 3.4% for 48 months, and 3.9% for 60 months.

Audi TT – $2000 loyalty bonus, $3000 dealer cash, and 0.9% APR for 12/36 months, 1.4% for 48 months, and 1.9% for 60 months.

Audi TTS – $2000 loyalty bonus, no dealer cash, and 0.9% APR for 12/36 months, 1.4% for 48 months, and 1.9% for 60 months.

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

UPDATE: As of October 1st, a number of car manufacturers have announced new incentives for October. Others have not yet announced. We provide specific details in posts and articles on this site as we learn about them.

Remember, BMW extended their September deals through Ocotber, and Ford’s September deals don’t end until October 5. 

Of course we are all wondering what the new deals will be, if they are better than the current deals — and whether we should go for the current deal or wait for the next deal.

And as usual, we tell you that we or nobody else knows what car manufacturers are going to do for October. They don’t even tell their dealers what’s coming. They prefer that dealers and customers concentrate on current deals and not put off purchases until next month.

So it becomes a little bit of a crap shoot — do we take the current deals or do we wait to see what happens next month? The chance we take is that the October deals may be worse or no better than September’s deals — or that there are no deals at all for the make/model we want.

Most of the current car incentives for this month end on September 30. This means there is no chance of knowing what the new deals will be until at least Ocober 1, or later. Furthermore, deals can change during the month, so the deals you see at first might not be the same deals two weeks later. The good news is that the deals usually get better, not worse. 

Since this is the time of year when many 2010 models are being released, you can expect to see incentives on both 2009 and 2010 models at the same time. However, the best incentives will be on 2009 models, especially when dealers and manufacturers have excessive inventory and need to make room for new 2010 models. If you are looking for the absolute best deals, there are actually many leftover 2008 models still around. See our article, Leftover 2008 Cars for Cheap.

We will bring you information about new car incentives for October as soon as manufacturers announce them.

There are no special lease deals.

All 2009 model Pontiacs get a 5.9% APR loan rate for qualified customers for 36/48/60/72 months. This is lower than the current average new-car loan rate of about 7.5%, but not significantly less. Most customers will be better to take the alternative rebate.

All Pontiac models also get a $500 factory-to-dealer rebate, which dealers can do with as they like. However, these direct-to-dealer rebates usually end up being passed on to customers as a price discount (not rebate).

There are also factory-to-customer rebates as well. The amount varies by model. The 2009 Pontiac G3, G5, Solstice, Torrent, and Vibe all have a $2500 rebate, while the 2009 Pontiac G6 and G8 have a $3500 rebate.

The above Pontiac incentives end November 2, 2009.

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

In typical Honda fashion, there are no direct customer rebates. However there are hidden factory-to-dealer rebates on most models and styles — and low-interest loans. These rebates can, and usually are, passed along to buying and leasing customers in the form of price discounts. However the rebates cannot be combined with low-interest loan deals.

Following are some examples of current Honda deals. These are for 2009 models and the deals end on November 2, 2009.

Honda Accord – $1500 dealer rebate or 1.9% APR loan for 24/36 months, or 2.9% for 60 months. For the Accord LX sedan model, a special lease deal is available – $209 a month, 36 months, 12K mileage allowance, and $2799 due at signing. The $2799 includes first month’s payment, a down payment (cap cost reduction), and a bank fee, all of which are common for any car lease. The lease price includes the $1500 dealer rebate.

Honda CRV – $500 dealer rebate. No low-interest loans. A special lease rate is available for the CRV LX model – $239 a month, $2499 due at signing.

Honda Civic – $750 factory-to-dealer rebate. Low interest loans: 1.9% APR for 24/36 months and 2.9% for 60 months. A special lease deal is available for the LX sedan model – $199 a month, $1999 due at signing, and includes the $750 factory-to-dealer rebate.

Honda Element and Fit – Low-APR loans for recent college graduates.

Honda Odyssey – $1250 factory-to-dealer rebate or 2.9% APR loan for 24/60 months

2010 Honda Odyssey LX - Special lease deal: $299 a month, $2999 due at signing.

2010 Honda Insight LX - Special lease deal: $199 a month, $2799 due at signing.

Honda Pilot – $1250 dealer rebate or 2.9% APR for 24/60 months.

Honda Ridgeline – $1500 dealer rebate or 2.9% APR for 24/60 months.

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

All of the BMW car lease deals are for 36 months only and have a 10,000 mile average mileage allowance. Most also require a modest security deposit, roughly equivalent to one month’s payment, unless your credit score precludes it.

As you may know, car manufacturers create special lease deals by reducing the price of the car (on which the lease is based), combined with a low money-factor (form of interest rate) and high lease-end residual value. Most such deals are genuine good deals but have very specific conditions such as down payment requirements, annual mileage allowance, and model/style. If you prefer a different set of conditions, or prefer a different model/style you may not be able to get as good of a deal.

Here are some of the best lease deals currently being offered by BMW:

2009 BMW 135i coupe – $439 a month and $4614 due at signing

2009 BMW i28i coupe – $369 a month and $4294 due at signing

2009 BMW 335i AWD coupe - $489 a month and $5214 due at signing

2009 BMW 328i wagon – $489 a month and $4864 due at signing

2009 BMW 335d sedan – $489 a month and $5514 due at signing

2010 BMW 535i sedan – $559 a month and $5384 due at signing

2010 BMW 528i sedan – $489 a month and $5214 due at signing

2009 BMW  650i coupe – $809 a month and $7884 due at signing

2009 BMW 750Li sedan – $1039 a month and $8314 due at signing

The amount “due at signing” includes the first month’s payment, a down payment (cap cost reduction), an acquisition fee (bank fee), and possibly a security deposit. It does not include any official tag and registration fees that are local to your area. Furthermore, in most states, sales tax is added to your monthly payment.

If you want to better understand car leasing, see LeaseGuide.com for a complete leasing guide, lease payment calculators, and a Lease Kit.