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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In any given month, some manufacturers really want customers to buy, offering very large rebates that represent a significant discount off of sticker price.  These are deals worth considering if you are in the market for a new car.

Rebates are applied at the time a customer buys a car and, in effect, reduce the amount of money needed to purchase the car although, technically, do not reduce the price as would an ordinary price discount. This may seem a trivial distinction but rebates are therefore taxable while discounts are not. In other words, you pay the same sales tax on a car with a rebate as on the same car without a rebate. Just so you know.

Oftentimes, a car manufacturer will offer rebates and low-interest loans at the same time. Customers must choose one or the other, but not both. Generally, large rebates are preferable — and the customer doesn’t have to “qualify” with a high credit score as he does with the low-interest loan.

Here are some of the best rebates being offered for October 2011. In some cases, particularly with the Ford offers, the total rebate may consist of multiple separate rebates and bonuses, such as a trade-in bonus.

• 2011 Chrysler 200 – up to $3000
• 2011 Dodge Journey – $3500
• 2011 Dodge Nitro – $3000
• 2011 Jeep Liberty – $5000
• 2011 Ford Expedition – $5000
• 2011 Ford F-150 and Edge – up to $4000
• 2011 Ford Flex – $3000
• 2012 Chevrolet Impala – $3000
• 2011 Buick Lucerne – $3000
• 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Avalanche – up to $4500
• 2011 Chevrolet Impala and HHR – $3500
• 2011 Chevrolet Colorado – up to $3000
• 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 – up to $4500
• 2011 GMC Canyon – up to $3000
• 2011 Kia Sedona – $6000
• 2011 Mitsubishi Endeavor – $4500
• 2011 Mitsubishi Galant – $3500
• 2011 Suzuki Equator – $3000
• 2011 Toyota Tundra – up to $3250

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

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However, the deals are usually limited to one or two styles in each model line — and often not on all models. 

Subaru is different. The company is offering lease deals on every model and every style. And there are multiple deals for each style, differing by monthly payment amount and lease months. For example, on the Subaru Outback 2.5i AWD 4-door Wagon with manual transmission, the deals range from $299/month for 42 months, $307/months for 39 months, $309/month for 36 months, $315/month for 48 months, to $448/month for 24 months. All are for 2011 models, have 10,000 miles/year allowances, and require $1700 down payment plus first month’s payment due at signing.

The good news is that you have so many choices if you want to lease a Subaru.

The not-so-good news is that the deals are only good-to-average, as rated by LeaseGuide.com. In other words, the deals are probably only slightly better than you could negotiate for yourself but are nevertheless worth considering.

Generally, the shorter leases, such as the 24-month, are better deals than the longer leases, even though monthly payments are higher. The reason is that you pay less in finance costs and get a higher lease-end residual value. The result is a lower cost-to-value ratio — a better deal.

If you need a lower payment, then go for a longer term but we don’t advise a term longer than the basic Subaru factory warranty of 36 months.  That way, you are covered for the entire term of your lease. A longer lease would expose you to having to pay for repairs for a vehicle that you don’t own.

You can evaluate these or any other car lease deals for yourself with the special Real Lease Value Calculator at LeaseGuide.com.

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Dealers are allowed to use the “secret” cash almost any way they want, but the intent is that most, if not all, of it goes into price discounts for customers. This can mean some great car deals.

If a particular vehicle has factory-to-dealer cash and rebates or low interest lows, all the better. In most cases, but not always, dealers are allowed to combine the incentives.  Then, of course, dealers can kick in some discount out their own pockets to sweeten the deals even further.

This month, September 2011, we find some of the best factory-to-dealer cash incentives (sometimes called “marketing support”) to be the following. All of these deals are on 2011 and 2012 models. We previously reported on some really outstanding deals on leftover 2010 models in our article, Incentives on Leftover 2010 Vehicles.

2011 Ford Focus – $2000

2011 Ford Mustang – $1500-$2000

2011 Mercury Grand Marquis – $5500

2011 Mercury Mariner and Milan – $3500

2011 Mercury Mariner Hybrid and Milan Hybrid – $1500

2012 Chevrolet Impala – up to $4000

2012 Chevrolet Corvette – $1500

2012 Chevrolet Colorado – up to $1000

2011 Cadillac STS – $9000

2011 Cadillac DTS – $7000

2011 Chevrolet Impala – up to $4500

2011 Chevrolet HHR – up to $4000 

2011 Chevrolet Aveo and Camaro – up to $1500

2011 Land Rover Range Rover – $2000

2011 Infiniti FX50 – $3000

2011 Infiniti EX35 and FX35 – $2000

2011 Nissan 370Z – $1500

2011 Saab 9-3 – $4000-$5000

2011 Saab 9-5 – $3500

2011 Saab 9-4X – $1500

2011 Subaru Legacy – up to $1250

2011 Tribeca and Forester – up to $1000

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

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Subaru

All the Subaru lease deals end on May 31, 2011 and allow 10,000 miles per year. What is interesting a little different is that they have deals for a variety of terms (lease months), including 24 months (unusual), 36 months, 39 months, and 42 months (unusual). Of course, the longer your lease term, the lower the payment.

These deals are created by reducing the lease price, lowering the normal interest rate (lease money factor), and boosting the normal lease-end residual.

All the deals require a modest cash down payment (or trade-in vehicle), although you will have to add the first month’s payment and official fees to your “due at signing” costs.

LeaseGuide.com has evaluated these deals and has found, in general, that most of the deals rate “Excellent”, except for the 42 month term deals which rate a bit lower at “Good”. 

Here are a sampling of the cheapest of the Subaru special lease deals for May 2011. There are many more deals than we can show here.

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Subaru

Deals are being offered on practically every Subaru model and style in a variety of lease terms (length of lease), including 36 months, 39 months, and 42 months. Of course, payments are a bit higher for the shorter terms. Most of the lease deals require a $999 down payment (cap cost reduction). If you understand how leasing works, you know the down payment is due at time of contract signing, along with the first month’s payment, taxes, and official fees.

If you don’t understand how car leasing works, we suggest that you visit LeaseGuide.com before you make a decision to lease.

Some of the cheapest ($200 or less) and best Subaru lease deals are as follows:

2011 Subaru Imprezza 2.5i AWD manual sedan – $179/month, 42 months, $999 down

2011 Subaru Imprezza 2.5i AWD manual sedan – $181/month, 39 months, $999 down

2011 Subaru Imprezza 2.5i AWD manual sedan – $184/month, 36 months, $999 down

2011 Subaru Imprezza 2.5i AWD automatic sedan – $191/month, 42 months, $999 down

2011 Subaru Imprezza 2.5i Premium AWD manual sedan – $196/month, 42 months, $999 down

2011 Subaru Legacy 2.5i AWD manual sedan – $199/month, 36 months, $1299 down

2011 Subaru Legacy 2.5i AWD manual sedan – $200/month, 39 months, $1299 down

There are many more special limited-time Subaru leases for February than the few listed here, on practically every model including the popular Forester.  If you are in the market for a Subaru and need a low monthly payment, this is a good time to consider one of these lease deals.

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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

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.

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.