It’s a good solid car that enjoys great reliability and safety at a price that makes it an outstanding value. You get a lot of car for your money.

While there are other vehicles that may be sportier, more powerful, more luxurious, more stylish, or more utilitarian, few offer just the right balance of most of the things that automotive consumers are looking for in a new car.

Toyota has redesigned the Camry for 2012. The new seventh-generation model has a slicker, sportier look, more attractive profile, and improved handling — while adding new technology and safety features as standard equipment. And it’s economical to drive, getting up to 34 MPG on the highway.

Toyota is currently offering a special lease deal for February 2012 (until February 29) on the Camry SE style at only $209/month for 39 months, and $1999 down payment. At lease signing, you’ll owe the $1999 plus the first month’s payment, as well as any official fees.

This Toyota Camry lease offer is rated Excellent by LeaseGuide.com on a five-level scale of Poor/Average/Good/Excellent/Outstanding.

The sporty SE includes a sport-tuned suspension, 17-inch alloy  wheels, foglamps, heated exterior mirrors, unique interior and exterior styling  treatments, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, sport seats and the Display Audio system. Standard  safety features included are antilock brakes with brake assist, electronic stability control,  front- and rear-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, and knee  airbags for both driver and passenger.

Depending on the region of the United States in which you live, you may find slight variations on this Toyota Camry lease deal. In some areas, for example, the monthly payment is $219/month, for 36 months, with a $1950 down payment. It’s essentially the same deal with different details.

In summary, this is a great opportunity to get the most popular car in the nation for a very affordable monthly payment.

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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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Toyota

Just so that you know, and as we’ve explained before, Toyota’s monthly car deals can vary by region of the country due to the way the company uses different distributors and finance companies. For example, if you live in the Southeast U.S., all Toyota dealers in that area get their cars through Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC in Jacksonville, Florida. If you apply for a loan or lease at a dealership, the distributor’s finance company, Southeast Toyota Finance (SETF), handles it.  And all monthly incentives come from SETF, not directly from Toyota.

Therefore, when we discuss Toyota new-car incentives, our job is made a bit more difficult by the fact that these regional variations exist. However, since all the incentives originate with the Toyota parent company, the variations that come about through different distributors are generally limited to slight differences in monthly payment, down payment requirement, lease term (months), and vehicle style.

For example, in New York a specific lease offer might be $269/month for 36 months, while in Florida the same vehicle might have an offer for $259/month for 39 months. These deals usually evaluate essentially the same. If one is evaluated to be good deal, then the other is a good deal too. It’s just the details that are different, usually not the deal itself.

So with that in mind we now present the current Toyota lease deals for January 2012. All deals are for 39 months, have a 46,800 miles allowance (very generous!), and require $1999 down payment, plus first month’s payment.

2011 Toyota Avalon – $379/month (Rated 70 – Good)

2012 Toyota Camry LE Sedan - $229/month (Rated 78 – Excellent)

2011 Toyota Corolla LE Sedan – $159/month (Rated 83 – Excellent)

2011 Toyota Prius – $249/month (Rated 77 – Excellent)

2011 Toyota Venza – $319/month (Rated 69 – Good)

2011 Toyota Tundra – $339/month (Rated 68 – Good)

2011 Toyota Highlander – $309/month (Rated 73 – Good)

2011 Toyota RAV4 – $239/month (Rated 73 – Good)

2011 Sienna LE – $249/month (Rated 70 – Good)

The ratings on the above Toyota lease deals were made by LeaseGuide.com using the Real Lease Value Calculator.  Ratings can range from below 50 to over 100 and ranked on a 5-category scale from Poor/Average/Good/Excellent/Outstanding. Note that the 2012 Camry and 2011 Corolla score the highest and are the best lease deals of the group. However, even those with a Good rating are better than an average, non-promotional deal and are almost always better than a customer could negotiate for themselves. In other words, these are genuinely good deals for anyone interested in leasing a Toyota vehicle.

One more thing — if you read the fine print associated with these or any other promotional lease deals, you’ll find a statement that says the deals are only available to “qualified lessees” which means “customers with good credit scores.” A “good credit score” can range from 680 to 720, depending on the lease finance company. It’s always wise to know your latest credit score before you visit a dealer for one of these deals.  You can get your score online with a quick sign-up at web sites such as FreeCreditScore.com.

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Toyota

These deals come from Toyota or from a Toyota distributor, depending on where you live. Because the lease deals have different origins, the details of each deal might differ from those we give you here. In some cases, the specific model and style might be slightly different, or it might be the monthly payment or amount due at signing.

Here are the most recent Toyota special leases, all of which expire on January 3, 2012. All are for 39 months, 39,000 miles. The cash due at signing includes a down payment and first month’s payment.

2011 Toyota Avalon – $359/month,  $2358 due at signing

2011 Toyota Camry – $199/month, $2599 due at signing

2012 Toyota Camry – $229/month, $2228 due at signing

2011 Toyota Corolla – $149/month, $2148 due at signing

2011 Toyota Highlander – $309/month, $2308 due at signing

2012 Toyota Highlander – $269/month, $2268 due at signing

2011 Toyota Prius – $249/month, $2248 due at signing

2011 Toyota RAV4 – $209/month, $2208 due at signing

2011 Toyota Sienna – $349/month, $2348 due at signing

2012 Toyota Sienna – $329/month, $2328 due at signing

2011 Toyota Tundra (dbl cab) – $339/month, $3330 due at signing

2012 Toyota Tundra (dbl cab) – $299/month, $3298 due at signing

2011 Toyota Venza – $319/month, $2318 due at signing

If you are considering any of the above special lease deals, make sure you understand how car leasing works, and if you are a good leasing candidate. Leasing is a bit more complicated than buying with a loan, which makes it a little easier to make mistakes. You can get all the information you need, including lease calculators and a Lease Kit, at LeaseGuide.com.

You should also know that when car companies offer special loan and lease deals, they nearly always require that customers be “highly qualified” in order to get the deals. This means the customer must have a good credit score. If you don’t know your credit score, you’ll almost certainly be surprised when you learn how much your dealer knows more about you than you know about yourself. It’s easy enough to get your latest score online and it’s free with a simple enrollment at web sites such as FreeCreditScore.com.

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We’ve explained it before, but Toyota has regional offices and distributors that often make up their own deals for the dealers in their region. In particular, Southeast Toyota controls Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. And Gulf States Toyota controls Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. Other states’ distributorships are owned directly by Toyota. 

This causes incentive programs across the country to be similar but different in details.  Let’s explain with some examples.

Currently, for November 2011, Toyota has special lease deals on many of its products. For the Southeast U.S., these deals are as follows:

2011 Toyota Prius – $269/month, 39 months, $2268 due at signing ($1999 down and $269 first month’s payment)

2011 Toyota Corolla LE – $149/month, 39 months, $2148 due at signing

2011 Toyota Camry LE – $199/month, 39 months, $2599 due at signing

2011 Toyota Avalon – $359/month, 39 months, $2358 due at signing

2011 Toyota Venza – $319/mohnth, 39 months, $2318 due at signing

2011 Toyota RAV4 – $219/month, 39 months, $2218 due at signing

2012 Toyota Highlander – $289/month, 39 months, $2288 due at signing

2012 Toyota Sienna LE – $329/month, 39 months, $2328 due at signing

To compare a couple of examples of the same vehicles in the Gulf States distributor’s region:

2012 Toyota Highlander – $299/month, 36 months, $2099 due at signing

2011 Toyota Camry LE – $239/month, 36 months, $1599 due at signing

In Kansas City, the 2011 Toyota RAV4 is $229/month, 36 months, $1597 due at signing

In New York, the 2011 Toyota RAV4 is $189/month, 36 months, $2399 due at signing and the 2012 Toyota Highlander is $269/month, 36 months, $2999 due at signing

In all the examples above, these are “special offer” leases that are subsidized by the Toyota company — and all have been evaluated as either Excellent or Outstanding by LeaseGuide.com. The differences are in the details but not the overall substance of the deals.

In general, our experience has been that any factory-subsidized lease deals on Toyota vehicles, regardless of the area of the country, are well worth considering if you are in the market for a Toyota.

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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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Actually the best selling vehicles are Ford and Chevrolet pickup trucks, but the Camry is the best selling car, ahead of other top sellers such as the popular Nissan Altima and Honda Accord.

Why is that, you might wonder?

It’s not the most stylish car out there. It’s not the fastest. It’s not the sportiest. It’s not a SUV or minivan. It’s not the biggest or the smallest.

It’s not even the cheapest.

So what makes the Toyota Camry a best seller and why should you consider buying or leasing one, especially if you are offered a special deal?

It’s the almost ideal combination of all the reasons people buy cars: 

• Attractive
• Affordable
• Safe
• Inexpensive to insure
• Excellent fuel economy
• Good performance
• Comfortable
• Easy to drive
• Super reliable
• Maintains high resale value
• 2-year (24,000 miles) free service

All of these factors, added together, make the Camry attractive to a wide range of buyers.

Toyota is currently offering a special lease deal on the Camry LE model for September, good until October 3, 2011. Here are the details of the national lease deal:

2011 Toyota Camry LE 

• $189/month (not including sales tax)
• $2729 due at signing (includes first month’s payment)
• 36 months
• 12,000 miles per year allowance (36,000 miles total)

This deal rates as Outstanding (score=91) by LeaseGuide.com. You can score any lease deal using the special Real Lease Value Calculator at LeaseGuide.com.

Because Toyota has distributors in various sections of the U.S., the above Camry lease deal might be slightly different, depending on where you live. For example, the above deal is as described in many states, but in the Southeast it has a payment of $199/month with $2599 due at signing with a $500 customer bonus cash back that can be applied to reduce the monthly payment, while in New England the deal has a payment of $179/month with $2399 due at signing. These are almost the same deals, just with different details.

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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.

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General Motors  announced incentives in July that are good through August 2011. The company’s brands, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC,   have deals on most of their vehicles, many on new 2012 models. However, the best deals are on 2011 models. All GM incentives expire on September 6, 2011. 

Here are some of the best GM car deals on 2011 models: 

Buick Lucerne – $2500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Buick Enclave – $2000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Buick LaCrosse – $1500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Cadillac DTS and STS – $7000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Cadillac Escalade – $3500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Cadillac CTS – $2000 rebate or 0% APR financing

 

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – $4000-$4500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Chevrolet Avalance – $4000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Chevrolet HHR (selected styles) – $3500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD/3500HD – $3000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe – $3000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Chevrolet Impala (selected styles) – $3000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Chevrolet Malibu – $2500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

GMC Sierra 1500 – $4000-$4500 rebate or 0% APR financing 

GMC Sierra 2500/3500HD – $3000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

GMC Yukon – $3000 rebate or 0% APR financing 

Furthermore, there are good factory-to-dealer cash incentives available on a few 2011 GM vehicles for August 2011: 

Buick Regal – $1000 

Chevrolet HHR and Impala – up to $4000 

Chevrolet Corvette – $3000 

Chevrolet Aveo – up to $1500 

Chevrolet Malibu – up to $1000 

Honda, Acura, Volkswagen, Audi, and Volvo are other companies whose July incentives extend through August. 

Honda (most models) and Acura (selected models) are offering low-interest loan rates (0.9%-1.9% APR) on both 2012 and 2011 models.  Volkswagen offers 0% APR loan rate on the 2012 CC and Eos, 0% APR on the 2011 Eos, Routan, CC, and Tiguan, and low interest rates (1.9%-4.9%) on other 2011 models. Audi offers low interest rates (0.9%-3.5% APR) on 2012 models and 0.9%-2.9% on 2011 models. Volvo offers low interest rates on the 2012 S60 (0.9%-1.9%) and 0.9%-2.49% on all 2011 models. 

Other incentives worth considering in August are as follows:

BMW is offering lower interest rates on most its 2011 models, including 0.9% APR on the Z4 and 1.9% APR on the 3-Series and M3.

Ford and Lincoln have 0% APR loan deals on nearly every 2011 and 2012 model. Other models have very low interest rates. The company also offers rebates on most models as well, ranging from $500-$3000. Of course you much select either the rebate or the low interest loan, not both.

Kia has good rebate offers and low interest loans on most models, including $3000 rebate on the 2011 Kia Sedona and $2500 on the 2012 model.

Jaguar offers 0% APR loans on the 2011 Jaguar XF, XJ, and XK.

Mitsubishi stands out with 0% APR loans or nice large rebates on all models, including a $4500 rebate on the 2011 Mitsubishi Endeavor and $3500 on the 2011 Galant.

Nissan comes on strong in August with 0% APR loan deals on nearly every model including 2012 versions of the Altima and Sentra. Alternatively you can select from some very attractive rebates on most models including up to $5250 on the 2011 Titan, up to $4000 for the 2011 Altima Hybrid, $3500 on the 2011 Armada, and up to $3000 on the 2011 Frontier and Maxima.

Suzuki  also has 0% ARP loans or rebates starting at $1000 up to $2000 on the 2011 Equator.

Toyota has 0% APR loan deals on the 2011 Tundra, Camry, Avalon, Highlander, Sienna, Venza, and Corolla.

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

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Toyota

We’ll discuss the details of these new lease incentives in a moment but be aware that, depending on where you live in the U.S., the deals might vary in details.

This is because if you live in the Southeast U.S. (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, or South Carolina) or in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, or Mississippi your Toyota incentives come from the two major Toyota distributors that control those states, not directly from Toyota USA. Typically, special lease incentives like the ones we discuss below are available for the same vehicles regardless of where you live, but payment amount and down payment requirement might vary. For example, a particualr Toyota vehicle might be offered in New York with a $299/month lease payment with $1999 down, while in Georgia the same vehicle might have a $269/month payment with $2999 down.  It’s essentially the same good deal with different details.

Following are the current Toyota special lease deals for August 2011. These are all for 36 months, 12,000 miles/year, and expire on 8/31/2011. All Toyota leases also include free 2-year/25,000 mile maintenance (oil changes, tire rotation, multipoint inspection) and 24-hour roadside assistance.

2011 Toyota Highlander Limited – $269/month, $2999 due at signing

2011 Toyota Avalon – $319/month, $2999 due at signing

2011 Toyota Camry – $169/month, $500 bonus cash back, $2399 due at signing

2011 Toyota Corolla – $149/month, $2399 due at signing

2011 Toyota RAV4 – $219/month, $2399 due at signing

2011 Toyota Sienna – $259/month, $2999 due at signing

2011 Toyota Venza  – $239/month, $2399 due at signing

In order to take advantage of these very good special lease deals, you must have a good credit score. If you don’t know your credit score (there are actually three of them), you should know before you visit your Toyota dealer about these deals. You can get your scores at FreeCreditScore.com.

If you don’t understand how car leasing works, or don’t know if leasing is right for you, you should visit LeaseGuide.com. The site contains a wealth of free information and advice for car leasing consumers.

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Toyota

Due to the recent earthquake in Japan, Toyota has reduced the number of incentives it typically offers at this time of year. However, the special leases now being offered are excellent and should be considered if you are in the market for a Toyota lease.

Be aware that Toyota has two major distributors that control all sales and promotions in ten states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina & South Carolina) and that Toyota incentives can vary by region of the country.

Here are some of the current national Toyota lease incentives. All expire on July 5, 2011.

2011 Toyota Avalon – $369/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing

2011 Toyota Camry LE – $259/month, 36 months, $0 down, $0 first month’s payment, $0 securiy deposit

2011 Toyota Corolla  LE – $169/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing

2011 Toyota  Highlander – $359/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing

2011 Toyota Sienna – $329/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing

2011 Toyota Venza – $299/month, 36 months, $1999 due at signing

All these lease deals for June have been rated “Excellent” by LeaseGuide.com. If you need to understand how car leasing works and whether you are a good leasing candidate, visit LeaseGuide.com to find out.

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Because of shortages of both vehicles and parts created by the recent Japanese earthquake, automakers are not offering nearly the number of great incentives in June that we were seeing in the first months of 2011.

However lets take a look at where you can still find some good deals. Most of the deals expire on June 30, 2011. A few expire on July 5, 2011.

BMW is offering low APR interest rates (1.9%-3.9%) on the 2012 1-Series, 7-Series, X5, and X6 models. The company is also offering 0.9%-3.9% APR loan rates on 2011 models of the 3-Series, X5, Z4 7-Series, M3, 5-Series, 1-Series M, and X3. There is also a $3500 “Eco Credit” on some diesel models including the 2011 335d sedan, as well as special “Option Credits” available on many models (BMW doesn’t like to call them “rebates” — it sounds too cheap). Up to $2000 in factory-to-dealer cash is available on selected 7-Series models. Additionally, BMW is offering many excellent promotional lease deals in nearly every model line.

Chrysler has announced a few rebates and a number of low-interest loans, including 0% APR rates, across its 2011 model lines. These deals expire on August 1, 2011. Up to $1500 rebate or 0% APR loan is available on the Chrysler 200, 300, and Town & Country. 0% APR is also available on the Dodge Grand Caravan, Nitro, Avenger, Caliber, Journey, Dakota, Jeep Liberty, Compass, Patriot, and Ram trucks. Jeep Liberty has a $3000 rebate offer. Up to $3000 is also available on the Dodge Grand Caravan, Nitro, Avenger, Caliber, and Journey. There is a nice $4500 factory-to-dealer rebate on the Dodge Dakota.

Ford also has a number of 0% APR loan rates — on the 2011 Ford Ranger, Super Duty trucks, E-Series, Fiesta, Flex, Focus, Mustang, Fusion, and Taurus. Lincoln has 0% APR rate offers on the Lincoln Town Car, Navigator, MKS, MKZ, and MKT. Rebates up to $3000 are offered on the F-150 and Lincoln Town Car. Smaller rebates are offered on many other models. Large factory-to-dealer rebates are offered on the Mercury Grand Marquis ($5500), as well as the Mariner, and Milan (up to $3500).

Honda, which was seriously affected by the earthquakes in Japan is only offering a few low interest rate loans on some 2011 Acura and Honda models. The company is also offering a number of special lease deals on certain models and styles, such as the Honda Crosstour, Accord Sedan, CR-V, Odyssey, and Pilot. As you may know from reading this web site in the past, Honda lease deals are always great deals, if you like the model and style being offered. The 2011 Acura ZDX gets $2000 in factory-to-dealer cash. 

Hyundai/Kia is also in the 0% APR loan rate game with zero-percent deals on nearly every model, including both 2011 and 2010 models. In addition, there are a number of attractive rebates — $1000 on the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe and $2500 on the 2010 Hyundai Sonata. Smaller rebates are available on other models.

Jaguar has 0% APR loan deals on the 2011 Jaguar XF, XJ, and XK.

Mitsubishi has 0% APR rates on nearly every model, including the 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eclipse Spider.

Saab is offering 0% APR rates on the 2010 and 2011 Saab 9-3 and 9-5. In addition, the 2011 9-3 and 9-5 get $3000-$4000 factory-to-dealer cash.

Toyota, also hit hard by the Japanese earthquakes, has 0% APR deals on the 2011 Toyota Camry, Tundra, Corolla, Venza, Avalon, Highlander, and Sienna. A $2500 rebate is offered on the Toyota Tundra truck, as well as up to $2500 in factory-to-dealer cash.

Volkswagen/Audi has low-interest rate deals, including a few 0% APR rates, on nearly every 2011 Audi and Volkswagen model, and the 2012 Audi A7, Volkswagen CC, and Eos.  Leftover Audi 2010 models get some very large factory-to-dealer cash, up to $9500 but averaging about $4000-$5000.

Volvo has 0% APR deals on the 2012 S60 and most 2011 models except the XC70 and XC-90 (which have 2.9% rates).

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

Toyota

To make things more complicated, Toyota has two large independently-owned distributors that control sales and financing in 10 states — Southeast Toyota Distributors in Jacksonville controls all Toyota sales from dealers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Gulf State Distributors in Houston handles all Toyota sales in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

Each of these large distributors has its own captive finance company. This means when you buy or lease a car in one of the above states, you won’t be dealing with Toyota Finance, but with the finance company associated with the independent distributor. The reason we explain all this is that Toyota incentive programs may vary depending on the state in which you buy or lease your car. Some come directly from Toyota Finance, others come from the distributors’ finance companies — and might be different as to applicable models, styles, and program details.

The Toyota deals were discuss here on this web site are generally those that come directly from Toyota Finance.

Following are some of the best of the current Toyota deals for March 2011, ending on 4/4/2011. Notice that many of the best deals are on leftover 2010 models.

2011 Toyota Camry – $1000 rebate or 0% APR loan for up to 60 months — $189/month lease for 36 months on LE 4-door sedan automatic

2011 Toyota Corolla - $500 rebate or 1.9% APR loan for up to 60 months — $189/month lease for 36 months on LE 4-door sedan automatic or $209/month lease on S 4-door sedan automatic

2010 Toyota Corolla - $750 rebate or 0% APR loan for up to 60 months — $169/month lease for 36 months on LE 4-door sedan automatic

2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid - $2000 rebate or 0.9% APR for up to 60 months

2010 Toyota Matrix – $1500 rebate or 0% APR for up to 60 months — $229/month lease for 36 months on Base model

2010 Toyota Prius – $750 rebate or 0.9% APR loan – $199/month lease for 36 months on II model

2011 Toyota Tundra – $2250 rebate or 0% APR for up to 60 months — $359/month lease for 36 months on Grade Double Cab model 

2010 Toyota Yaris – $1500 rebate or 0% APR for up to 60 months

2011 Toyota RAV4 – $750 rebate or 1.9% APR loan — $199/month lease for Base model w/4-speed auto

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

Therefore, it is very useful to know which makes and models currently receive marketing support from the manufacturer. Prices on those vehicles will be lower than normal without having to do hard negotiating. If the dealer also adds his own discount, the deals can be even sweeter.

Actually, getting this kind of discount from a dealer is preferable to getting a direct-to-customer rebate. A rebate is not the same as a price discount. Sales tax on a new car is calculated on the selling price, after discounts are subtracted, but before rebates are deducted. A discount is a real price reduction, while a rebate is more like down payment money coming from the manufacturer’s pocket, not yours.

For example, if you buy a $12,000 car with a $2000 rebate, you pay sales tax on $12,000, although you only pay $10,000 of your own money for the car. On the other hand, if you buy a $12,000 car and you receive a $2000 discount, you only pay sales tax on $10,000.

Here are some of the best current (December 2010) factory-to-dealer rebates, all ending on January 3, 2011:

• 2010 BMW 6 Series, M6 – $10,000-$12,500
• 2010 Chrysler 300, PT Cruiser, Sebring – $1000
• 2010 Dodge Avenger – $1000
• 2010 Ford Flex, Taurus – $2000-$3000 (ends December 31, 2010)
• 2011 Cadillac CTS, DTS, STS, Escalade, Escalade ESV - $2000-$5000
• 2011 Cadillac Escalade EXT – $3000
• 2010 Acura RL, TL – $2500-$4000
• 2010 Acura MDX, RDX, TSX, ZDX – $750-$2500
• 2010 Honda Civic – $1500-$2500
• 2010 Honda Insight, Ridgeline – $1500
• 2010 Honda Accord, Crosstour – $1200
• 2010 Honda CR-V, Odyssey – $1000
• 2010 Land Rover LR2, Range rover – $2000-$4000
• 2011 Infiniti FX35, FX50, G37 – $3000
• 2011 Toyota Tundra – $2500
• 2011 Toyota Camry – $1500
• 2011 Toyota RAV4 – $1000
• 2011 Toyota Highlander – $500
• 2011 Volvo C30, C70, C80 – $500

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

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

The May Toyota deals end on June 1, 2010.

The extended deals do not include much in the way of direct factory-to-customer rebates but have very hefty factory-to-dealer cash (“marketing support”) which translates into customer price discounts.

There are 0% APR loan deals on eight different Toyota models, which is much better than paying the normal interest rate of 6.96% (Bankrate.com) and saves thousands of dollars in finance costs. Customers must choose between the special loan deals and discounted prices.

Toyota is also offering excellent lease deals on many models and styles. These deals are based on discounted prices, low money factors (finance charges), and high lease-end residuals. All these factors result in a lower than normal monthly payment. If you don’t understand leasing, we recommend that you take a few minutes to learn about it at LeaseGuide.com.

Additionally, Toyota is providing 2 years of free scheduled maintenance, up to 25,000 miles, which is a big money-saver in itself.

The company is trying hard to restore customer confidence in its vehicles after the unfortunate events of the last few months. Toyota has a reputation for building some of the highest quality, most reliable vehicles in the industry. We have no doubt that the recent isolated problems will make their products and service even better than before.

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.

For example, the Toyota Corolla LE with lots of extra equipment and options is being offered for $149 a month. This is a 36 month lease, 36,000 total miles allowed, and $1999 is due at lease signing. The $1999 includes a $1200 down payment, first month’s payment (standard in leasing), and a $650 acquisition fee (standard in leasing).

If you cannot afford the $1200 down payment, you can pay less but, of course, the monthly payment amount goes up. For example, if you can only afford $500 down, the payment goes to $169. If you can afford no down payment (but still pay the first month’s payment and the acquisition fee), the monthly payment goes to $182.

How can Toyota offer such great lease deals?

First, the price of the car has been discounted about $2000. Second, the lease-end residual value has been set much higher than normal, and finally, the lease money factor is .00002, which is equivalent to a very low 0.5% APR interest rate. The combination of these three things makes for a very low monthly lease  payment for this excellent automobile. It just doesn’t get much better.

If this explanation doesn’t make sense to you and you don’t understand car leasing, we recommend strongly that you learn how leasing works before you decide to lease. We suggest LeaseGuide.com, one of our sister web sites.

We have recently reported that the company is only offering a smattering of incentives, not including rebates, but a healthy dose of zero percent loans and $2000 in factory-to-dealer cash on some models and styles. Actually, these are not bad incentives at all and maybe our expectations are just too high. See our article, Toyota Deals So Far, for more details.

Now, however, Toyota has added some very attractive lease deals on most models. The current deals are good until March 31.

[ UPDATE 4/7/2010: Toyota announced today that the March lease deals, including 2 years free maintenance, will be continued through April 2010. ]

The “catch” is that the special lease deals only apply to one style within each affected model line. For example, for the Camry model line, the special lease is only for one style, the Camry LE 4-door, 4-cylinder sedan. It’s your only choice. You can’t get the same deal on other Camry styles such as the 2-door coupe.

Here are examples of the best Toyota car lease deals for March 2010. All are for 36 month leases, 12K miles annually. All are for 2010 model vehicles, except where noted.

Toyota Prius (style II) – $169 a month, $2869 due at signing

Toyota Camry LE – $149 a month, $2859 due at signing

Toyota Matrix – $169 a month, $2934 due at signing

Toyota Venza – $259 a month, $3704 due at signing

Toyota RAV4 – $159 a month, $2624 due at signing

Toyota Highlander – $299 a month, $2944 due at signing

Toyota Sienna LE (2011 model) – $349 a month, $3024 due at signing

Toyota Tundra Double Cab – $299 a month, $3834 due at signing

Scion XB – $239 a month, $889 due at signing

Scion TC - $266 a month, $910 due at signing

Scion XD – $217 a month, $857 due at signing

The above are all great lease deals based on discounted prices, low money factor, and high lease-end residual. However, if you don’t understand leasing and aren’t sure leasing is for you, we strongly recommend that you learn how car leasing works at LeaseGuide.com before you make a decision.

The new Toyota deals, which end on March 31, 2010, although attractive, are probably not as aggressive as the incentives that the company is likely to offer as soon as they get past their current problems.

It could be that they will modify the current incentives, or simply wait until next month to announce new and better deals. We expect Toyota to maintain these incentives throughout 2010, with adjustments from month to month.

It’s certain that Toyota must create incentives to get customers to come back and buy again. Full-page ads in local and national newspapers, and feel-good TV commercials simply aren’t going to do it. For sure, Toyota will come back with better safety, better reliability, and better quality control than ever before, but it will require a herculean effort and big monetary incentives to get most customers’ to start buying again.

Most of the current (until March 31) incentives are in the form of 0% APR and low-interest loans, and factory-to-dealer cash that dealers can use to offer price discounts. However, customers can’t take both. It’s the price discounts or low-interest loans, but not both. Obviously missing from the current incentive program mix are direct factory-to-customer rebates.

[ UPDATE: Toyota has now added some very attractive leases for March. In fact, these are some of the best car leases available for any automobile make or model right now. We discuss them in a separate article here.]

[ UPDATE 4/7/2010: Toyota announced today that the March lease deals, including 2 years free maintenance,  will be continued through April 2010.]

For example, on the much maligned 2010 Toyota Camry, there is $2000 factory-to-dealer cash, or a 0% APR loan rate for 36/48/60 months. 

The 2010 Toyota Highlander SUV gets the same loan deal but only  $1500 factory-to-dealer cash.

The 2010 Toyota Tundra gets 0% APR only for 36 months (1.9% for 48/60 months) or $3000 factory-to-dealer cash.

The 2010 Toyota Yaris gets the same loan, but instead of factory-to-dealer cash, customers get a $1000 rebate, which of course can’t be combined with the low-interest rate deal.

The 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Prius, and Sequoia get nothing.

The possible Toyota incentive program “improvements” that could come at a later date are to 1) add customer rebates to most models/styles, including a “customer loyalty bonus”; 2) extend 0% APR loans to more models/styles; and 3) extend special lease deals to more models/styles. It is also possible we’ll see some kind of free extended warranty or maintenance to help alleviate customers’ concerns about reliability.

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

And our answer is always the same each month. We don’t know and neither does anyone else. Car manufacturers don’t announce new incentive plans until the old plans expire. This month, most plans expire on March 1. The manufacturers don’t even tell their dealers in advance.

It would certainly be nice if we knew next month’s plan before the old plan expired. Then we would know whether to take the current deal or wait for the better deal next month. But we don’t have that luxury. Manufacturers want it that way.

We expect that most new car deals and incentives will be announced during the week of March 1.

One of the unknown factors this month will be Toyota’s plans. As you may know, Toyota has had sales problems due to all the publicity surrounding a couple of serious defects and resulting recalls (see our article, Toyota Fire Sales Soon?). We can be sure that other manufacturers are going to try to take advantage of Toyota’s temporary problems and will offer some interesting incentives to try to lure buyers away from Toyota.

But as soon as they fix their problems, which could be soon, Toyota will begin offering incredible incentives to get those customers back and restore confidence in the brand. That, in turn, could start a snowball effect, in which the other manufacturers could then begin offering even better incentives. And so on, and so on.

So the next month or so could be very interesting for car buyers. March could be the month that car buyers dream about — or not. As we stated at the beginning of this article, nobody knows.