The 5 Best Times to Get Great Vehicle Rebates & Incentives on a New Car

When it comes to getting the best vehicle rebates and incentives, it’s a similar scenario as to whether or not someone is a morning person: you don’t try to talk to someone who isn’t a morning person first thing – you wait until they’ll be more receptive.

It’s very similar when it comes to buying or leasing a new car; except you hit them when they’re the most vulnerable (and desperate). When you request your free, no obligation new car price quote and have received the best available vehicle rebates and incentives being offered in , you’ll have everything you need to maximize your savings by hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

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Understanding Vehicle Rebates & Incentives

Vehicle rebates and incentives are offered by automakers to encourage consumers buying or leasing a new vehicle to do so from them, and not a competitor. The manufacturers may also offer inducement on models that are not selling as fast as they would like. The following are the three primary kinds of vehicle rebates and incentives that could save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on a new car:

Customer/Consumer Bonus Cash is a kind of rebate that is mostly used towards the negotiated purchase or lease price. There are other forms of bonus cash incentives, such as: Offering existing customers a loyalty bonus to stick with them or a conquest (competition) bonus to encourage a competitor’s customer to switch automakers.

Dealer Cash is paid to the dealership by the manufacturer to assist with various overhead costs. While the car dealership doesn’t have to share any of this money with you in the form of a reduced purchase or lease price, it can factor heavily in your negotiations.

Low APR Financing Terms is just what it implies. The manufacturer is offering you low or even zero percent financing on your new car; however, keep in mind that you’ll need very good credit to qualify for this type of incentive.

It’s important for you to know that you’ll be asked to choose between a cash rebate and a low APR financing offer. If you’re already aware that you wouldn’t qualify for the low financing (or could get better terms through your bank), take the customer cash rebate.

Car Manufacturers Who Traditionally Offer the Best Vehicle Rebates & Incentives

While there are some automakers who have a history of offering the best vehicle rebates and incentives, there are many that do not; today’s current financial climate has resulted in more automakers having to offer attractive vehicle rebates and incentives to assist consumers buy or lease one of their new cars.

Historically the American automakers such as GM, Ford and Chrysler have offered generous vehicle rebates and incentives. Customer cash incentives and rebates are normally higher during the months that they’re trying to make room for new models.

Another strong segment are the luxury automakers like BMW, Mercedes, Infiniti, Audi and Lexus; the big difference with the luxury brands is their incentives take a more subtle approach, as they don’t want to appear to be a discount manufacturer. Their rebates tend to be offered in the form of loyalty/competitive bonus and other forms of incentives that can still make buying or leasing a luxury car more affordable.

The automakers who have picked up to the pace in the current economy have been Japanese companies like Nissan and Toyota. Over the past few years they have substantially increased the amount of vehicle rebates and incentives they offer. One of the benefits to the economy tanking; it has forced many companies who in the past weren’t quite as generous as the American manufacturers, to step up and create a more level playing field, rebate and incentive wise.

The 5 Best Times to Get Great Vehicle Rebates & Incentives

Now that you know the basics about vehicle rebates and incentives, let’s look at the various times during the year where you can position yourself to get an even better deal on the new car you want to buy:

All dealerships have monthly sales quotas they have to hit if they want their bonus money. Towards the end of a month when they’re trying to get the big bucks is when you’ll see lots of special incentives being offered.

Over the holidays, like in November and December, car dealers are desperate for customers, because everyone is doing holiday activities; trips, parties, shopping and pretty much anything except looking for a new car. You go into a new car dealership during those months and you can negotiate a great deal on a new car.

Those holiday months also affect the individual automakers, as they need to make their end of year forecasts. This is a time when they offer very generous consumer cash rebates and incentive deals to generate sales (and meet their projections)

The manufacturer’s will also offer large incentives during certain times during the year, some starting as soon as May and running throughout the summer months if they plan on presenting a new model sooner than the fall/winter months.

The seasons of the year also factor in to when you may (or may not) get a great deal. As an example, let’s say it is wintertime and you go looking for a deal on an SUV – don’t count on it, however, shop for that same SUV during the summer when most people are thinking about convertibles and it would be an entirely different ballgame.

Now that you know the types of vehicle rebates and incentives that car manufacturers and dealerships offer, along with the best time to negotiate a great deal, request a free, no obligation new car price quote to arm yourself with competing new car price quotes and manufacturer incentives being offered in .

It won’t cost you a dime nor will you be under any obligation to buy, in order to find the best available vehicle rebates and incentives on the new car of your dreams.