Hot deals on cars take chill off of December
Shoppers who missed out on Black Friday sales can hit a restart button when it comes to sweet car deals in December.
The ads might be labeled as a “Year- End Sales Event,” “Holiday Sale” or “December to Remember,” instead of Black Friday.
But many rebates and special incentives are at their best levels of the year now, and some regional incentives could be added before Dec. 31, according to Brad Korner, general manager of Cox Automotive Rates & Incentives in Ann Arbor, Mich. Cox owns car- shopping websites including Kelley Blue Book and AutoTrader.
“You’re going to see a lot of these go away in January,” Korner predicted.
Shoppers who think the end of the month is a great time to buy a car have grown accustomed to anticipating even better prices at the end of the year, too.
“It’s like buying Christmas paper in January,” said James Dollinger, a Flint, Mich.- area auto dealer.
Car companies are concerned about clearing out inventories— and holding ontomarket share. U. S. auto sales are likely to be down for 2017, the first decline since 2009, when both General Motors and Chrysler ended up in bankruptcy.
Carmakers cranked out plenty of incentives for December to unload outgoing 2017 models. Many 2018 models have rebates, but the better deals tend to be on the older inventories.
Chevrolet, for example, has added “Employee Pricing for All” in December — the best incentives of the year for all Chevy vehicles in inventory, Korner said.
In December, bigger rebates are likely to be on slow- selling luxury cars, sedans, hybrids and electric vehicles. A 2017 Ford Taurus, for example, has up to $ 6,750 in incentives for those who qualify.
In addition, some customers could qualify for another $ 500 military bonus or a $ 500 bonus for college students and recent graduates.
Many car companies offer extra, conditional incentives for college grads, military experience, union members — even Uber drivers.
Before heading to a dealership, research incentives and rebates online at sites such as Kelley Blue Book at www. kbb. com and Edmunds at www. edmunds. com.
Incentives can apply to specific models, too.
And unlike in years past, incentives aren’t across the board.