Car-Buying Incentives Drop in 2012
Chances are, if you’re shopping around for that new car you’ve always wanted that you’ll be paying more for it than you had planned. Car sales in the U.S. have been on the rise lately, which means that auto manufacturers no longer need to offer as many incentives as the used to. What this means to you is higher prices.
Don’t fret though, according to J.D. Power and Associates whatever you do buy will likely be higher quality than in recent years and be stacked full of the options that people just love.
Auto makers haven’t been falling asleep at the wheel though when it comes to advertising their cars. GM has ramped up its marketing campaign during the Olympics with its “Total Pricing Confidence” program. GM likes to give us the impression that we mere consumers will be able to get GM cars for rock-bottom prices, while others are offering seriously low interest rates on loans. However, the bottom line is the sticker price is still bound to give you a little shock.
According to Jesse Toprak of TrueCar.com, the deals certainly as good as they might seem. “Even though automakers may give the impression that they are ramping up incentives spending … [they] are increasingly moving away from cash incentives and pushing finance and lease programs,” Toprak notes.
TrueCar.com adds that only a few of the automakers are actually still offering decent incentives, including Volkswagen, Nissan and Honda – all of which are offering bigger incentives than in 2011.
Volkswagen +38.1%
Nissan + 22.4%
Honda +12.8%
Toyota on the other hand, having to recall nearly a million cars, has gone the other way and reduced incentives by as much as -22.5%. Overall, the auto industry has decreased incentives by 3.7%.
All of the declines are noted as coming from the resurgence of the automotive market since the bailout. The Big 3 – GM, Ford and Chrysler – have revised the 2012 forecast with an upward trend to the tune of 14.5 million, the best numbers the market has seen since the recession.
In short, the automotive industry is quickly becoming a seller’s market as manufacturers struggle to meet the demands of the consumers. If you want to find a good deal on that car of your dreams, you need to be ready to do a little shopping around for the best deal. If you want to save a few pennies, your best bet is to look for lower interest rate car loans instead of the overall price.
