Car Sales Hit 15 Month High in August
1.26 million car shoppers purchased a new car last month, making it the best sales period in 15 months.
This wasn't surprising considering the huge success of the "cash for clunkers" program.
What's surprising is that some car makers such as GM and Chrysler actually had a decrease in sales compared to last August.
This is bad news for car makers because now that "cash for clunkers" has ended, sales going forward are expected to be dismill. In fact, September sales may be the worst to come.
Ford was the big winner with an increase in sales of 17% compared to the same time last year. Honda and Toyota weren't far behind with sales increasing 15% and 11% respectively.
Chrysler sales were down nearly 24% while Chevrolet was down nearly 10%. GM and Chrysler weren't able to take advantage of the "cash for clunkers" program partly due to production problems stemming from their bankruptcies.
3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money
The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network
Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect
TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.Step 3 Complete my Checklist
Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.- Gregg Fidan
Each week, I'll keep you up-to-date on the latest car deals and news that might affect your purchase. This includes...
- Best Rebates, Incentives, and Lease Deals
- Latest Car Buying Scams and Tricks
- The Best & Worst Time to Buy a Car
- Which Cars You Should Avoid
About The Author
Gregg Fidan is the founder of RealCarTips. After being ripped off on his first car purchase, he devoted several years to figuring out the best ways to avoid scams and negotiate
the best car deals. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject of car buying and taught thousands of car shoppers how to get the best deals.
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