Should You Buy a Car Now, or Wait till 2010?
There's still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding next year's car sales - for consumers and automakers alike. Production cutbacks and the Cash for Clunkers Program greatly reduced swollen inventories this year, and the next few months may see a price struggle between manufacturers desperate for a profit and customers anxious to save. But who will win?
With the economy still shaky, buyers generally will want to save as much as possible on purchases. So if automakers keep the higher prices on new 2010 models, they stand to lose many potential customers.
Currently, the best discounts are offered by companies with oversized 2010 inventories. Ford and Toyota have nearly cleared their 2009 stocks, and in October their 2010 models were discounted by 12% and 8% respectively. In the 5-6% range for discounts lie Honda, GM, Chrysler Group, and Hyundai, most of which offered comparably greater incentives on their 2009 models.
Even though many car manufacturers are hoping for an increase in sales by next year, there's a good chance they'll be forced to push incentives if buyers are still reluctant.
If you're on the fence about buying a new car, it may be worthwhile to wait a few months and see if you can take advantage of a possible oversupply of vehicles. If the economy dips back into recession, it's a certainty car manufacturers will be forced to reduce prices again through increased incentives.
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.
Latest Weekly Car Buying Tips
May 2022
- Best Car Deals by Category May 19, 2022
- Which Cars Better to Lease or Buy May 19, 2022
- New Cars You Should Wait to Buy May 19, 2022
- Real Prices of Midsize Cars May 19, 2022
- Best Bang for Your Buck Lease Deals May 12, 2022
- Best Electric, Hybrid Lease Deals May 12, 2022
- Top 100 Cheapest New Cars May 12, 2022
- Real Prices of Pickup Trucks May 12, 2022
- Best 0% Finance Deals May 2022 May 05, 2022
- Best Car Deals Around the Country May 05, 2022
- Real Prices of Large SUVs May 05, 2022
- Largest Hidden Dealer Rebates May 05, 2022
April 2022
- Worst Cars to Lease Right Now Apr 28, 2022
- Biggest Discounts on New Cars Apr 28, 2022
- Real Prices of New Compact SUVs Apr 28, 2022
- Real Prices of Compact Cars Apr 21, 2022
- Top 100 Cheapest Lease Deals Apr 14, 2022
- Cars With the Largest Rebates Apr 14, 2022
- Price Comparison of Subcompact SUVs Apr 14, 2022
- Real Prices of Midsize SUVs Apr 07, 2022
