2018 – President’s Day Car Sales are already in high gear.
TV commercials are shouting low lease payments, 0% interest rates and discounts of up to $9,000 on expensive trucks, luxury cars and high priced suvs.
What should you be looking for when shopping this holiday weekend?
Higher interest rates: NEW and Used…
As interest rates creep up be ready to hear 4.25% on good credit car loans from your bank. The 0% offers are for short term deals (36 mos.) and left over models from 2017. Good Credit is OVER 700 FICO AUTO score, not 600 something as in the past. Auto lenders are starting to see defaults and repos climb, so down payment of 10% is a typical requirement to get a preferred loan.
One PRICE or NO SALE, Holiday Car deals Presidents Day.
REBATES on popular models are slim to NONE. If you think you’re going to get a rebate on a new Honda Accord, Hybrid Clarity, Ford Raptor, Porsche Cayenne, Audi A7, think again. If the dealer has one on the showroom floor, per package or color, bet the manufacturer pulled the incentives to meet demand.
The new 2018 models often have less than $800.00 total mark-up, and many brands are shifting to a NO
negotiation policy. Cadillac for one, has taken away all the dealer cash, hold-back money of yesteryear. All the dealers assigned to the PLATINUM program must sell at MSRP in order to get their inventory. If the meet or exceed customer satisfaction, Cadillac throws them a tiny bonus. Yes, this is supposed to improve the car buying experience but seasoned car buyers are having a hard time paying “STICKER”, even if MSRP is a fair value for the car compared to other makes and models. This is the thinking behind the move, and the original concept of a MANUFACTURERS SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE.
Sahara Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram and Desert 215 CJDR brought the one price initiative to Las Vegas several years ago. While it has taken a while to convince car shoppers there is truth behind the program, large inventories and easy transactions have brought the consumer around.
USED CARS and PLANNED TRADING CYCLES
Look for dealerships to offer Used Car leases as part of the car buying conversation. The “PLANNED TRADING CYCLE” as Sahara CJDR Sales Manager Dan Overman explains, “This plan helps clients determine the best way to finance the vehicle for the time they plan to keep it. The program reduces the owners liability on the auto loan, and warranty needs. The short term, lower payments allow car buyers to trade vehicles more frequently to meet their changing lifestyle needs.”
TRADE-INS holding value.
Customers looking to trade in their old car this weekend will find values are reasonable for low mile and excellent conditon. AWD and 4wd Subaru, Audi, Jeep and Toyota are bringing top dollars. Honda and Nissan are not far behind. Sedans with under 60,000 miles are in the mid to low teens, depending on the make, model and technology features. No back-up camera, deduct. Missing navigation or blind spot monitors, deduct more. If you are depending on kbb.com or truecar.com to help you, deduct another 1000.00 off their values for your trade, the data they use is often based on auction figures which are inconsistent.
Watch for more
President’s Day deal tips in the next few days!
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Porsche, Ford, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Audi
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Sarah Lee Marks is MyCarlady. She has over 25+ years of experience.
She writes about cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects.
MyCarlady offers free car buying advice, and private, auto-related services to help you maintain your personal or commercial vehicles.
Contact Sarah Lee for more information: sarahlee@mycarlady.com Join the MyCarlady newsletter to be kept up-to-date on this and other important car information.
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