Incentives abound on most new cars

whiteman

Saturday May 19, 6:00 am ET

Terry Jackson

It's a favorite slogan of car salesmen: \"Now is a good time to buy.\"
If prices are high, they'll say, \"Buy before they go any higher.\" And when prices are low, it's, \"Buy because there are bargains.\"

But now may REALLY be the time to buy in the new-car market.

It's no secret that sales at Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler's Detroit arm are suffering, so those manufacturers are offering a lot of good deals. What you may not know is that currently there's a slew of incentives -- from rebates to low APR financing to subsidized lease offers to marketing support for dealers -- on more than 250 new car models, from makers ranging from Acura to Toyota.

What's more, it's not merely the more mundane sedans getting the bargain treatment. Convertibles, sports cars and even gas-electric hybrid vehicles are benefiting from wheeling and dealing.

Only Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maserati and a few other exotic makes have not been motivated to offer special deals to move the merchandise.

Some of the cash-back offers are truly impressive: Ford is offering a $7,000 rebate on certain models of the Lincoln Town Car. True, the rebate is there because some buyers will need that sort of enticement to buy a vehicle which is woefully outdated when compared with competing luxury, four-door sedans. If you need a car big enough to carry six people and a lot of luggage -- maybe go into the limo business -- now may be a good time to buy a Town Car.

Some rebates are targeted at very narrow classes of consumers. Toyota, for example, will give you a $500 rebate on a hybrid Prius if you're an active member of the military. There's also $1,000 in marketing support that Toyota is giving dealers to help move certain Prius models -- money that savvy buyers should take into account when negotiating the best price.

It's college graduation time, so some manufacturers are offering rebates of $500 or more to recent grads.

Low-cost financing abounds in the marketplace. For example, Mercedes-Benz is offering 2.9 percent financing on the E550 sedan for loans as long as 72 months. Attractive lease deals are blooming as well -- like the favorably reviewed Saturn Aura sedan at $292 a month for 39 months with $1,995 due at signing. Remain wary of low-cost leases that have very restrictive mileage limits, however.

The current sales outlook would seem to predict that such deals will be with us through the summer, and as more 2008 models begin to arrive at dealerships the incentives on remaining 2007 models could increase.

That may be bad news for manufacturers trying to stem bottom-line losses, but it's good news for buyers looking for deals.