Best Car Deals

According to Sean Tucker in his article Best Car Deals: January 2010, year 2009 was a disastrous year to sell cars. Major automakers declared bankruptcy, thousands of dealerships shut their doors for good, and several brands ceased production and launched going-out-of-business sales. When the final tally was in, Americans had bought about 10.4 million cars – fewer than any year since 1982. However, 2009 was a terrific year to buy a car, with automakers heavily discounting cars to try to move them off of dealership lots. Anxious dealers were willing to negotiate -- since they saw few car shoppers, they couldn’t afford to let many walk away without a deal. 2010 begins on slightly more solid ground. Most analysts expect to see a gradual recovery in the auto market, and a gradual increase in car prices. As Americans come back into showrooms, automakers are likely to pull back on the heavy incentives they used to try to lure buyers in a troubled market.

Just as important, automakers have fewer cars they need to sell. They overbuilt 2009 models, overestimating demand, and wound up having to sell cars at a discount just to clear up an oversupply of newly-built cars. They’ve scaled back production of 2010s, so they won’t face the same pressure. Car prices traditionally rise in January after a holiday low, and conditions are right for that to happen this year. However, there are still bargains to be found in January. We’ve seen a distinct change in the incentives this month. Some automakers are offering much less significant discounts this month than we’ve grown accustomed to. But a few are still aggressively discounting cars. Rather than across-the-board discounts on most cars, we’re now seeing a market where one car can be much less expensive than its competition -- thanks to certain automakers carrying over significant incentive programs while others haven’t. This month, savvy shoppers should know that the best deals might not be advertised. Most dealerships sold off the last of their 2009 models in December, but a few haven’t. They’ll be anxious to move those last few dated-looking cars off the lot to make space for a 2010 model – but in many cases, the difference between the 2009 and 2010 is so small it may be irrelevant to you. If you can find a leftover 2009, you might have a particularly easy time negotiating a great deal.