While the hundreds of billions of dollars handed over to American automakers may not prove, in the long run, to be the wisest expenditure our government might have made, there is perhaps a silver lining for consumers at this juncture. The CEOs of these auto manufacturers, in a bid to elicit maximum sympathy, were crying about how their situation was so dire that they were unable to reimburse auto dealers for promotional offers and customer rebates.
Whether contrived or truthful, this left the auto dealers all over the country, holding the proverbial bag. Many dealerships were forced to close their doors. Those who remain in business are now offering some truly affordable new car deals. Their 2008 inventory holdovers might be even better car deals, since they're already depreciating. Taxes must be paid on cars still in inventory at the end of March. As a result, the auto dealers are quite hungry and willing to make the best car deals you might see for quite some time.
All things considered, this may be a good time to buy a new car, or last year's model at very substantial savings. While credit from banks has virtually dried up for individuals, apparently some auto dealers are still able to wheel and deal. Quite recently, television ads, by the dozens, have popped up, with dealers promising they can get financing, with a very low initial down payment, followed by an equally low monthly payment on a new, or 2008 model. Some of these car deals sound quite attractive.
Let's say you're looking for a second family car, or one your college age child can afford to drive and pay for on a limited budget. A compact, basic car without a lot of extras is being advertised for $159 down and $159 a month. Even to my frugal way of thinking, this sounds like a great car deal, so long as the interest rate doesn't exceed the sanity test!
Before you go shopping, you'll want to check the consumer reports for safety ratings, fuel efficiency and resale value for past years of the same model. When you find the model or models in which you might be interested, give your insurance company a call and see what it will cost to insure the vehicle. Keep in mind that four door models and plain Jane colored cars, such as white, silver and pale blue typically cost less to insure.
If all of the above passes your laugh test, you may well want to go haggle with the dealer and see what kind of car deal you can hammer out.
If you've been sitting on the fence up until now, you might want to strike while the iron is hot. As for waiting for the auto manufacturers come up with affordable alternative fuel cars, it may be a case of 'Waiting for Godot', the novella by Samuel Beckett. The poor salesman waits and waits, for his life changing deal in the form of Godot, who, of course, never shows up.
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