Don't Rely On Dealers To Tell You About Savings

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By By Herb Weisbaum

Summary

Many car manufacturers are offering large rebates and low financing rates, but to get the best deal you need to do some homework.

Story Published: Dec 29, 2004 at 12:33 AM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 1:49 AM PDT

Don't Rely On Dealers To Tell You About Savings
SEATTLE - It's year end clearance time and the airwaves and newspapers are filled with ads offering big, big savings. Manufacturers are offering thousands of dollars in rebates and very low financing rates to get you into their dealer's showrooms.

But don't rely on the dealer to tell you about these money saving offers. That's the conclusion of a just-released study by Consumer Reports.

It shows that all too often salespeople don't tell buyers about these rebates and financing options.

"We found that roughly 60 percent were offered the cash rebates and roughly 40 percent were offered the low financing," says Phil Perrault with Consumer Reports Auto Price Service. These findings are based on a survey of more than 13,000 adult car buyers conducted earlier this year.

How do you protect yourself? Consumer Reports says you need to do your homework before you head to the showroom.

"It's really up to the consumer to be aware of the rebates that are available," Perrault says, "and to bring the information with them to the dealers." That means checking the ads and visiting manufacturer's websites.

You can also get information on rebates and cash back from Edmunds.com.

The National Automobile Dealers Association has responded to this study by saying that in today's competitive environment it makes no sense for a dealer not to mention an incentive. The association points out that in most cases,the manufacturer picks up the cost for that rebate or cut-rate financing.

For More Information:

USA Today

The Detroit News

Consumer Reports: Best Deals Right Now

Consumer Reports: The Best Time to Buy A Car

Consumer Reports: Autos