Car buyers could grab big July bargains this weekend
With the auto industry on its way to a sour July, auto dealers may be more motivated to sell cars this weekend -- and it could be a boon for buyers. It may depend on what you want to buy.
"If you're purchasing a fuel-efficient subcompact like a (Toyota) Prius or a (Honda) Civic, there aren't many deals to be had," says Chintan Talati, spokesman for the TrueCar.com auto-buying research site. "If you're looking for a larger car, SUV or truck, now is as good of time as any."
TrueCar.com and its rival, Edmunds.com, point to lower sales for automakers this month, which ends Sunday.
TrueCar.com predicts that July new-car sales will fall 0.9% from the same month last year. Edmunds.com says sales will be up slightly, by 1.6%. Either way, it's pretty clear that car shoppers aren't exactly showing strong confidence in the economy. That doesn't bode well.
"With auto sales already not running at a strong rate this summer, it could be (a) tough second half of the year for the auto industry," says Jesse Toprak, vice president of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com.
At least automakers aren't showing signs of desperation. Average spending on incentives -- sales gimmicks such as cash-back or 0% financing -- is up an average of only 0.7% industrywide, TrueCar.com says.
Part of the reason that July sales are stagnant is that Japanese automakers are still struggling to fully recover from March's earthquake and tsunami that dramatically cut production.
There are hopeful signs. Edmunds.com says Toyota will make a 21.2% sales gain over June, which it takes as a sign that inventories are recovering. Nissan is likely to see a 27.8% month-over-month gain. Honda is still having trouble, with sales dropping 2.4% over June.
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"If you're looking for a larger car, SUV or truck, now is as good of time as any." TrueCar.com and its rival, Edmunds.com, point to lower sales for automakers this month, which ends Sunday. TrueCar.com predicts that July new-car sales will fall 0.9%
It's not surprising car dealers are a frequent source of complaints, since most Americans buy a new or used car at some point, but as Edmunds.com editor Phil Reed pointed out this year, "Most people only shop for a new car once every five to seven
But it's not going to require cars to turn into George Jetson-type vehicles.” The average fuel economy of new vehicles rose to 29.3 mpg last year from 26.6 mpg in 2007, the US said. The administration is seeking to more than double the EPA- rated fuel
But before you walk into a dealership and try to haggle, do your research with the aid of car-buying apps. The respected car-information site Edmunds.com provides free apps for Android and iOS that help you find new autos available in your area based
If you are financing the car purchase, you will be paying interest on the PPM cost. Service must be performed at the dealership where you purchased the car. Edmunds.com offers a maintenance-cost calculator that will estimate the scheduled-maintenance
Toyota makes big gains, but still off 20 percent from 2010 ...
"Inventory issues are not seriously holding back Toyota anymore, and a 25 percent month-over-month boost in incentives are helping the company finally pick up the sales momentum that it needed," said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com. "But with sales expected to be off more than 20 percent compared to July 2010, Toyota still has a long way to go." Edmunds.com estimates 1,066,102 new car sales (including fleet sales) this month, a 1.6 percent increase over July 2010 and a 1.3 percent increase over last month. The estimated sales volume translates to a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of 12.3 million light vehicles, nearly one million more than the 11.4 million SAAR reported in June. "Prices are falling as dealer inventories are becoming more stable, so this boost in sales over last month was expected, and it is encouraging news for the auto industry," said Edmunds.com Chief Economist Lacey Plache. "But some pricing and supply issues are still restraining market growth and there is also an underlying question of whether there are larger economic issues at play.
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