HOW TO FINDING a Great Car Deal

While you're selecting the perfect ride, you should also start researching manufacturer incentives that can save you serious money. When automakers need to boost the sales of slow-selling models, they use a number of methods. Financing deals, cash back offers, and subsidized lease incentives are the most common.

A financing deal can save you money by charging you a lower interest rate than you'll find on the open market. The current average rate for a five-year loan is 4.29 percent, so you’ll want to look for an offer that charges you less than that. The best subsidized interest rate offers are zero percent deals.

Cash back offers are a bit of a misnomer, as you’ll rarely get a pile of cash back. Rather, the offer will lower the price you pay for the car. For example, if you see an offer for $2,500 cash back, you can plan to knock $2,500 off the price of the vehicle. These deals are called by a number of names, including rebates, cash back incentives, and bonus cash.

For slow-selling cars and models that have replacements on the way, you’ll often find combination deals that include both low interest rates and cash back.

If you are interested in leasing, take advantage of the subsidized lease incentives offered by carmakers. You’ll find them on our lease deals page.

This December’s Best Deals

This December’s deals include a broad mix of offers on lingering 2017 models and early 2018s coming on the market. There are an increasing number of good deals on SUVs and crossovers, while some of the best offers are found in the compact and midsize car markets. If a car is mostly unchanged between 2017 and 2018, there's little downside to buying the older model – and you'll likely save a ton of money.

For example, the 2018 GMC Acadia sees few changes. You can get as much as $5,000 cash back on the 2017 Acadia, in addition to financing deals with lower interest than the current market rate.

With a redesigned 2018 Ford Mustang set to arrive at dealerships, now is the time to get Ford’s six-year zero percent deal on the 2017 Mustang, plus $1,000 cash back. This offer includes the Mustang GT, which has rarely been discounted over the last couple of years.

A big surprise in this month’s deals is the $5,000 cash back you can get on the all-new 2018 Lexus LC in the Northeast. In other parts of the country, buyers can receive 1.9 percent financing on this luxury sports car. It would make an excellent sled to carry your gifts to grandma's house, and it would look great with a bow on top.

To take advantage of the best new car deals, you will need a top-notch credit score. Before you start shopping, it's a good idea to check your credit report. That way, you can correct any errors and improve any weaknesses that are affecting your credit score. Improving your score by just a few points can get you a better deal on new car financing.

Car deals tend to come with a lot of fine print. Read all of the terms and conditions so you don't miss a critical piece of information that can cost you thousands in savings.

What Is a Good Car Deal?

The best way to buy a car is to focus on the total cost of the purchase, including the interest paid over the life of the loan. That takes a bit of work on your part; it’s best not to depend on a car sales associate, who will likely mix the price of the car, the financing, and the value of your trade-in together to produce a monthly payment. This is an easy – and costly – trap to fall into, and it’s not the right way to buy a new car.

A better way is to negotiate the price of the car before you start talking about your financing or trade-in. Having a pre-approved financing offer from a bank or credit union helps to take the games out of the negotiation.

When you have the choice of a financing or cash back offer, do the math to find out which will save you the most money. Always do this math yourself to ensure you understand the numbers and won’t get pushed into a deal that is better for the seller than it is for you. Buyers who will be making a large down payment, are paying in cash, or have a high-value trade-in will almost always want to opt for a substantial cash rebate. Everyone else should do the math.

Let’s use the 2018 Kia Optima SX’s deals as an example. Buyers have a choice of taking $3,000 cash back or getting zero percent financing for five years plus $1,500 cash back. We’ll assume you have negotiated a price of $30,500 and that you don’t have a down payment, meaning the entire amount will be financed.

With the zero percent financing plus cash back offer, you’ll take the $1,500 rebate off the top. That means you’ll finance $29,000 at zero percent. Dividing $29,000 by 60 months results in equal monthly payments of about $483.

If you opt for the cash back deal, you will have to pay market-rate interest on the balance of the cost. Since the math is more complicated, you'll need to use a loan payment calculator to figure out the monthly payments. First, subtract the $3,000 rebate from the $30,500 price. Next, finance the remaining $27,500. With six-year interest rates currently averaging 4.29 percent, the monthly payments come out to $510.

If you choose the cash back deal, you’ll end up paying about $27 more per month, or $1,620 more over the life of the loan.

Of course, you don't always want to opt for the lowest monthly payment. If you have to add a year or two to the loan to get a monthly payment that’s a few dollars less, it's probably not a good deal in the long run. You don't want to be paying for a car after its warranty ends, then find yourself adding repair costs to those monthly fees.

Before you sign on the bottom line, be sure to read the documents thoroughly to ensure that they reflect the deal you agreed to. Pay particular attention to the sales price, interest rate, and length of the loan. Beware of costly add-ons that can add thousands to the price of your new vehicle.

When car shopping, be sure to cast a wide net with your search. You might be able to save some money by purchasing your new ride in a location where the model is less popular. For example, think of buying a hybrid from a rural dealer or a truck in an urban area.

We research deals based on representative ZIP codes across the country. We strive to keep this list up to date, but deals can change without warning. Some offers are limited to a certain number of cars or a percentage of dealer stock, and inclusion on our site does not guarantee that a particular deal will be available at your local outlet. The easiest way to find out if you can take advantage of an offer is to click the orange button next to the car that you're interested in, and we’ll search for a great price at a local new car dealer.

Our best car deals include purchase deals for Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Honda, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Mazda, Buick, GMC, Subaru, Volkswagen, Acura, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and Lexus vehicles. Our expert researchers and journalists also search the market for this month’s best lease deals and best used car deals. We’ve done the research to help you find a great ride at a great price.