Clark Howard's Tips

March 7, 2008

There's great news for your wallet coming to a car lot near you.

Automakers have been trying hard to scale back production to get supply and demand in sync. But it's not working; demand is dropping quicker than they can cut back production. There's simply too much product out there.

Couple that with the fact that repossessions are skyrocketing and the housing slump is cutting into people's car budgets -- it all adds up to a perfect storm for the savvy car shopper.

The Wall Street Journal reports that domestic, Japanese and European automakers are all offering great deals such as 0% or 1% financing and big rebates.

Edmunds.com will keep you up to date with the latest incentives. Keep in mind that sometimes a credit union car loan at 5% with loads of cash back from the manufacturer is a smarter move than an offer of 0% financing from the dealership with no cash back. So arrange your financing in advance, know the market and avoid "the grind" at the dealership. Start pricing vehicles at CarsDirect.com. They'll give you a fixed price that you can use as a reference point. You may even find that their price is the best.

Surprisingly, people love the Internet for researching cars, but they always go to the dealership and face "the grind" when they want to seal the deal. Old habits die hard.

Consumer advice courtesy of

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