General Motors is currently offering employee pricing on most models including the popular Chevrolet Malibu. Other automakers are also offering incentives, making now an excellent time to consider buying a new car.

My neighbor, Lester, is a good representation of so many of the people living in my area. He retired early, has a generous pension, is collecting social security, and he keeps track of his investments. Lester is also very thrifty, driving a nine-year old Chevy Impala that has less than 75,000 miles on the odometer.

Lester plans on buying one more car in his lifetime, figuring it’ll last him long enough before he and his wife will head off for a retirement home. That car purchase wasn’t going to take place until next year, but with so many new car incentives available this year, he plans on seeking the best discounts as soon as they become available.

It looks as if Lester’s wait is now over.

General Motors, for one, is now offering their biggest discounts of the year, allowing buyers to take advantage of the company’s employee pricing program. When an automaker rolls out this type of plan, they are showing that they mean serious business; car prices are slashed below the sticker price, and are offered at the deepest discounts possible.

Although the GM offer is the only one of its kind in place right now, other automakers are expected to follow suit between now and the end of the year. Sales for most car companies are way off and bloated inventories must be cleared. One way to do that is to offer slash prices to the bone. However, even with employee pricing, additional savings can be realized IF you think smart.

Employee Pricing? You Can Realize Additional Savings!

If you are planning to take advantage of GM’s employee pricing or some other automaker’s program, you’ll want to know that additional savings are also available. These include:

College Grad or Military Discounts — Recent college grads and active military members are often offered an additional discount by automakers. Ranging in price from $300 to $500, they are the kinds of deals that consumers often overlook and dealers don’t always mention. Before heading off to your local showroom, get on that brand’s website to learn about additional incentives.

Cash Discount — If you are in a position to offer an all cash transaction, you might also be able to shave a few hundred extra off of the price of the car. This offer varies from dealer to dealer, but remember this: the automaker often slips the dealer rebate money for selling cars — why not get a portion of that money for yourself as well? Lester plans on doing just that — too bad he isn’t a recent college grad or he’d be after that discount too!

Get More For Your Trade In — Lester is giving his old Impala to his daughter, but you may be looking to trade in your car when you buy your new wheels. Be careful — car dealers will often try to mix both deals together, i.e. the buying of a new car with the trading in of your old one. Better to work out the best price on your new car first and then see what the dealer will pay for your old car. Visit Kelley Blue Book at www.kbb.com to find out what your car is worth. Cars with larger engines as well as trucks and SUVs are depreciating much faster these days; you have high gas prices to blame for that.

I’m not in Lester’s position financially nor am I planning to buy a new car right now. Regardless of what your financial condition is, before you spring for a new car, you’ll want to use an automotive calculator to learn what you can afford and what your monthly payments will be. Visit the Saylending.com to find a lending guide to help you with the car buying process.

(Photo Credit: GM Corp.)

Tags: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, employee pricing, General Motors, GM, GMC, Hummer, new cars, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn

One of the big downsides for automakers who provide financing for vehicles through their own financing companies is that these businesses are losing a lot of money. Contributing to the losses is the huge decline in resale values on big trucks and SUVs, vehicles that General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and Nissan have sold in abundance over the past few years.

As a result of current market conditions, GMAC, Ford Credit, Chrysler Financial and other automotive manufacturer’s financing arms are losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually. In a bid to stem losses, the companies are no longer accepting new leases or severely restricting what they can offer. Clearly, one important financing option is no longer available for consumers, though there could be some benefits which are offered instead.

Can’t Lease From The Manufacturer? Other Options Are Available!

For some consumers, losing the lease option means that they’ll take their business elsewhere. For whatever reasons are important them, holding onto a car longer than the typical 24-39 month lease period is not something they want to do. Fortunately, there are some options for consumers to consider:

Take Your Business Elsewhere — Inasmuch as leaving your favorite automotive brand could be a big move for you, if you want to lease a new car every two or three years, then finding a manufacturer who offers this option is one way to go.

Take The Financing Deal Or Shop Around — In a bid to offer customers an attractive alternative to leasing, automotive financing companies are sweetening their deals. Here, you could find additional bargaining power: instead of financing your car through the dealer, take the rebate and seek financing elsewhere. Your credit union can often match the best financing rate out there allowing you to pocket the $2000 to $5000 rebate offered in lieu of financing.

Take Your Leasing Elsewhere — If you would like to continue with your favorite brand (Chrysler, for example) and the manufacturer is no longer offering leases, you can seek third party leasing elsewhere. Your leasing options (higher down payment, bigger monthly payments, other restrictions) won’t be as attractive as what you would have received previously, but this option is still available to you. In some cases you could get a rebate from the manufacturer while leasing your new car with a third party.

Even BMW is rethinking leasing which is 60% of its U.S. business. Though the German automotive company will not be getting out of this business angle completely, it just may pay for you to consider leasing elsewhere and taking whatever other incentives are being offered instead.

Clearly, the consumer is in the driver’s seat as year to date vehicle sales are down by more than 10% this year. Just like in the housing market, if you are a buyer then deals can be had, but carefully weigh every offer to find the best plan for you.

Tags: auto leasing, auto lending, Auto Loans, automotive financing, car leasing, leases

Here’s a silly question — do you enjoy being in debt? Well that answer should be obvious: of course not. However, getting out of debt can be a long, drawn out process. It may have taken you just a few months to a year to get into debt, but the solution to your debt problems can take many years to resolve.

Fortunately, you have some options to help you get out of debt, four of which we’ll discuss here. One or more solutions could provide the help you seek, so take care to understand what each choice means:

Home Refinancing. Interest rates are near historic low levels making the refinancing of your mortgage an attractive option, perhaps netting you hundreds of dollars per month via lowered mortgage payments. You can take the monies saved and use those funds to pay off your other debt.

Consumer Counseling. Consumer credit counseling companies want your business. This might be an attractive option for you, but you’ll need to shop around to find the best plan out there. Some credit counseling companies charge outlandish fees, doing work for you that you can do for yourself. As an alternative, some government entities and non-profit organizations offer credit counseling too. A middle ground is to find someone who can provide assistance to you, but at a fixed rate.

Loan Or Debt Consolidation. Those high interest credit cards can sap your wallet, therefore replacing them with one, low interest rate credit card is one way to consolidate debt. If eligible, you may also want to visit your local bank or credit union to see if you qualify for a debt consolidation loan. Be careful: some banks will charge you an application fee, but your credit card issuer will usually not levy this fee.

Cash Out Your Equity. An alternative to home refinancing, you may have enough equity in your home to cash out and pay off all or some of your debt. Importantly, though credit card debt is not tax deductible, a home equity loan is. In most cases, you can reduce your debt as well as reduce your tax obligation by cashing out. Check with your financial adviser to confirm the best option for you.

No Quick Solutions

Reducing your debt won’t happen quickly and involves a lot of work on your part. Once you begin to take control of your finances, you’ll soon be able to measure progress and be one step closer to overcoming your money problems.

Tags: consumer counseling, consumer credit, credit counseling, Debt Consolidation, home equity, home refinancing, loan consolidation