Rebates and incentives are special programs offered by the manufacturer in order to help increase sales of vehicles that are slow to sell. In reality, these are simply admissions by the manufacturers that their vehicles are overpriced.
Rebates and incentives are only offered for a limited time so if you miss one, there will be others following close behind.
Rebates can be in the form of cash or low financing. However, if both are offered, you must choose – you cannot have both. To make the best choice, you can use a loan calculator to figure your loan based on both rebates and then choose the best option that will save you the most money.
Just as rebates and low financing rates are passed to the buyer, dealer incentives are only for the dealer. It is solely the discretion of the dealer, whether or not to pass the incentive on to you, the buyer. Most of the time, the buyer does not even know these incentives exist. So, do not be afraid to speak up and ask the dealer if any incentive programs would apply.
Also, remember that rebates are generally targeted at slow-selling vehicles. Therefore, if a particular model is selling well in your area and not as well in another, you may not have the same rebate option as the slow-selling location.