December is historically the best month to get the best deals on a new car, SUV or pickup truck. Why? Automakers pull out the stops to maximize their year-end sales.
There is a lot of money around. Automakers throw a lot of cash at dealers to help them discount vehicles and close deals. Some of that money is not out in the open
For example, dealers stand to earn greater rewards from the factories if they hit specific goals.
A Ford or Hyundai dealer may have an additional $1,000 to discount a car or truck, but they might stand to get $1,500 per vehicle if they sell 100 pickup trucks in the month.
Of course, everyone tends to have a specific model in mind when they go shopping. But sometimes the dealing that goes on in the showroom results in a buyer getting even more car than they expected. Go into a Volkswagen dealership planning to buy a Jetta, and you might just end up choosing a more upscale Passat or a Tiguan crossover because of the discounts. Go into a Ford dealership looking at a Focus, and you might walk away with a Fusion or Escape crossover for the same reason.
While you do your pre-dealership-visit research, it pays to not only know as much about available discounts from sites like Edmunds.com, Cars.com or TrueCar.com, but also what models are of good quality. And it also pays to know which vehicles are sound, but unpopular.
Yes. Unpopular. Generally speaking, when automotive companies have slow-moving models, there is even more discounting available than advertised. It pays to play hard-to-get, and especially hard-to-close at the dealership. The stiffer you keep your back with the salesperson, the more discounts the dealer will come at you with to close you.
Here are some vehicles with heavy discounts and low popularity you should check out, and be slow to close on until your dealer says it’s his or her last offer.
The Cadillac ATS is not popular and that can work to a buyer's advantage this month.AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)