Can you get incentives on used cars

Bonus Cash These incentives usually target a subset of the population including recent college grads and military personnel.

Not all manufacturers offer these types of bonus incentives and they're not advertised heavily, so you'll most likely need to call a dealership to see which ones are being offered in your area.

Manufacturer to Dealer Incentives Many car buyers are unaware that dealers can also receive incentives each time you buy a vehicle. These types of incentives have been around for a long time - customer incentives are a relatively recent phenomenon. The amount of money dealers receive from incentives may surprise many of you. It's no wonder why dealers can advertise prices below invoice and still make a ton of money.

Let's take a look at the two ways dealers get incentives. Dealer Cash This is similar to customer cash back rebates, but instead of going to the car buyer, the incentive goes into the pocket of the dealer. Dealer cash is used more often by foreign manufacturers and luxury brands because they don't want to "cheapen" their vehicles by offering discounts to the customer. Dealer cash is one way to discount slower selling cars without the perception that its on sale. If you follow my car buying method , you can usually get the dealers to pass the incentive they receive over to you via a lower transaction price.

Dealer Rewards This is where the incentives landscape gets fuzzy. Each manufacturer has their own special rewards program that gives dealers kickbacks when they meet certain sales goals or other targets. Sometimes incentives are given for high customer satisfaction marks or other dealer improvements. In addition to cash rebates, a manufacturer may offer special financing for a new vehicle.

According to CarsDirect , the annual percentage rate APR is the interest rate you pay on the part of the vehicle cost that you finance with a bank or dealer loan. Most dealers require that you select either special financial or a cash rebate, but not both offers. According to Autobytel , you should always at least ask the dealer if you can combine offers when purchasing a car with several different incentive possibilities.

If you are required to choose, Edmunds recommends taking the rebate so you have the cash upfront, since the discount you'll receive with a low APR will be spread out over the life of the loan. The factors that determine whether you qualify for a rebate or incentive depend on the manufacturer. For example, the manufacturer may offer a special low-interest rate on your auto loan if you finance through their in-house lender. To qualify, you must have a certain minimum credit score that indicates good to very good credit.

While some rebates require the buyer to be in a certain profession such as teaching or military service, that is not usually the case for vehicle rebates. Instead, the manufacturer offers these incentives as a sale on overstock vehicles and other car models with high supply.

In addition to the common cash rebate, Lending Tree notes that car buyers can also take advantage of other, less common rebate types. New Cars. Buyer's Guide. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. With new cars, things are more uniform.

Let's say a dealer has six brand-new Honda Civics on the lot. With a brand new car, the manufacturer and dealers have the same costs, no matter which car they sell. They know exactly how much they can sell the car for, including rebates, and still make money in the process. But, if a dealer has six used Honda Civics on the lot, those used cars will vary -- a lot. They'll all have different mileage, chances are they'll all be from different years and they'll all be in different condition, too.

Each used car is worth a different amount, so it becomes a little more complex for the dealer to figure out what kind of rebate to offer while still making money. As a result, used car rebates tend to be offered on individual cars, while new car rebates tend to be applied to entire model lines. Used car rebates also tend to be smaller than new car rebates.

Still, since you save so much buying a used car over a new one, getting a used car with a smaller rebate often makes more financial sense than getting a new car, no matter how hefty the new car rebate is. So far we've only talked about rebates that come from the car manufacturers or the dealers. But sometimes the government offers a rebate for buying a car. Even when it's the government offering the rebate, the reason and the effect is the same: The government wants to increase sales of a particular model and consumers save money in the process.

Currently, the government offers rebates to some consumers who buy hybrid and alternative fuel cars. The rebates are given because the government wants to encourage people to buy this form of technology. The idea is that if more people drove hybrid or alternative fuel cars, the country would use less gas and we'd ultimately have less air pollution, too.

However, while most rebates on cars are applied directly to the purchase price, the government rebates on hybrid and alternative-fuel cars are applied for through the state or local government after the car is purchased. Most dealers can help you do that, however, so the process is pretty easy and you save money. While rebates on hybrid and alternative fuel cars vary by state, the federal government offers tax credits on some hybrid and alternative fuel car purchases.

While that doesn't directly bring down the cost of the car, it still means a net savings for the year, since your federal tax bill will be reduced.

Rebates aren't the only way to save money when buying a car. Car makers and dealers offer lots of new car incentives beyond rebates. One of the most common offerings is low-interest financing. Somewhere around ….

Going car shopping? Your eyes and ears are not deceiving you. But, then, special financing, a great CPO warranty and other perks could make the difference.