April 2003 Best Bargains Consumers Can Save Big When They ``Buy American''
LOS ANGELES--April 15, 2003--CarsDirect.com, the leading multi-brand online car buying service, today announced its April 2003 Best Bargains selections. Domestic manufacturers are responding to March's swelled inventories with a virtual flood of rebate and incentive programs, from rich cash-back offers to aggressive zero percent, 60-month financing. As a result, the idea of "buying American" may be an especially good choice for cost-conscious consumers during April.For fans of an American sports car icon, the 2003 Chevrolet Corvette, rebates up to $2,000 are available. Sport utility vehicle enthusiasts can drive two popular Lincoln entries, the Aviator and Navigator, out of the showroom with up to $3,000 cash back. And, the country's third-best selling truck during March 2003 -- the muscular Dodge Ram 1500 -- comes standard with up to $2,500 in rebates. Setting a new high water mark is the plush 2003 Lincoln Town Car, currently equipped with an all-time high $5,000 rebate offer.
While domestic manufacturers are leading the savings charge, the majority of the import sector isn't idling. "We're seeing some of the Asian manufacturers, like Nissan, change their rebate and incentive tactics to reflect domestic trends," noted Joe Cashen, CarsDirect.com's director of pricing strategy. "Just this month, Nissan increased its cash back offer on certain models like the Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra, while also giving consumers the choice to take a low finance rate for up to 60 months in lieu of the rebate. That's a response to the across-the-board cash back or low finance rate programs being offered on virtually every domestic SUV entry," said Cashen.
CarsDirect.com's pricing team is also noting a shift in regional incentive strategy. Toyota, for example, has significantly simplified its regional programs for all remaining 2002 and all new 2003 models. "Instead of complex tiers of savings that sometimes vary from zip code to zip code, now all qualified buyers who live in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions can take advantage of the same 3.9% APR rate for up to 60 months," said Cashen. While few import companies are matching General Motors' industry-leading rebate and incentive offer, some -- like Volkswagen and Audi -- are featuring very low finance rates across all models. Others, like Honda, which had a relatively strong first quarter of sales, are only offering special financing on select vehicles.
Each month, CarsDirect.com's team of pricing experts qualifies Best Bargain vehicles from a list of over 120,000 price configurations. Best Bargains choices include popular new cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles that currently offer the most attractive combination of national and regional manufacturer rebates and incentives, those that offer a historic low price point, or vehicles with prices that include other special programs.
CarsDirect.com Best Bargains for April 2003
For April, the CarsDirect.com Best Bargains list includes the following new vehicle choices:
Cars 1. 2003 Chevrolet Corvette -- Manufacturer rebates up to $2,000 2. 2003 Nissan Sentra -- Manufacturer rebates up to $1,500 3. 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder -- Manufacturer rebates up to $1,000 Sport Utility Vehicles 1. 2003 Lincoln Aviator -- Manufacturer rebates up to $3,000 2. 2003 Lincoln Navigator -- Manufacturer rebates up to $3,000 3. 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander -- Manufacturer rebates up to $500 Minivans and Trucks 1. 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 -- Manufacturer rebates up to $2,500 2. 2003 Toyota Tundra -- Manufacturer rebates up to $2,000 3. 2003 Nissan Frontier -- Manufacturer rebates up to $1,500
To see rebates and incentives or up-front transaction prices for any of these Best Bargains, shoppers simply go to www.carsdirect.com, and click on the vehicle make and model of their choice.
About CarsDirect.com
Los Angeles-based CarsDirect.com (www.carsdirect.com) is the leading multi-brand online car buying service, providing new and used automobiles and related products and services, such as loan and lease financing and in-demand aftermarket products including extended warranties. CarsDirect.com is the first online car provider to offer visitors three distinctive car buying options: buying a new car online through the company's award-winning direct channel; being matched with a top-quality new car dealer of their choice via the CarsDirect Connect channel; or locating and purchasing a previously owned vehicle through the CarsDirect Used channel.
CarsDirect.com has been named one of the "50 Best Web sites" by Time Magazine, chosen a "Forbes Favorite" three times by Forbes Magazine and selected as a "Top 100 Internet Site" for three consecutive years in PC Magazine.
