Edmunds.com Reports 30 Percent Discount on Many SUVs and Trucks, Advises Car-Shoppers That Now is a Great Time to Buy

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Edmunds.com (http://www.edmunds.com), the premiere resource for automotive consumer information, today announced that this is a particularly good time to buy a 2006 model SUV or truck. The complete story, Best Time to Buy a Truck? Inventories & Incentives at All-Time High, can be found at http://www.edmunds.com/advice/strategies/articles/117366/article.html.

“Customer cash incentives and zero-percent financing offers for SUVs and trucks are higher than ever before, creating savings of almost 30 percent off the sticker price for many models,” said Alex Rosten, Manager of Pricing and Market Analysis at Edmunds.com. “In recent weeks, the average incentive was nearly $5,000 and the average transaction price was nearly $8,000 below sticker.”

Some examples of savings that are currently available for 2006 model SUVs and trucks include:

Make		Model		Percentage Discount from MSRP (October 2005) (a)		Percentage Discount from MSRP (October 2006)(a)
Acura		MDX		9.3%		13.2%
Ford		Expedition		22.0%		27.1%
GMC		Sierra 1500		18.6%		23.2%
Infiniti		QX56		4.7%		19.6%
Jeep		Commander		6.5%		29.3%
Nissan		Pathfinder		12.4%		16.6%
Toyota		Tundra		16.8%		24.2%
(a) “Percentage Discount from MSRP” is the average savings consumers received at the dealership, and takes into account all manufacturers’ various U.S. incentive programs, including subvented interest rates and lease programs, as well as cash rebates to consumers and dealers.

Autumn is traditionally a time when incentives are at its highest, as automakers need to sell their remaining inventory to make room for new model year vehicles. And historically November is typically a particularly good month to buy SUVs and trucks, since winter weather has not yet hit hard enough to drum up serious demand for four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles.

“Shoppers who buy now will likely find a large selection of inventory and rather motivated sellers,” stated Rosten. “December tends to be the busiest month for SUV and truck sales, so if you’re considering that sort of vehicle you’ll want to try to beat the rush.”

”Consumers may have to choose between taking a cash rebate or a special financing offer,” said Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor at Edmunds.com and co-author of Edmunds.com’s Strategies for Smart Car Buyers. “Generally speaking, we recommend choosing the low financing if you’re planning on keeping the vehicle for a long time. If you’re only planning on keeping it for a couple of years, cash back is usually the better choice.”

Car-shoppers can enter their own specific criteria into the free “Decision Calculator: Low APR or Cash Back” (at http://www.edmunds.com/apps/calc/CalculatorController) to research the savings they will achieve.

Edmunds.com reminds consumers not to buy a new vehicle just because discounts are so attractive right now. Instead, they should make sure their new purchase fulfills their automotive needs for the long term. In addition, a vehicle that becomes affordable through incentives may surprise its new owner with higher ownership costs, especially in the areas of insurance, fuel and maintenance.

“It may be tempting to consider taking advantage of generous incentives, but it is important to seriously consider the ownership experience of a vehicle that is very different from the one you currently have,“ advised Reed. “We recommend that you test drive the vehicle on roads you know and review our True Cost to Own feature before making your next vehicle purchase.”

To find the most current prices and deals, check out Edmunds.com’s True Market Value (TMV) pricing tool and Incentives and Rebates database.

About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)

Edmunds Inc. publishes three Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers and enthusiasts. Edmunds.com (www.edmunds.com), the premiere resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value(R), is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in January 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in February 2006 and is an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.