December the Best Month to Buy a Car; Edmunds.com Lists Deals of the Month

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--It’s the busiest shopping season of the year and the very best month to get a discount on a new car or truck, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information.

“If you’re thinking of buying a vehicle anytime soon, move quickly since you can take a tax deduction for the sales tax paid for any new vehicle purchased before January 1,” reminded Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor for Edmunds.com.

Here are some vehicles currently listed among Edmunds.com’s Deals of the Month at http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/deal.html, a monthly analysis that looks at nationally available cash rebates, interest rates and lease incentives as well as the Edmunds.com True Market Value® price:

• 2009 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 4A)
• 2009 Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 ST 4dr Crew Cab 4WD SB (4.7L 8cyl 5A)
• 2010 Ford Escape XLT 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
• 2010 Honda Odyssey LX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
• 2010 Hyundai Sonata Limited V6 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl 5A)
• 2009 Nissan Cube 1.8 S 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl CVT)
• 2009 Subaru Outback 2.5XT Limited 4dr Wagon AWD w/Nav (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
• 2009 Volkswagen CC Sport 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)

“Many automakers are stuck with lots of 2009 models as we are about to close out the year, so the incentives are especially aggressive,” observed Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “Ironically, that forces heavy discounts on many 2010 models in order to keep their prices competitive in the marketplace.”

Edmunds.com determined in which months and on which days consumers negotiated the biggest discounts off sticker price. Highlights of that analysis (covered in more detail at http://www.autoobserver.com/2009/11/fridays-and-november-not-the-best-time-for-car-deals-edmundscom-reports.html) showed the following:

• The biggest discounts occurred most frequently in December, March and January, in that order.
• Consumers do not tend to get particularly good deals in April.
• Fridays tend to be the worst days for deals at the auto dealership, while Saturdays are the best.

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

Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, an online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.