Lee's Deal Of The Week - Hybrids...Get Your Hybrids!
Last summer, gas prices shot to record levels at a rapid rate. Buyer's panicked and snapped up every fuel efficient vehicle they could find. Fuel sipping hybrids were more in demand than front row seats to the Presidential Inaugural. Consumers were happily paying thousands of dollars over MSRP for any hybrid car or small hybrid CUV. Fast forward to the here and now. Gas prices have dropped by more than half, people are buying trucks again and the once high-flying hybrid sales have crashed. Not only can you deal on them, but now you can get a deal.
I just did a search in the southeast (my neck of the woods), and there are nearly 1,100 2009 Toyota Prius models available. With the 2010 model set to go on sale shortly, there is still a relatively large number of the 2009 models still waiting to be sold. Dealers are advertising discounts on them that would be unheard of last July. In an effort to stimulate sales, Toyota just put $750 in customer or dealer cash (depending on region) on the Prius.
The 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid is also looking for interested potential owners, as there is $2,000 customer cash available in most regions.
Nissan's Altima hybrid is not nearly as well known as the hybrids from Toyota, and sales levels have not been as newsworthy either. Part of the problem has been that the Altima was not available in all regions of the country. However, if you are in a part of the country where the Altima hybrid is sold, there is $1,500 customer cash available on them.
Yes, there is a good reason why there are incentives on the once sizzling hybrid market. At the current level gas prices are hovering at, consumers are not willing to make the types of compromises in performance and cost that a hybrid demands over a similar gas-only counterpart. However, if you think that gas prices will one day go back up to a level that makes the purchase of a hybrid make sense for you, now is the time to get one...before demand once again goes up.
As always, check our latest incentives for great deals. More deals of the month are also available here.
- Posted by
- Lee Scott January 15, 2009, 12:00 AM
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- Car Buying, Car Negotiating, Hybrids and Alternative Fuels
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- customer cash, dealer cash, Hybrids, incentives and rebates, Lee's Deal Of The Week, Nissan Altima, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Prius
That is tempting information. Might be a good time to snag a Civic Hybrid (my current favorite hybrid, if I had to have one). I don't know that there are any deals on them, but you could probably get one for MSRP and watch its value climb when (not if) gas prices go back up.