Year-End Sales Mean Deep Discounts for Car Shoppers

SANTA MONICA, California — Smart car shoppers know that the last two weeks of the year can be the best time to find some great bargains, as dealers try to meet annual quotas while making room for incoming models.

In addition to those dealership incentives, many manufacturers are running end-of-year promotions that offer special purchase and lease deals on leftover 2015 vehicles and even the latest 2016 model-year cars, trucks and SUVs.

For example, the BMW Happier Holiday Event offers a credit of up to $6,500 on select models, with financing as low as 0.9 percent on vehicles like the 2016 3 Series, 5 Series and even the performance-minded M Series.

The Hyundai Holiday Sales Event promises "the best offers of the season," with up to $3,250 off and zero-percent financing on a 2015 Sonata or 2016 Elantra sedan and up to $750 off and 0.9 percent financing on a 2016 Santa Fe compact SUV. The offer ends January 4.

With the Nissan Holiday Event, buyers can take advantage of special lease deals, like a 2015 Sentra sedan priced at $129 per month for 36 months with an initial payment of $1,859, or a 2015 Rogue compact SUV at $184 per month for 36 months with $2,699 due at signing.

The end-of-year Toyotathon features special pricing on most models, including zero-percent financing for 60 months on a 2016 Toyota Corolla or Camry sedan, 2015 Avalon sedan, 2015 RAV4 compact SUV and 2015 Prius hybrid, or 1.9 percent APR for 60 months on a 2016 Tundra pickup.

Shoppers in the market for a luxury model might want to check out the Unwrap a Jaguar Sales Event, which provides a "holiday credit" of $1,000 on the lease of a 2016 Jaguar XF sedan; the Mercedes-Benz Winter Event, with cash-back purchase and lease deals on such models as a 2016 C-Class sedan or coupe; or the Lincoln Wish List Sales Event, with zero-down leases on a 2016 MKZ sedan, MKC crossover and Navigator SUV.

As previously reported by Edmunds, other year-end promotions include the Ford Holiday Sales Event, the Chevrolet Wrap Up the Deals, Wrap Up the Year event, Chrysler's Year End Blockbuster sale, the Season of Audi Sales Event and the Happy Honda Days event, all of which offer attractive lease and finance pricing on a variety of 2015 and 2016 models.

Shoppers are advised that most of these deals are limited-time offers, some apply only to the oldest vehicles currently in stock, and some are available only to existing customers. Also, offers can vary according to geographic area, trim level of the vehicle, the customer's credit rating and specific lease or financing terms.

Edmunds says: Car buyers should check with their local dealers to take advantage of these and other year-end bargains.