2013 Nissan Murano.
Deals of the Week likes to go looking for the sales sweeteners driving sales numbers and, yes, sales were up in April and so were the deals behind them.
New vehicles flew off dealer lots in April, with sales up 8.9 per cent on the month after three slow months to start the year. If April's rate carries on for the rest of 2013, Canadians will buy an all-time high of 1.74 million vehicles, reports DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
Canadians didn't just go on a spring buying spree with incentives, though. After a little digging, we found four rich offers that help explain why sales of the Ford Escape, Fiat 500, Nissan Murano and Cadillac CTS all had a strong showing in April.
First, the Escape compact SUV, the fifth best-selling light truck in the country. Sales were up 26 per cent in April. No small reason why was the $5,500 in factory rebates in play. Like all the deals here, this one was set to expire on April 30, though Ford of Canada and the others will surely be tempted to carry them over into May. Your dealer will have the details.
In the case of the Escape, you'll need the help. The Ford offers are nothing if not complicated. Buyers opting for an Escape with the 2.0-litre engine were eligible to deal for a $4,000 factory rebate ($2,750 if the engine is the 1.6-litre). The catch: to get the money, buyers must allow dealer to arrange a loan term of 73 months or longer with a financial institution other than Ford Credit. Let's also point to the $1,000 Costco discount and another $500 auto show discount. The savvy buyer will also be able to deal for some sort of dealer discount.
The Nissan Murano, a stylish and arguably under-appreciated mid-size SUV, had a tremendous April. Sales were up 43.4, reversing a trend that has seen Murano sales overall drop 22.1 per cent this year. Nissan Canada slapped on a $4,000 factory sales sweetener to drive interest in it.
Cadillac has an all-new 2014 CTS mid-size luxury car coming in the fall, thus the push is on to clear out dealer lots of remaining 2013s. Shoppers can bargain for what has been up to $3,500 in factory offers or the equivalent, plus a dealer discount on top of that. As with the Escape, to get the best deal, a buyer will need to string together a number of offers – from a cash discount to a gas card to an auto show bonus, for instance.
And then there's the itsy-bitsy Fiat 500.
A $20,000 500, for example, can be had with as much as $3,500 in discount. That's impressive. The 500 is not a high-margin model, though, so expect a tough negotiation here.
As usual, pricing information here was supplied by carcostcanada.com, among other sources. Consult your dealer for all the details, including expiry dates for all offers.
2013 Nissan Murano SV AWD
- MSRP: $37,598
- Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $1,850
- Dealer discount (estimated): $1,500
- Factory discount: $4,000 (Non-stackable Trading Dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $33,948
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $38,361.24
Note: offer was due to expire April 30
2013 Ford Escape SE 4WD
- MSRP: $29,099
- Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,700
- Dealer discount (estimated): $1,000
- Factory discount: $4,000 (73-month Term or Greater Extended Term factory-to-dealer allowance)
- Taxable subtotal: $25,799
- Factory discount: $1,000 (Costco factory-to-customer rebate)
- Factory discount: $500 (Auto Show factory-to-customer rebate)
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $27,652.87
Note: offer was due to expire April 30
2013 Cadillac CTS 3.6L Performance AWD
- MSRP: $53,800
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,750
- Dealer discount (estimated): $2,150
- Factory discount: $2,500 (Stackable Cash Delivery Allowance factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $50,900
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $57,515
- Factory discount: $500 (GM $500 All Fueled UP Petro-Canada Gas Card Program factory-to-dealer program)
- Factory discount: $500 (GM Auto Show E-coupon Bonus factory-to-customer rebate)
- Final price: $46,517
Note: offer was due to expire April 30
2013 Fiat 500 Lounge
- MSRP: $19,995
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,695
- Dealer discount (estimated): $800
- Factory discount: $2,500 (Consumer Cash factory-to-dealer rebate on cash purchases)
- Taxable subtotal: $18,390
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $20,780.70
- Factory discount: $1,000 (Bonus Cash factory-to-consumer rebate)
- Final price: $19,780.70
Note: offer was due to expire April 30
Pricing information source: carcostcanada.com. Calculations based on Ontario customers. Please note that while the information above is accurate at the time of publication, incentives are given at the discretion of individual dealers, and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Dealer discounts are negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis.