2012 Acura TSX SEHonda
This week Paul Timoteo's family, friends and colleagues said good-bye. Paul Timoteo, the president and founder of www.carcostcanada.com and quite a number of other businesses, passed away last week. I am among those who miss him.
I knew Paul for close to 20 years. Ours was mostly a professional relationship, though anyone who knew Paul would say that even on the job, he was full of energy and laughter. What mattered most to me, though, was that in all the years I knew him, I found his knowledge of the automotive marketplace to be reliable and insightful. He generously shared it, though his entrepreneurial needs were also being fulfilled in terms of promoting his www.carcostcanada.com service. Paul was a good and reliable source, and those are to be respected and nurtured in my business.
In Canada, Paul Timoteo was a pioneer in pulling back the veil that covers the negotiating game that challenges and frustrates so many new car buyers. He wasn't always popular with car makers and their dealers, of course. His Web site sells wholesale price reports that reveal the secrets of so many unadvertised incentives, as well as providing dealer invoice pricing. He could discuss with clarity such often misunderstood parts of the business as "dealer holdback." When I went to sell cars at a dealer in order to research a story, he offered plenty of advice.
Paul Timoteo founded a service –– www.carcostcanada.com – that helps to level the playing field for new car buyers in their negotiations. That was something. He was a car nut, too, and knew the marketplace well. But I remember him most for his energy and laughter, always on display even as we discussed the business of buying and selling vehicles and what various car companies and dealers were up to. He never steered me wrong, which also speaks to integrity. Thanks, Paul. I know your wife and kids are deeply, deeply saddened and I wish them well as they move forward.
As for this week's deals, they start with the latest on Toyota's made-in-Canada RAV4. Next week, Toyota will unveil a re-engineered and re-styled version of this popular crossover wagon. To move along the outgoing version, Toyota has a $3,000 cash incentive on the table and it can be combined with 4.9 per cent financing for up to five years.
At Acura, the TSX sedan is being flogged with a $6,000 discounts, which suggests this model will be discontinued now that the ILX is in showrooms.
Subaru has a $2,000 rebate on the Impreza – $2,000 for the Western region, $1,500 for the rest of the country. This is for cash buyers only. If you're not one of them, Subaru Canada also has a very, very long list of other sales sweeteners in play: a rebate for ski instructors, a holiday bonus, an athlete's rebate, a Rally rebate, a Go for the Cure rebate and on and on. Take your times sorting through them.
Finally, Ford has several thousand in rebate behind the Ford Explorer SUV.
As usual, Deals of the Week obtained pricing information from www.carcostcanada.com, among other sources. Consult your dealer for all the details.
2012 Toyota RAV4 I-4 Limited
- MSRP: $35,045
- Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $1,735
- Dealer discount (estimated): $1,700
- Taxable subtotal: $35,080
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $39,640.40
- Factory discount: $3,000 (Consumer Cash discount factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Final price: $36,640.40
- Can be combined with special financing of 4.90 per cent financing for up to five years
2012 Acura TSX V-6 Auto w/Tech Pkg:
- MSRP: $41,890
- Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $2,045
- Dealer discount (estimated): $1,600
- Taxable subtotal: $42,335
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $47,838.55
- Factory discount: $6,000 (Non-stackable Trading Dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Final price: $41,838.55
2012 Subaru Impreza 2.0i hatchback w/Sport Pkg
- MSRP: $24,795
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,695
- Dealer discount (estimated): $1,100
- Factory discount: $2,000 (Alternate Cash Back factory-to-dealer rebate. Western Region only; $1,500 everywhere else.) Cash purchases only. Cannot be combined.
- Taxable subtotal: $23,390
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $26,430.70
2012 Ford Explorer XLT 4WD
- MSRP: $38,899
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,650
- Dealer discount (estimated): $1,350
- Factory discount: $3,000 (Dealer Delivery Allowance factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $36,199
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $40,904.87
- Factory discount: $1,000 (Truck/Conquest Loyalty Program factory-to-consumer rebate)
- Factory discount: $750 (No Extra Charge Winter Safety Package Program factory-to-consumer rebate)
- Final price: $39,154.87
- Can be combined with 5.69 per cent financing for five year
Pricing information source: www.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.
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