As you may already know, car manufacturers offer sales incentives nearly every month. Some are better than others in any particular month.

The most common type of incentive is a rebate, which is given to customers at the time they buy the particular vehicle model and style on which the rebate is offered. It is applied as a down payment and is especially attractive to customers who might be short on their own down payment cash.

Rebates, when at least $2000, are generally better than 0% APR loan deals and save you more money. As you may know, if a car company is offering both a rebate and 0% APR (or other low-interest loan rate), you must choose one or the other, but not both.

American car companies (General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford) have traditionally offered the best and highest rebates, although there have exceptions. Rebates are usually largest at the end of the model year, during the months of September, October, November, and December. Car companies and dealers are trying to sell off last year’s models to make room for incoming new models.

Luxury car makers such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti, and others typically don’t offer out-and-out rebates but may offer “loyalty bonuses” or other incentives, hoping to avoid being viewed as a “discount brand.”

In most cases, dealers don’t “contribute” to rebates. The money comes entirely from the car manufacturer. The dealer makes his full profit just as if he had sold the cars at full sticker price. Therefore, smart customers will ask the dealer to chip in additional discount of his own, to sweeten the deal.

Currently as this article is being written, there are some very attractive rebates being offered for November and December 2011. Here are some examples:

2011 Cadillac Escalade - $4000 rebate

2012 Cadillac Escalade - $3000 rebate

2011 and 2012 Cadillac SRX - $2000 rebate

2011 Chevrolet Impala - $4000 rebate

2011 Chevrolet HHR - $3500 rebate

2011 Chevrolet Malibu - $3000 rebate

2011 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe - $3500 rebate

2011 Buick Lacerne - $4000 rebate

2011 Buick Regal - $3000 rebate

2012 Jeep Liberty - $3000 rebate

2012 Dodge Avenger - $2500 rebate

2011 GMC - up to $4505 (2011 trucks, selected models)

Other brands are offering rebates across the board on most of their current models. Here are some examples:

Volvo - $1000 rebate (2011 and 2012 models)

Chrysler - $1000 rebate (2011 and 2012 models)

Dodge - $1000 rebate (2011 and 2012, most models)

Jeep - $1000 rebate (2011 and 2012 models)

Lincoln - up to $3000 (selected models)

Saab - $2000 rebate (2011 models)

You can get free price quotes on any of the above cars from Edmunds.comThe quotes will automatically include any cash-back rebates or discounts that are currently available.

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