10.11.2006 08:59 - category: Real Estate: Real estate Lifestyle

Big discounts for SUVs and trucks

Edmunds.com reports carmakers are offering the deepest discounts on trucks to clear current inventory.

November 9 2006: 1:00 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Car lots are filling up and auto makers are offering big discounts on several SUVs and trucks to clear inventory, Edmunds.com said Thursday.

Buyers can push for a better deal on trucks and may receive customer cash rebates and zero-percent financing, in some case saving up to 30 percent off the sticker price, Edmunds.com said.

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"Customer cash incentives and zero-percent financing offers for SUVs and trucks are higher than ever before," said Alex Rosten, manager of pricing and market analysis at Edmunds.com.

"In recent weeks, the average incentive was nearly $5,000 and the average transaction price was nearly $8,000 below sticker," he said.

Edmunds.com reported that the True Cost of Incentive (TCI) for trucks in October was $4,640, up 31.7 percent over last year.

This means that an average of over $5,000 truck was being offered on each truck in the form of customer cash rebates, special interest financing and lease specials. The TCI for large SUVs was $4,849.

Autumn is generally the time when manufacturers try to sell off current truck models to make room at dealerships for the following year's models.

"Shoppers who buy now will likely find a large selection of inventory and rather motivated sellers," stated Rosten. "December tends to be the busiest month for SUV and truck sales, so if you're considering that sort of vehicle you'll want to try to beat the rush."

Edmund.com said trucks shoppers looking for good deals should check out the the Ford (Charts) Expedition, General Motor's (Charts) GMC Sierra 1500, Infiniti QX56, DaimlerChrysler's (Charts) Jeep Commander, Nissan (Charts) Pathfinder, Toyota (Charts) Tundra, and the Acura MDX from Honda (Charts).