While automakers continue to offer hefty cash rebates, cut-rate financing, and other incentives to help dealers winnow excess inventory of their slowest-selling cars and trucks, the laws of supply and demand dictate that the most popular models on the lot will still sell for close to (and in some cases above) their sticker prices.
“Dealers offer few — if any — incentives on the newest, most buzz-worthy cars, and shoppers will likely have very little room to negotiate,” says Carroll Lachnit, consumer advice editor for the autos website, Edmunds.com, in Santa Monica, Calif. “If shoppers are patient enough to wait a few months for the buzz to subside, they’re more likely to score a better deal.”
To help consumers determine which models might be worth waiting for, so to speak, the statisticians at Edmunds.com have identified the 10 fastest-selling mainstream cars and crossovers for which buyers can expect discounts to be razor thin, if they’re forthcoming at all.
The top model in this regard is the posh and capable Land Rover Range Rover full-size luxury SUV, which Edmunds says remained unsold in a dealership’s inventory at the end of 2013, on average, for a mere nine days. By comparison, the typical new car sits on the lot for 59 days before being sold. What’s more, not only is the Range Rover a quick seller, but Edmunds says the typical model went out the door for 3.08 percent higher than the manufacturer’s suggested list price, which starts at $82,650.
Also among the 2014 vehicles that command top dollar is the just-redesigned Chevrolet Corvette Stingray sports coupe. Faster and better than ever, this is only the seventh-generation ’Vette in six decades, with pent-up demand that enables it to sit in inventory for an average of just 10 days and at an average sale price of $66,352, it sells for a mere 0.04 percent below its sticker price. Expect demand to keep pace as the temperature rises and a new convertible model hits the market this year.
Likewise sitting on a dealer’s lot for an average 10 days is the Land Rover Range Rover Sport midsize luxury SUV, which was redesigned for 2014 with added style and substance; at an average sale price of $81,934, it sells for a mere 0.40 percent under its MSRP. The new Jeep Cherokee midsize crossover SUV is a breakout success despite its controversial styling treatment, as it likewise sits an average 10 days in inventory, and at an average sale price of $30,822, sells for 6.61 percent under its MSRP, which makes it the best “bargain” among the year’s top sellers.
The fourth best seller on the year thus far is the Honda Accord Hybrid. The newly introduced gas/electric hybrid version of one of the industry’s most popular midsize sedans sits an average 11 days in inventory, and at an average sale price of $33.358, it sells for just 0.24 percent under its MSRP. Ditto for the just introduced Mercedes-Benz CLAClass, which is the automaker’s first front-drive luxury compact sedan. At an average sale price of $36,512, this stylish small car sells for 5.35 percent below sticker price.
Other fast-selling rides include the brand-new BMW 4 Series luxury sport coupe/convertible at 14 days in inventory, and stillpopular carry-over models like the Subaru Forester and Audi Q5 compact crossover SUVs at an average 17 days in stock.
Rounding out the top 10 strongest-selling 2014 models is the recently introduced Mitsubishi Mirage. The automaker’s first subcompact car sold in the U.S. since 2002, it’s perhaps an unexpected hit thus far, sitting an average 18 days in inventory, and at an average sale price of $15,430, it typically sells for 5.20 percent below MSRP.
© CTW Features