Should You Buy a Car Now, or Wait till 2010?

There's still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding next year's car sales - for consumers and automakers alike. Production cutbacks and the Cash for Clunkers Program greatly reduced swollen inventories this year, and the next few months may see a price struggle between manufacturers desperate for a profit and customers anxious to save. But who will win?

With the economy still shaky, buyers generally will want to save as much as possible on purchases. So if automakers keep the higher prices on new 2010 models, they stand to lose many potential customers.

Currently, the best discounts are offered by companies with oversized 2010 inventories. Ford and Toyota have nearly cleared their 2009 stocks, and in October their 2010 models were discounted by 12% and 8% respectively. In the 5-6% range for discounts lie Honda, GM, Chrysler Group, and Hyundai, most of which offered comparably greater incentives on their 2009 models.

Even though many car manufacturers are hoping for an increase in sales by next year, there's a good chance they'll be forced to push incentives if buyers are still reluctant.

If you're on the fence about buying a new car, it may be worthwhile to wait a few months and see if you can take advantage of a possible oversupply of vehicles. If the economy dips back into recession, it's a certainty car manufacturers will be forced to reduce prices again through increased incentives.