Skip to main content
deals of the week

Ford Mustang

The best time to buy any product is at the precise moment when almost no one else wants it. The seller is highly motivated and there aren't many buyers to bid against you.

This is especially true for cars and pickups and the like. So as I look out my window at the dull, wet skies, my thoughts immediately turn to convertibles. The same apparently can be said of Paul Timoteo, president of the pricing service carcostcanada.com

November may not be the ideal time to go topless in Canada, but it's certainly a good time to buy a convertible. Who buys convertibles in November? Smart shoppers. The rest wait for spring when demand is higher and so are prices.

Timoteo passed along what he considers a great buy - one that just came out at about the same time we turned out clocks back for Daylight Savings. It's on the Mustang ragtop and if you play this deal right, you could save "close to $10,000, including taxes," he says.

Here's the deal. A 2010 Mustang convertible with the V-6 engine (210 horsepower) lists for $30,199. But here in the dog days of November, Ford has just slapped on a $5,000 rebate. The catch: if you are not paying cash, you must do your financing through someone other than Ford Credit.

The $5,000 is just the start, too. Ford's own cash-for-clunkers program - called Recycle Your Ride - will chop another $1,000 off the sticker and if you quality for that money, you'll also get another $300 from the federal government's clunkers rebate. Add in $500 more if you quality for Ford's Canadian Forces discount.

And then you have the dealer negotiations to consider. A savvy buyer should be able to squeeze out an additional $1,500 savings in making a deal. On top of all that, you will, of course, save on PST and GST.

Work this deal to its fullest and you'll be looking at a new Mustang Convertible for much closer to $20,000 than $30,000. That on a solid, sporty four-seater with decent reliability, a good resale value, a five-star frontal crash test rating and a very happy owner group.

Alternatives? How about the Volvo C70 hardtop convertible. Volvo Canada is offering up to a combined $6,250 in discounts on the C70, plus 0.0 per cent financing for up to five years. The details:

  • $3,000 Factory-to-dealer rebate
  • $1,000 Graduate program/factory to consumer rebate
  • $750 New Car Holiday Event Accessory Offer Rebate, Factory to Customer Rebate.
  • $1,500 Loyalty offer/factory to consumer rebate

Tough negotiators should be able to chop an additional $1,500-$2,000 off the sticker, too. Add it all up and that's a potential savings of $7,500 on a nice and very safe 12-month convertible - and don't overlook that zero-per-cent financing in the bargain.

If an open-air ride in an excellent roadster is more to your taste, take a look at the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The base 2010 model lists for $28,995, but again, who thinks about buying a roadster when the weather looks like this outside? You should. If you push and you qualify, expect the dealer to take about $1,500 off the sticker, plus throw in up to another $2,500 in incentives.

The details:

  • $2,000 Mazda cash/factory-to-dealer rebate
  • $500 Graduate award/factory-to-consumer rebate

Mazda also has available zero per-cent financing for three years. Put these offers together and you could be looking at a Mazda roadster in the mid-$20,000s. Consider it an early Christmas present.

Pricing source: www.carcostcanada.com

Interact with The Globe