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car review

September was a fairly quiet month on the deals front, so it's no surprise we're seeing a flurry of action as October dawns and the fall shopping season begins.

Ford of Canada, for instance, has announced a revival of its old Recycle Your Ride rebate program. Shoppers who show up with a running 2005-or-older clunker will be eligible for a rebate of up to $3,000.

This program essentially replaces Ford's Employee Pricing event slated to end on September 30.

Deals of the Week has priced out a popular version of the Ford Fusion sedan, which is Canada's ninth best-selling passenger car through the first of September. No more Employee Pricing, but savvy shoppers should negotiate for a dealer discount, nonetheless.

And now a warning: details of the latest Recycle offer won't be posted on Ford.ca until tomorrow. We're estimating the Recycle rebate will be worth $1,500 for Fusion buyers. You'll need to check with Ford or your Ford dealer to confirm this amount.

Deals estimates, however, that buyers should be able to nail down discounts approaching $4,000 or more, and combine that with 3.99 per cent financing for up to five years on a new Fusion.

Meantime, Nissan Canada has started to announce various price reductions, including big ones on the 2012 Maxima sedan – price reductions of up to $1,920 compared to the 2011 model. That's nice, but we like the $4,000 non-stackable factory-to-dealer discount on the Nissan Rogue crossover. This one was slated to expire Oct. 1, which means you'll need to check with Nissan Canada or your dealer to be certain of the amount.

Do you think discounting works? Of course. In August, Rogue sales were up nearly 50 per cent.

Which brings us to the Subaru Impreza. An all-new 2012 version goes on sale in a couple of days, which suggests deals are out there on remaining 2011 Imprezas. Supply is limited, but we found a $2,000 factory-to-dealer rebate on certain 2011 Imprezas. Subaru eschews discounting in general, making this deal something of a novelty.

Finally, we're interested in the sales sweeteners on the 2011 GMC Terrain – especially for those with a GM bonus credit card that could be worth up to $1,500 for the right buyer. GM Canada has another $1,500 available for qualified buyers, along with 0.0 per cent financing for up to four years.

As usual, Deals of the Week obtained pricing information from www.carcostcanada.com, among other sources Here are the numbers.

2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5i hatchback with Convenience Package

MSRP: $22,895

Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $1,628

Dealer discount (estimated): $750

Factory discount: $2,000 (Alternate Cash factory-to-dealer rebate)

Taxable subtotal: $21,773

Total price with 13% HST: $24,603.49

2011 GMC Terrain SLE-2 AWD

MSRP: $31,550

Freight, air conditioning tax and dealer prep: $1,550

Dealer discount: $1,200

Factory discount: $500 (Stackable Lease Cash factory-to-dealer rebate)

Factory discount: $1,500 (GM Card factory-to-customer rebate)

Taxable subtotal: $29,900

Total price with 13% HST: $33,787

Factory discount: $1,000 (GM Cash for Leases factory-to-customer rebate)

Final price: $32,787

Note: Can be combined with 0.0 per cent financing for four years

2011 Ford Fusion SEL FWD

MSRP: $26,199

Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,560

Dealer discount (estimated): $750

Factory discount: $2,000 (Delivery Allowance factory-to-dealer rebate)

Taxable subtotal: $25,009

Total price with 13% HST: $28,260.70

Factory discount: $1,500 (Recycle Your Ride)

Final price: $26,760.17

Note: Can be combined with 3.99 per cent financing for up to five years

2011 Nissan Rogue S AWD

MSRP: $26,448

Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax and Green Levy: $1,750

Dealer discount (estimated): $1,000

Factory discount: $4,000 (Non-stackable Trading Dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)

Taxable subtotal: $23,198

Total price with 13% HST: $26,213.74

Pricing information source: www.carcostcanada.com. Calculations based on Ontario customers. Please note that while the information above is accurate at the time of publication, incentives are given at the discretion of individual dealers, and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Dealer discounts are negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis.

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