Honda Clearance Sale - Buy Odyssey now or later?

We're planning to buy a Honda Odyssey EXL in the next six months.
Would it be more cost effective to get one now during the "Honda
Clearance" sale with only $3K-4K down? Or should we wait a couple of
months (for tax return, more savings, etc) and have $7K-8K -- but no
"Honda Clearance" sale?

Basically, how much in savings would I miss out by not getting a Honda
Odyssey (EXL) now during the "Honda Clearance" sale? Considering the
Odyssey (EXL) is in such high demand, would it even matter much?

We are Chicago, IL (60660). If this post is more appropriate for
another group, please advise accordingly. Thanks for reading.

 

There are several things to consider in your question.
Do you intent to keep this car for 5 years or 10 years?
I'm asking because the clearance sale at this time of year is ment to get
rid of all the 2003 models before the 2004 come out.
If you buy a 2003 just before the 2004 come out or they already did, even
though your car is brand new, it is already 1 year old on the market. So the
extra rebate they give and a better interest rate are because on the market
the car is worth less. This is because if you sell this car 5 years from
now, the car will be considered being the same age as the 2003 that was
bought in october 2002. Nobody looks at which month is was bought, only the
year counts. If you plan on keeping the car until it dies, or 10 years or
so, you don't care because 10 years down the road, the difference in price
between a 2003 and a 2004 will be less that what you could save now.
Especially that the model will not change in 2004. But if you sell within 5
years, you might loose all that you saved off the buying price. You can
compare how much you'd pay for a 2003 now, with the current interest rate
and then, how much it would be for a 2004, with the same cash down and a
regular interest rate to see how much you're saving by buying a "1 year old
new car" then judge if it is worth it.
As for the cash down, you have to look how much money you're saving in
interest if you give more cash. This is plain maths. Take the same car, same
price and do the calculations with different cash down. You can even do that
on the Honda web side using the MSDF price.
Then figure out if the savings are worth it, or up to which point are worth
it (effort to save extra cash, would it stop you from going on vacation,
could you pay something else that is more costly on interest back with that
money, invest it etc.)
In my case, I gave 0$ down and prefered to invest that money in the RRSPs
which give me almost 50% cash back when I do my taxes.

 

There are several things to consider in your question.
Do you intent to keep this car for 5 years or 10 years?
I'm asking because the clearance sale at this time of year is ment to get
rid of all the 2003 models before the 2004 come out.
If you buy a 2003 just before the 2004 come out or they already did, even
though your car is brand new, it is already 1 year old on the market. So the
extra rebate they give and a better interest rate are because on the market
the car is worth less. This is because if you sell this car 5 years from
now, the car will be considered being the same age as the 2003 that was
bought in october 2002. Nobody looks at which month is was bought, only the
year counts. If you plan on keeping the car until it dies, or 10 years or
so, you don't care because 10 years down the road, the difference in price
between a 2003 and a 2004 will be less that what you could save now.
Especially that the model will not change in 2004. But if you sell within 5
years, you might loose all that you saved off the buying price. You can
compare how much you'd pay for a 2003 now, with the current interest rate
and then, how much it would be for a 2004, with the same cash down and a
regular interest rate to see how much you're saving by buying a "1 year old
new car" then judge if it is worth it.
As for the cash down, you have to look how much money you're saving in
interest if you give more cash. This is plain maths. Take the same car, same
price and do the calculations with different cash down. You can even do that
on the Honda web side using the MSDF price.
Then figure out if the savings are worth it, or up to which point are worth
it (effort to save extra cash, would it stop you from going on vacation,
could you pay something else that is more costly on interest back with that
money, invest it etc.)
In my case, I gave 0$ down and prefered to invest that money in the RRSPs
which give me almost 50% cash back when I do my taxes.