Autos: Bargain Season

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> One usually good buy is a demonstration car, which is driven by auto salesmen for test runs and sold late in the year. These cars, ordinarily well cared for and loaded with optional equipment, are generally the last to be sold, but they often go at prices well below the cleanup levels. Most dealers get a 50 rebate from the manufacturer for every mile shown on the speedometers of their demonstration cars, and they may be willing to pass on the saving to the customer. A $3,100 Chevrolet Impala with 5,000 miles, for example, may cost the dealer only $2,075, since he gets a $250 allowance for the mileage on top of his usual $775 discount on the car. One possible drawback to buying demonstration cars is that the warranty coverage has been shortened by several months while the dealer has been using it.

>Smart shoppers may also save by declining a dealer's offer to make arrangements for "on-the-spot financing." Chances are that the bank pays the dealer what amounts to a "finder's fee" for lining up the loan. The fee often amounts to $100 on three-year loans, or enough to compensate the dealer for some cuts in the price of the auto. Buyers aware of such special ties between dealers and their banks may be able to bargain for a better sales price or simply make their own loan arrangements.

> A customer with a used car may do better by selling it privately instead of trading it in for a new car. No matter how sound the condition of the used car, dealers generally pay only rock-bottom prices, which are set at wholesale auctions. If a car's wholesale value is $800, a dealer may offer his customer a trade-in of $1,000. In fact, he will usually make up the difference by tacking $200 onto the price of the new car.

> Local conditions vary considerably, but on a national basis, Chrysler and American Motors face the biggest cleanup problem. Their supply of unsold new cars, compared with the recent rate of sales, is substantially larger than that of either General Motors or Ford. Chrysler, for instance, is overstocked with both standard and top-of-the-line Plymouths and Dodges partly because G.M. has made inroads into Chrysler's share of the market among taxi and car-rental companies.

At any time of year, car buying is one of the last big bargaining battles left for consumers. Armed with the knowledge that dealers have extra flexibility at the end of model years, the auto buyer may not necessarily clean up, but he can do quite well.