As a Jacksonville, FL Porsche dealer, we’re sometimes asked about our new car specials. Even when we tell people about them, some individuals aren’t always clear about the benefits that our special offers can provide. Of course, we always take the time to make sure everyone understands our deals completely, but we thought the inquiries we get on occasion presented us with an opportunity to explain the difference between manufacturer and dealer incentives in general. Knowing the difference may help you to negotiate a better deal when you buy or lease your next vehicle.

A manufacturer incentive is an offer a car maker extends to the public which is designed to make purchasing or leasing a vehicle more affordable. Popular manufacturer incentives include cash rebates, financing at low interest rates, and lease specials. While low interest financing and lease specials are pretty self-explanatory, cash rebates often need some explaining.

A cash rebate enables you to apply money given to you by a manufacturer toward your purchase or lease of a vehicle produced by that automaker. You cannot choose to walk away with your cash rebate in hand. You can only use the rebate to reduce the cost of your purchase or lease.

A dealer incentive is provided by a manufacturer to a dealership. A dealer incentive gives a dealership the ability to buy cars from the brand it represents for less than it normally could. A dealer incentive will only benefit you if the dealership decides to reduce the price of its vehicles by sharing all or part of the money it saved by buying automobiles at a discounted price. If you know that a dealership took advantage of a dealer incentive to buy the vehicle you’re interested in, you can use your knowledge to potentially negotiate a better deal on the car.

If you have questions about how rebates and incentives work, stop by our Porsche dealership serving St. Augustine, FL. The sales staff and financial experts at Porsche of Jacksonville will be happy to answer your questions.