Edmunds: Black Friday car deals may not be as bountiful

Once a novel concept in dealership marketing, Black Friday car deals have become as common as the TV deals at your local big-box store. While the savings on new cars aren’t that dramatic — no 70% off fire sales here — they do generally make mid- to late November a good time to buy a car.

This year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on just about everything — Black Friday car deals included.

Perhaps the biggest factor is the lack of inventory caused by all the factory shutdowns. There simply aren’t as many 2021 models on dealer lots this year as there were 2020s at this time last year. Moreover, Edmunds market analysts expect inventory to remain low through the end of the year. Depressed supply means it’s a seller’s market, so discounts won’t be nearly as steep as in years past.

And what of that 0% financing you might’ve seen advertised a few months ago? Well, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that, yes, there are fewer 0% offers than the record highs we saw in late spring. In October, such deals made up about 9% of car loans, down from 12.9% in September, according to Edmunds data. But the good news is that this figure is still about 4 percentage points higher than the 2019 norm.

So what should you look for? The deal hunters at Edmunds have located five 2020 vehicles in various categories that still offer significant savings this month. We’ve organized them from the highest percent savings to the lowest. Note that these savings are averages, which means that you can likely improve on the savings with some negotiating and incentives.

2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Average manufacturer’s suggested price $41,361; average discount $10,364 (25% savings)

What our editors say: “The Bolt has surprising interior space for a vehicle...