What’s the Best New-Car Deal for Memorial Day 2024?

Quoth Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem, the burgers and dogs hung on the grill lattice with care in hopes that summer would soon be there … or maybe I’m paraphrasing, but in any case: Memorial Day is upon us, and with it the traditional beginning of peak car-shopping season. Of course, nothing has been “traditional” about the last four years, especially in the automotive industry. But as automakers have adjusted to smooth out their supply chains and dealers have responded in kind, the new normal has gradually bent back to look like the old one. For those eyeing a new vehicle this weekend, that’s good news.

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The most obvious positive for buyers is also the most obvious to see perusing dealer lots. According to the latest report from J.D. Power, new-vehicle inventory was up 3.2% month over month in April and up a whopping 40% from the same time in 2023. Transaction prices are also continuing to decline, down 2.5% year over year during the same period. Crucially, with vehicles spending an average of 44 days on lots (up 14 days from April 2023), incentives are also on the rise, with average incentives up 1.9 percentage points from April 2023.

For those shopping, then, the opportunity to walk onto a lot and find what you want is greater, as is a dealer’s willingness to part with it for less than they once did. In our research, the highest discounts in terms of raw percentage off MSRP varied wildly across trims and even ZIP codes, but the four vehicles below were most consistently reliable for rewarding your pocketbook. Which ones are they? Read on to find out.

2024 Chevrolet Malibu

• Factory discount: $1,750-$2,000
• Approximate price after savings: $24,500-$33,000
• Approximate factory savings: 6%-7%
• Offer ends: June 3

Let’s begin with the humble Malibu sedan. We’ll admit it: The headline we wrote last July about the 2024 model wasn’t done with any inside information, but anyone paying attention could see the Malibu was on the chopping block; sure enough, Chevy announced in early May that the ’24 model will be the last (for now, anyway; it wouldn’t be the first time the Bow-Tie brand furloughed the nameplate). That means it’s time to clear out inventory, which means dealers should be eager to pony up the cash discounts of as much as $2,000 off the 1LT and 2LT trims. Alternatively, shoppers can get 1.9% financing for 36 months on said LT trims, though the LS and RS are exempt from that deal. All such offers expire June 3.

2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee

• Factory discount: $1,500-$4,000
• Approximate price after savings: $37,500-$76,500
• Approximate factory savings: 4%-6%
• Offer ends: June 3

If I had a nickel for every time the Grand Cherokee made one of our best deals stories, I’d probably have enough to afford one by now. But Jeep’s venerable two-row SUV always seems to have some money on offer for those interested, and it’s no different this weekend: Through June 3, shoppers can find discounts of up to $4,000 on certain trims and percentage discounts north of 6%. As ever given the Grand Cherokee’s myriad permutations — that’s three Laredo variants, though you may want to skip the deal-deprived Laredo A — your exact discount depends heavily not just on trim level, but also on region. Financing of 3.9% for 36 months on lower trims or 6.9% for 72 months on the mid-grade Limited were also available in the regions we surveyed.

2024 Hyundai Elantra

• Factory discount: $1,000-$1,500
• Approximate price after savings: $21,500-$29,000
• Approximate factory savings: 3%-7%
• Offer ends: June 3

Another car flying the banner for the woebegone sedan body style, the Elantra comes in a number of configurations, including a hybrid and the performance N variant. For present purposes, we’re excluding both in favor of the gas-only Elantra’s main trims: SE, SEL, Limited and N Line. Cash discounts range from $1,000 to $1,500, trim and region depending, while financing is available at 3.89% for 48 months. All such offers expire June 3.

Editor’s Choice: 2024 Hyundai Tucson

• Factory discount: $1,250-$2,000
• Approximate price after savings: $27,000-$39,000
• Approximate factory savings: 3%-7%
• Offer ends: June 3

There’s a mid-cycle refresh on the way for the 2025 Hyundai Tucson SUV after a full 2022 redesign, most of which address some questionable interior choices. That means dealers may be more eager than usual to move ’24 Tucsons off lots, which is reflected in factory-backed discounts we found that range from $1,250 up to $2,000 off in the regions we surveyed. Alternatively, shoppers can also find financing of 3.99% for 60 months across trims. As with the rest, all such offers expire June 3.

How We Look for Deals

To help car shoppers find the best deals for Memorial Day 2024, we lead with cash offers available to shoppers at large, not those that require financing with the automaker or having certain qualifications (e.g., military or college-graduate discounts, loyalty or conquest bonuses, etc.). In calculating the overall percentage discount and pricing after incentives, we focus on the vehicle’s price range from the cheapest incentives-eligible trim level with no factory options to the priciest eligible trim with all factory options. We include the destination charge in such pricing, but we exclude a few other items: taxes and fees, which vary considerably by region, and dealer accessories, which vary considerably by automaker.

Because these are factory discounts, they should be available to all participating dealers. As such, use them as the starting point for negotiations, not a reason to skip haggling altogether.

Incentives data come from automakers’ websites. Remember, our numbers are current as of publication for the markets we survey (generally Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York). They reflect advertised customer discounts, not unadvertised factory-to-dealer cash. Discount financing typically requires qualifying credit, too, and incentives may vary by region and trim level; automakers may also change them later in the window of relevance. In sum: Your discounts may vary, so check with your local dealer for specifics.

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