Black Friday could be good for car deals, too

Maybe you're not looking for a sweet deal on a stand mixer or an electric razor this Black Friday. Perhaps you have a more substantial purchase in mind. You know, even bigger than, say, a new flat-panel TV. Suppose you decide to avoid the mall entirely and instead head to one of your local car dealers. Are there deals to be had on Black Friday? According to a report by CNNMoney.com, the answer is yes.

As writer Peter Valdes-Dapena reports, some dealers will wholeheartedly embrace the frenzied lunacy of Black Friday. (One New York-area Honda retailer he spoke to plans on sending bike riders in gorilla suits wearing sandwich boards to one of the big electronics chain stores in the hopes of driving some traffic to the showroom.) Many plan for additional ad spending around the occasion. Others claim that to them, Black Friday is no different than any other sales day. The bottom line, however, is that according to pricing analysts CNNMoney spoke to, the deals are usually better on Black Friday than the sales days immediately preceding and following it, and this year, the timing is particularly favorable.

Black Friday falls very close to the end of the month, meaning that dealerships will be hustling to meet their regular sales quotas. On top of that, they'll also be anxious to clear out remaining '09 model year stock by the time the ball drops in Times Square just four weeks later. (General Motors just announced that its year-end sale kicks off this week, for example.)

Bottom line: Outside of the brief Cash for Clunkers uptick, the economic conditions have predictably led to a rough auto sales year. If you're looking to score a deal on a new car, it might not be a bad idea to skip the crowds at the mall next Friday and mosey into a local showroom instead. You might walk (or drive) away pleasantly surprised.