Black Friday car deals at a new vehicle dealer are rarely one day and one discount. They are four separate things landing at the same time: what the manufacturer is offering that month, the price the dealer has posted, the finance rate you are approved for and what your trade brings. The current numbers live on our finance deals page and our Black Friday page. This guide explains how the pieces work together for a buyer anywhere in Manitoba.
Shopping already? Browse our new vehicle inventory in Portage la Prairie.
You will not find an amount on this page, on purpose. Amounts change from month to month and year to year, and the way the pieces fit together does not. This is how it looks from our side of the desk at Dunn Ram Trucks in Portage la Prairie.
Key Takeaways
- The dates on the offer matter more than the day. Black Friday at a dealer can run for weeks, and each offer prints its own end date.
- A cash discount and a low finance rate are often one or the other. The terms of each offer say whether they combine.
- Check what is already in the price. Posted prices already include any Consumer Cash; prices are plus GST and PST. So choosing a low rate can mean starting from a higher price.
- A trade is its own line on the deal. In Manitoba, a trade of the same general kind that you own when you sign also cuts the amount the RST is charged on.
- Come ready. Bring the registration card, a payout figure if money is owing, both keys and the service records, and apply for financing first.
What Black Friday Means at a New Vehicle Dealer
At a big box store, Black Friday is a door crasher on a Friday morning. A new vehicle does not work that way. The deal comes down to one vehicle, one trade and one loan, and that takes more than a morning. So at a dealer, Black Friday can stretch across a few weeks or a whole month. When we run an event, its dates and terms are on our Black Friday event page.
Two layers sit under the name.
The manufacturer's programs. The manufacturer sets Consumer Cash and promotional finance rates by model, model year and term, and each program runs to an end date. A November program can carry the Black Friday name, or it can look a lot like October's. Ram Canada's offer pages describe its financing offers as "On approved credit on eligible retail deliveries," so a vehicle generally has to be delivered inside the dates, not only agreed on. If the one you want is still on its way, ask our team whether it can arrive in time.
The dealer's own pricing. Ram Canada's offer pages also note that retailers may sell for less. Our pricing is aggressive and posted, so you can compare our new inventory from your kitchen table before you make the drive.
Late fall is when an outgoing model year and the new one can sit side by side on a Manitoba lot, and cash on a new vehicle can be among the bigger amounts you see in a year. Whether it is in a given year is the manufacturer's call, and a dealer cannot promise it will beat next month's offer. Our guide to the best time to buy a truck covers the calendar, and buying a leftover model year truck covers the outgoing unit.
How Cash Discounts Work on Black Friday Car Deals
A cash discount on a new vehicle generally comes from one of two places: the manufacturer's Consumer Cash, or the dealer's own posted discount.
The first thing to check is whether it is already in the price you are reading. Posted prices already include any Consumer Cash; prices are plus GST and PST. So on our listings the cash is not a further amount off the posted price. We charge no mandatory dealer, documentation or administration fee on top of a posted price.
Smaller offers, such as a loyalty offer for people who already own a vehicle from the manufacturer, can sit outside the posted price with their own conditions. Some come off after taxes, so the tax is worked out on the amount before that offer comes off. Ask our team which offers apply to the vehicle you want and how each one is applied.
How Low Finance Rates Work
A low finance rate is a manufacturer program too, on approved credit, on certain models and terms. It is the tool that helps a payment fit a budget, because less of each payment goes to interest and a longer term spreads the amount over more payments.
The longer term has a cost at a normal rate. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada puts it this way on its page about shopping around for auto financing: "The longer the loan term, the lower your payments. You'll end up paying more in interest with a longer loan term." A low rate removes much of that interest, which is why it has the most to offer on a long term.
Compare the total you pay over the term, not only the payment. To do that you need your own rate, so apply for financing before you choose. Any approval, rate or term is on approved credit, and nothing is approved until the lender says so.
How Cash Discounts and Low Rates Work Together
Often they do not stack. On many manufacturer offers it is one or the other: keep the cash, or give it up for the low rate. Because our posted prices already include any Consumer Cash, choosing the low rate means starting from a higher price.
That is what the effective rate is for. Ram Canada's fine print says: "The APR is the effective interest rate which includes the Consumer Cash which lower rate financing customers forego as a cost of borrowing." So the effective rate, not the headline rate, is the number to hold up against the rate you could get otherwise.
Four situations cover much of it.
Paying cash or arranging your own financing. There is no promotional loan for you to use, so keep the cash.
Financing a large amount over a long term. This is where a low rate has the most room to win. Check its effective rate against your standard rate.
Financing over a shorter term. The cash you give up has fewer months to pay itself back, so the cash tends to win.
A low rate with no cash beside it. You are not giving anything up, so there is nothing to weigh.
Our post on low rate financing or the cash rebate works through the arithmetic with an example. For this month's actual offers, see the Ram finance deals for trucks and the Jeep finance deals for SUVs.
How a Trade Fits Into a Black Friday Deal
A trade is separate from both the cash and the rate. It is its own line on the deal, and a posted price is not worked out with your trade in it.
Get a number first. We honour the instant cash offer: the number you get online is the number we stand behind when the vehicle matches what you told us. You can get your instant cash offer from home, and our guide to trade value in Manitoba covers what moves it.
If money is owing. We take trades with money still owing; the balance is handled as part of the deal. If the vehicle is worth less than what is owed, the difference still has to be paid, or it may be added to the amount financed on a new loan, increasing the amount borrowed and potentially the total cost of borrowing. Our post on trading in with money owing goes through the payout.
The tax. In Manitoba, a trade of the same general kind that you own when you sign cuts the amount the RST is charged on. Our post on taxes on buying a car in Manitoba explains which trades qualify.
If a dealer advertises a trade event, ask three things. Is the amount added to the appraised value of your trade, or taken off the price? Is it a minimum or guaranteed value? Does it combine with the manufacturer's offers on the vehicle you want? The terms of any event of ours are on our Black Friday event page.
Black Friday also lands just as a Manitoba winter starts, and winter is hard on an older vehicle. If you were about to book a repair on the one you plan to trade, put its number beside the repair first.
What to Bring to the Dealership
Bring these and the visit can stay on the vehicle instead of the paperwork.
- The registration card for your trade. Manitoba Public Insurance says only the legal owner can sell a vehicle, and the legal owner's name is on the right side of the card. If that is a spouse, a parent or a business, plan for them to be part of the sale.
- A payout figure, if money is owing. Ask your lender for one. It is generally good only to a date the lender states.
- Both keys and fobs, and the service records. Records from any shop show how the vehicle was looked after.
- The winter set on rims, if you have one. Bring it or mention it, and ask our team whether it is counted in the appraisal.
- The listing or offer you are asking about, with its date. Offers have end dates, and the date settles the question quickly.
Ask our team what else your deal needs before you come. Our post on what to do before trading in covers what to fix, what to leave and what to clean.
Buying at Freeze Up in Manitoba
A vehicle bought in Black Friday month goes straight into a prairie winter, so ask about winter before you sign, not after. Our service department installs block heaters. Our service department also supplies and installs new tires and does seasonal tire changeovers, and you can book that with our service team.
A test drive at this time of year is a fair one. You find out how the cab warms up and how the vehicle feels on packed snow, which is what you will be living with until spring. On a farm, the timing can suit the year too: the combine is parked, and a truck can come off field duty for an afternoon.
You do not have to be in Portage to shop with us. Portage la Prairie sits on the Trans-Canada Highway between Winnipeg and Brandon, and the trade number and the finance application can both start online from Westman, the Interlake or the Parkland.
We deliver anywhere in Manitoba with road access. Ask our team how delivery would work for the vehicle you pick.
FAQs
How do Black Friday car deals work?
They combine up to four things: the manufacturer's offers that month, the dealer's posted price, the finance rate you are approved for and your trade. Each offer has its own terms and end date, so read those rather than the name on the sale.
Are Black Friday car deals worth it?
They can be, when the offer running suits the vehicle you want and the vehicle is still there to choose. Black Friday does not make a vehicle cheaper by itself, and a dealer cannot promise it beats next month's offer. Compare the posted price, the effective rate and your trade.
Can I get a cash discount and a low finance rate together?
Often not. Many manufacturer offers are one or the other, and choosing the low rate means giving up the Consumer Cash, which raises the price you start from. The terms of each offer say whether they combine, and the effective rate shows what the low rate really costs you.
Does my trade count on a Black Friday deal?
Yes, a trade is its own line on the deal, whichever offer you choose. A trade of the same general kind that you own when you sign also cuts the amount the Manitoba RST is charged on. If a trade event is running, ask whether its amount combines with the manufacturer's offers on your vehicle.
What should I bring to the dealership?
Bring the registration card for your trade, a payout figure from your lender if money is owing, both keys and fobs, the service records and the listing or offer you are asking about. Apply for financing before you come so your rate is ready, on approved credit.
The Bottom Line
Black Friday car deals come down to pieces you can check yourself: the offer and its end date, what is already in the posted price, your own rate and your trade. Start with this month's finance deals and our Black Friday page, then put your own numbers beside them. Dunn Ram Trucks in Portage la Prairie serves buyers from anywhere in Manitoba.
Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie
