Auto dealers offer cash back, low rates, 2-for-1 sales

— -- As the worst sales year in more than a decade draws to a close, auto dealers are sweetening deals this week in a last-ditch effort to unload acres of cars.

Cash back, 0% interest rates and even wackier deals, such as buy-one-get-one-free, are being tried to squeeze out a few last sales.

"For bargain hunters, it's probably the best time in the last 10 years at least," says Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com.

General Motors added a last-minute inducement Tuesday by offering 0% to 4.9% financing through Monday on some remaining 2008 models. Financing arm GMAC said the loans were made possible by a $6 billion infusion from the federal government's bank rescue fund.

In another a move toward normalcy, GMAC said it will extend its low-rate loans to those with less-than-perfect credit.

The widespread deals result from pressure on automakers to move inventory.

New vehicles are averaging an "exceptionally high" three months at dealerships before selling, the longest for a December since Power Information Network started keeping track in 2002, analyst Tom Libby says. "It's a buyer's market," he adds.

The backlog is so deep that major automakers, including import brands, are cutting production this month and next to try to let demand catch up to supply.

Ford Motor analyst George Pipas says too many would-be buyers still are being kept out of the market by tight credit. Many can't get a loan even as Ford runs an employee-pricing promotion, through Monday, that Pipas says offers the deepest discounts of the year.

Besides low interest, GM is offering incentives up to $10,000 on some remaining 2008 models.

With gas prices down, pickups are hot at Prestige Ford in Garland, Texas. "We've been busy," says John Thull, the general sales manager. "Good deals to be had on just about everything."

Sales are brisk — helped by a 0.9% interest rate — at Bob Smith BMW/Mini in Calabasas, Calif., says Tim Smith, president.

All these discounts have some dealers getting creative to try to stand out in the crowd.