The Ford Mustang is continuing to command a premium despite being the only passenger car still in production from the American manufacturer. While it's still possible to find steep discounts on the last Fusion sedans, Mustang incentives remain considerably worse than competitors and have some major drawbacks.
Here in California, Ford's advertised deal on the 2020 Mustang is still 2.9% financing for 60 months. On a $35,000 car, that would result in $2,641 in interest at roughly $627/month. Earlier this year, the same car could be had for 0% for 72 months, resulting in an estimated payment of $486/month before taxes & fees.
Sadly, Ford pulled-back rates on the Mustang about 6 months ago, and deals have been pretty dismal ever since. Although an 84-month financing deal can potentially lower your payment to $527/month right now, a closer look reveals that the underlying rate of 6.9% APR would entail well over $9,000 in interest.
One of the trends we expect for 2021 is a lack of deals on cars as brands focus on models selling in higher numbers. That said, in a recent interview with Ford Authority, Ford's head of marketing for the Mustang stated that the car remains a strong seller and isn't going anywhere despite the popularity of SUVs.
Unfortunately, Mustang incentives can be quite misleading. For example, Ford is advertising $4,000 in savings here in Southern California. However, the amount reflects a $1,500 discount you can only get when buying one with the Premium Package, as well as a $750 bonus on cars in stock for over 60 days.
As a result, the car's actual rebate is worth just $1,750. To put that into perspective, GM is offering Employee Pricing on 2021 Camaros while Dodge is offering up to $7,970 off the 2020 Challenger. Believe it or not, the V8-powered Mustang GT is excluded from standard rebates and features no deals for leasing.
To put that into perspective, Chevy has been offering some crazy year-end leases on the Camaro V8. We actually found that the power-packed LT1 can be cheaper to lease than the turbo despite an $8,600 difference in MSRP. Odds are that you probably won't see a deal that good on a Mustang GT anytime soon.
Current Ford offers end on January 4, 2021.