These Brands Had the Best New Car Deals in 2022

You probably aren’t too surprised to see Alfa on the list since it’s rare for anyone not plugged into the automotive world to even be aware of this brand. But since they are an underdog in the luxury space I saw brand new Giulias, Stelvios, and even top-spec Quadrifoglios go for well under MSRP.

In almost every area, I could find many BMW dealers willing to sell cars without markups especially if it was a volume car like a 3 series or X5. Some stores were even willing to discount more common models to sweeten the deal. Even the more in-demand offerings like the awesome M3 and EVs (i4, iX) could be scored without markups provided that someone was willing to wait for an order.

I had a ton of conversations with buyers looking for the new CR-V only to be frustrated with market adjustments upwards of $5,000 over sticker, and my response was “You should really check out the CX-5.” It wasn’t difficult to find any Mazda whether it be a Turbo 3 hatchback, the all-new CX-50, or a fully loaded CX-9 without the usual shenanigans. This is a nice change of pace from the Mazda dealers I was used to from years back.

Early in the supply shortage, Subaru was hit pretty hard, but somehow they managed to get production moving again. For those folks who could wait a reasonable few months for an order, they were able to get the Subaru of their choice at a good market price. In fact, it seems that Subaru overestimated the demand for a hardcore offroad Forester and dealers are sitting on a ton of Wilderness models, some of which are selling under sticker price.

While all European luxury brands got rocked with supply chain issues, the Swedish automaker weather the storm a bit better and while dealers weren’t overly stocked with cars markups were rare and in several cases, some models had some cash on the hood. In fact, I even lucked out and scored a super rare V60 Polestar-engineered wagon.

I’ve mentioned before that the key to managing this terrible market is being flexible. If you aren’t fixated on a specific car or brand, and/or have the luxury of time to wait for a dealer to get an allocation for what you want, your chances of getting a competitive deal improve.

There are some signs that the market may be improving a bit in 2023. Automakers like Kia have really ramped up production on popular models like Tellurides. I’ve spoken with a few Ford dealers willing to take Bronco orders at MSRP. And I’ve also encountered a few “leftover” models of various brands being advertised under sticker price.

So if you think you may be in the market for an upgrade next year, it’s smart to plan ahead and keep your options open.

Tom McParland is a contributing writer for Jalopnik and runs AutomatchConsulting.com. He takes the hassle out of buying or leasing a car. Got a car buying question? Send it to Tom@AutomatchConsulting.com