As Jalopnik’s resident car-buying expert and a professional car shopper, I get emails. Lots of emails. I’ve picked a few of your questions and will try to help out. This week we are discussing deals on “leftover” models and a GT500 purchase.

First up, can buyers still find deals on leftover cars?

“Usually this time of year you can get a great deal on a leftover model year car because dealers want to clear them out for the new models coming in the fall? Is this still possible? It seems like no one has inventory so no one has any deals.”

Typically late summer is one of the best times to buy a car because automakers and dealers want to move out their previous model year cars to make room for the next model. The issue, as you mentioned, is that there is plenty of room on the lots because almost every dealer is desperate for inventory. I was recently shopping for a 2021 (leftover) Honda Civic in the Philadelphia market. Two of the biggest dealers in the region had $3,000 markups on their ‘21 Civics. Both said that Honda told them not to expect any more Civics until November. So if you are shopping for popular models like Civics, RAV4s, Foresters, and the like chances are there aren’t any “leftovers” to begin with.

However, within that same market, I noticed that 2021 Buick Encores were being advertised with discounts upwards of $3500 off the MSRP and inventory was fairly plentiful. On the upper end of the market, I’ve seen leftover Genesis G70 models advertised with discounts of $5,000 and more. So if you are open to brands that aren’t as popular right now there is still a chance of scoring a decent discount on a leftover model.

Next up we have a multi-part question regarding a GT500

“Looking into a Ford Mustang GT500 and I currently own a 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia QV. I was looking to upgrade to something with better aftermarket support as a European car is difficult to get parts for as well as limited local dealers for warranty repairs.

My questions are:

1. What’s the chances of being able to drive one, as a good summer time daily driver and it’s subsequent ride are important to me? (The dealers are pretty proud of them at the moment from the one that I called.)

2. Do you think I can get one for MSRP (below (gasp)) or is the market too hot right now?

3.Would ordering one increase my chances to get a better price?

4. Since this is a specialty model, would you have any insight on dealer allocation?

5. What’s interest rates on loans look right now? I have very good credit but I am not looking to finance the whole amount as I want a lower car payment.”

The first question is tough to answer because it really comes down to how the car feels to you. How the Mustang compares to a luxury car is a different story. Obviously, the best way to find out is a test drive, but getting some wheel time may be a challenge.

With regard to pricing and allocations, I would say your best case scenario is that you get one at MSRP as most dealers would be marking these cars up even if we didn’t have the inventory mess. Ordering a car doesn’t give you any real leverage on price as this would likely be an order anyway—assuming you can even get a build spot. The time to get on the list was when the car was first launched so at this point you may be out of luck.

In terms of interest rates, Ford typically doesn’t offer any special financing on GT500s, but you can get a sense of where the APRs are for new cars via any number of online banks.

Got a car buying conundrum that you need some assistance with? Email me at [email protected]!