Car sales: Is grabbing the year-end discount worth it?

• Should you avail of Dec discounts for cars?

Planning to buy a car? Well this may be your lucky month as many manufacturers and dealers are offering exciting discounts during the year-end, and this year seems far more exciting thanks to a depressed economy and sluggish car sales_._

As per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), sales dipped by 3.53 percent in April-November 2011 compared to last year due to rising interest rates and fuel costs. Almost every major auto company is gearing up to elevate sales and clear inventory by offering year-end discounts on petrol and diesel cars. Discounts ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs75,000 are available depending on the company as per carblogindia.com. While Tata Motors is offering rebates on diesel and petrol models, Mahindra and Mahindra’s rebates are among the most generous- Rs 40,000-75,000.

So should you go ahead and purchase you car this month? It all depends on your reason for the purchase. For example, if you are going to use your car for at least six to eight years, it makes sense to opt for the Rs 50,000 discount that some car makers are offering. But if you keep changing your car every two to three years, you are more likely to lose more in the depreciation value than the discount you actually avail. To know more, click here .

While most of us are aware that our credit score goes for a toss when we default or make late payments on loans and credit cards, there are other little-know things that could affect your score, says Mint in an article today. The article highlights seven things we should watch out for if want a heathy score like ‘becoming a loan guarantor’, ‘making too many loan enquiries in a short time’, ’taking settlement on your credit cards’, ‘your credit utilisation’ or something as simple as closing unused cards. To know more, click here .

• Planning to buy a house? Wait for further correction

With property prices correcting, many buyers are planning to use this opportunity to buy real estate. However, they would be better off renting as the markets are still heated said an article in Business Standard today. Here are some reasons why renting is a better option - If you are unsure about a permanent stay in the city or if the difference between property values and rent is wide or if you are fulfilling conditions for availing HRA benefits. But, if you are still keen on buying then do go through the list of reasons to make sure that you are buying for the right reasons- are the interest rates affordable? Is there still scope for capital appreciation? Click here to read more.

Planning to buy gold, well you can slowly start now. “Gold prices, which had crossed the Rs 29,000 per 10g mark, are now down by seven percent or below Rs 28,000” said Business Standard today. Analyst believe that gold could correct further next year and find strong resistance at Rs26,000-Rs25,000 level. While Pravav Mer, senior commodities analyst at Mangal Keshav Securities, suggests picking up gold in small portions from the Rs 27,000 level till it touches Rs25,000 level, Arnav Pandya, Certified financial planner is not excited about the prospects of gold and says that investors should base their decision on the outlook for gold instead of taking cues from minor corrections. Click here to read more.