By ADAM STEWART

Staff writer

Despite the sluggish economy — perhaps even because of it — the automotive industry is a serious buyer’s market now, according to area car dealers.

“It’s a good time for people to buy a new car, especially in this area,” said Danny Flynn of Midway Motors of Hillsboro.

Consumers can benefit from big incentives manufacturers are offering.

Doug Wright of Wright’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Hillsboro said he has been in the business 30 years and never seen such deep incentives. On the right model, someone can get nearly any combination of a lifetime warranty, zero percent financing, large rebates, and employee pricing.

Those kinds of incentives have been around in the past, but they were always an either-or-proposition, now they are available together, Wright said.

“If you are in the market, it’s a tremendous time to buy,” said Terry Hagen of Hillsboro Ford Mercury.

Incentives offered by one manufacturer put pressure on other manufacturers to match them.

“It takes a ‘wow’ factor to earn people’s business,” Flynn said.

Manufacturers want to reduce their inventory, so they’re offering big incentives while reducing production. Eventually those tactics will reduce supply, pushing prices back up.

“There is a major correction coming,” Hagen said.

Garth Mock of Midway Motors expects used car prices to increase in the future as well. Consumers feeling the effects of the slow economy may buy used when they otherwise would have purchased a new car, increasing demand and prices of used cars.