2009 Mercedes-Benz S-class

Generally speaking, now's a lousy time to buy a new car. Coming after months of slow sales that had caused carmakers to scale back -- and even shut down -- production, Cash for Clunkers drained inventories at the end of the summer. That's left most car dealers with fewer cars on their lots to sell and, so, no need for big rebates or serious haggling.

But none of that is true for luxury car dealers. There were no Cash for Clunkers rebates for cars costing more than $45,000, so those buyers weren't looking for deals on BMW or Jaguar lots. If you're in the market for a high-end car, there are, ironically, still some nice deals to be had.

Dollar savings are biggest on the most expensive cars, too. For instance,analysts at TrueCar.com point out that you can get $18,500 off on an all-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz S550, a genuinely top-flight large luxury car. While $73,000 might still sound like a lot, for a car like this, think of it as a corporate jet minus the wings, it's a steal.