Buyers may choose cash rebates ranging from $300 to $700 at Ford and up to $1,000 at G.M., depending on the model, instead of the cut-rate financing.

Because the manufacturer backs a CPO vehicle, the automaker often throws incentives or cut-rate financing into the mix to help close the deal.

Another $8 million in cut-rate financing came from the Delaware River Port Authority, Mr. Grossman added.

Only this month have auto makers begun to restore rebates and offer cut-rate financing in an effort to bolster sales.

Mr. Kleinaitis said the incentives were more aggressively packaged than he had thought likely, taking the form of rebates rather than cut-rate financing or discounts on options.

Almost every CPO plan offers factory-backed cut-rate financing, and a few offer customer cash.

But the issue becomes complicated because buyers may have a hard time determining whether they are paying for the cut-rate financing in the form of an inflated purchase price.

Record-high incentives in the form of cut-rate financing and/or cash rebates, which averaged more than $3100 in 2003, certainly helped move the metal.

The Taurus sedan saw its sales drop 26.7 percent from a year earlier, despite offers of cut-rate financing.

In lieu of a rebate, customers who finance with Ford may choose cut-rate financing of 6.9 percent on the mini-vans.