End of Financial Year sales are bringing out the bargains, with almost all major car brands offering special deals

With car affordability at its best rate in almost 34 years, according to Commsec, the deals heading into the End of Financial Year sales are hotter than ever.

Not since the peak of the global financial crisis in late 2008 – when there was a chronic oversupply of cars and dealers shed stock in a panic – has it been this good a time to buy.

The strong Australian dollar and, with the exception of Toyota, little impact on vehicle supply in the wake of the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March, means the deals are sharper this month than they have been in decades.

Most car makers now have a "special offers" or "hot deals" tab on their home websites – but we've done the clicking for you and gathered a collection of what's hot in the next fortnight.

Chinese car maker Chery kicked off the discounts last month when it trimmed $1000 on its J1 hatch to become Australia's cheapest car at $10,990 drive-away. It has continued that offer to the end of June.

Meanwhile the Proton S16 is still Australia's cheapest sedan at $11,990 drive-away and the Malaysian maker is currently doing a 1.6-litre GX manual for the price of the base model 1.3-litre G manual.

But even the mainstream players are putting the squeeze on the budget brands: the Suzuki Alto is currently $11,990 drive-away nationally – the cheapest car on sale with six airbags and stability control (combined features the Chinese and Malaysian competition lack).

Hyundai and Kia are in runout mode with their baby hatches; the Getz three-door at $12,490 drive-away and Rio five-door at $13,490 drive-away. However you may find these vehicles are not on sale in Victoria as not only do they not have stability control (compulsory in Victoria from January 2011, and nationally from November 2011) they also lack such basics as anti-lock brakes, a technology that's been around since 1979.

Above this threshold, however, most cars come with six airbags and stability control.

The recently facelifted Mazda2 Neo five-door is currently $16,490 drive-away.

There are also deals on newly-released light cars. Incredibly, just a few months after going on sale with an all-new model, the Suzuki Swift is being advertised nationally from $16,990 drive-away. Honda, after struggling with an over-priced Jazz for the better part of three years, has finally brought the facelifted model back to realistic levels, also from $16,990 drive-away.

Toyota should be discounting the Yaris hatch (the top-seller in its class) but short supply out of Japan has scuppered those plans. Toyota's website says there is a "factory bonus" on the Yaris and invites customers to contact a dealer for a price – but dealers won't give the discounted price over the phone (we tried a number of outlets).

We've been told the discounts on Yaris aren't that special anyway – certainly not as good as what they were earlier in the year ($15,990 drive-away for a five-door manual 1.3 hatch). Better to wait for the new model in September.

The Kia Cerato sedan and Hyundai i30 hatch are both just $18,990 drive-away despite being another class size bigger. Both come with the full safety kit and five-year warranties.

There is a word of caution with headline prices on all small cars, however: they are all for vehicles with manual transmission. In most cases, auto adds $2000. In some cases there may also be a charge for metallic paint. But remember, all drive-away prices are still negotiable.

Further up the scale, sedan buyers are also spoiled for choice. The sharpest deal on a large sedan is the wide body Honda Accord four-cylinder. At $29,990 drive-away it is cheaper than a Toyota Camry, but will likely be a 2010 build.

The Ford Falcon XR6 sedan is $34,990 drive-away – but Ford is also offering a further $2000 cashback, making it dirt cheap at $32,990 drive-away. The equivalent vehicle at Holden, the SV6 sedan, is $36,990 drive-away.

The Toyota Aurion with sports pack splits the difference between the Falcon and the Commodore: it's $33,990 drive-away as Toyota makes way for an all-new Aurion in January 2012.

The hybrid Camry (also due to be replaced early next year) is $34,990 drive-away, only a modest discount on its RRP.

Holden doesn't usually discount the Commodore wagon (the SV6 load carrier is not cheap at $41,990 drive-away) but the Berlina wagon can be had for $38,990 drive-away.

Softroader buyers can put themselves in an all-new Kia Sportage petrol from $27,490 drive-away, a facelifted Holden Captiva from $28,990 drive-away, or a mid-life Honda CR-V from $29,990 drive-away.

The cheapest seven-seater SUV is the Holden Captiva four-cylinder petrol (not a bad choice, better than the V6 in our opinion) from $34,990 drive-away.

Meanwhile in dedicated people-movers, the eight-seater Kia Carnival is now $38,990 drive-away (haggle here, the deal could be better still) and the baby seven-seater Ronda7 from $25,990 drive-away.

If you want some fun, the box-shaped but cool-looking Kia Soul can now be had from $19,990 drive-away, while Ford is quitting the last of its Focus XR5 Turbo hot hatches from $33,990 drive-away. A good car and a steal at that price.

Ute lovers don't miss out either. Of the car-derived utes, the Falcon XR6 and Commodore SV6 utes are identically priced at $32,990 (the SV6 gets more equipment: touch screen and extra airbags). But Holden also has sharp deals on its Thunder ute (SV6 from $34,990 and SS from $39,990, both drive-away) which comes with sat-nav, 19-inch alloys and partial leather seats.

For tradies Ford has Falcon cab chassis utes – fitted with dropside trays – with the superseded LPG system from $27,990 drive-away and five years warranty. They're 2010 build with the old four-speed auto but still good buying.

Mazda and Ford are tearing up the margins on their runout BT-50 and Ranger models respectively. With a replacement for these 13-year-old vehicles due in September, they're going hard on the discounts.

The base model four-door Mazda BT-50 turbo diesel can be had from $35,990 drive-away while the cheapest four-door Holden Colorado turbo diesel can be had for $36,990 drive-away.

Ford is focusing on the Wildtrak flagship Ranger model ($42,990 drive-away) but if you want a sports-style body-on-frame ute it would be worth waiting for the all-new Mazda and Ford pick-ups, as these jointly developed vehicles have a much broader footprint and will be more stable.

June is usually a boomer month for the Toyota HiLux but supplies are only just beginning to arrive in numbers. There will be some deals in the run up to June 30, but the drastic discounting on HiLux probably won't happen until August as the company makes way for the facelifted HiLux in September.