Best Time to Buy a New Car
When most people consider the question of when they should buy a new car, the answer inevitably becomes "when I simply have to." While the lack of a safe, functional vehicle certainly provides ample motivation for that new car, taking a slightly more proactive approach to car buying can make the overall purchase far less expensive.
After all, not all times of year are created equal when it comes to buying a car. There is a strategy tied to the timing of buying cars, and this article outlines the very best times to make this important — and expensive — purchase.
Before the need is great
This idea flies in the face of what most car buyers do by recommending making the purchase before it is a must-buy. Why? Because car buying, like any other commodity, is an issue of supply and demand, and buyers with great demand, i.e., their current car no longer works, lose their ability to negotiate the best price or to shop around.
Planning the car buy before it is a must adds some cushion to the timeline, allowing for the best possible choice — instead of the fastest — to be made.
Monday is buy day
It turns out Mondays are good for something — buying a new car. Research from TruCar found that purchasing a car on a Monday saved consumers an average of 8.1 percent. This total supersedes Saturday (7.77 percent) and Sunday (7.49 percent), the days commonly held to be the best car buying days.
Why the benefit? Not surprisingly, Mondays are often slower for car dealerships than later in the week, and this lull can allow for further negotiation time. In addition, it may also be possible to further increase the savings by buying the car late in the day, as salespeople are more interested in making a quick sale before they go home.
Shop the deals
Incentives alone shouldn’t determine a new vehicle purchase, but if an intriguing car option is suddenly accompanied by new perks, it’s worth a look. From cash rebates and financing to leasing incentives, a vehicle deal can give back beyond the car itself.
The power of the calendar
While the opportunities listed above can occur at any time of the year, the calendar plays a large role in potential savings possibilities. In fact, significant savings can be found during specific times of the year. Here are a few of the most common.
The New Year
New Year’s Day — and in some cases New Year’s Eve — often has some of the best deals for cars. Industry calendars seldom follow the strict parameters of a traditional calendar, sometimes closing the year on Jan. 2 or 3, for example.
Even those that do close with the traditional end of the year may also offer deals — sometimes saving you as much as 8.5 percent — at the beginning of the year too. It’s all a matter of finding the right dealer interested in closing out the previous year — or starting the new year — as strong as possible.