The one thing that’s likely to be common among all buyers is the tendency to seek out money-saving opportunities, especially on major purchases. A significant portion of this tendency revolves around identifying the best times to make particular purchases. For instance, people looking to buy a TV or a laptop usually wait for the Black Friday sales, while those wanting to purchase a plane ticket can do so on a Tuesday and benefit from the reduced price.
A car, of course, falls very high up on the list of major purchases, and, in this article, we will explore the best time of the year for making a vehicle purchase.
The final week of the month:
Car dealers have to meet or exceed their monthly quotas in order to obtain bonuses, and some dealers are bound to struggle to achieve those targets. Hence, as the month draws to a close, those dealers might have an added incentive to make more sales, and might therefore be more willing to offer discounted prices. Of course, it is extremely difficult for you to know ahead of time if a particular dealer has met their monthly quota or not. However, if you are offered a particularly low price, make sure to inquire about the reason behind this offer. If this reason makes sense, you might want to capitalize on this reduced price.
If you do not feel comfortable about making a car purchase within such a short timeframe, you could always test-drive your chosen car earlier in the month and complete the deal during the final week.
End of the year:
If the aim is to lease or purchase a vehicle at the best possible cost, you should consider cashing in on the year-end events that happen every December.
As per Edmunds data, the month of December offers the best incentives for dealerships and automakers, which translates to a healthy 6.1% average discount. Naturally, dealers are looking to make a strong end to the year – not to mention that they are keen on getting rid of older vehicle models that are occupying space.
Other viable months for car buying:
Like we just discussed, December is certainly the best month for anyone looking to save money on their car purchase. However, there are a few other attractive months as well. The best months, alongside December, are October and November, since the arrival of newer models drive the prices for older models downwards. Since new models typically start arriving during the summer, the five-month period from May to September might also prove financially beneficial for car buyers.
Final Word:
To sum up, the ideal time to buy a car is when you are truly ready, which means that it will vary between buyers. Having said that, if you are looking to land the best possible deal on your next vehicle purchase, we hope that this article will serve as a useful reference point.