When Is the Best Time to Buy a Car?

You may be wondering when is the best time to buy a car. That’s a logical question. Is there a best day of the week? A best month? A best season? Here’s the knowledge we have gathered from talking to car dealers.

Best Months to Buy

We’ll let you in on the best months to make your purchase. The best way to be ready for these deals is to read reviews and narrow down your favorites list. You can also do this by browsing through standard car inventory or luxury car inventory, depending on your budget and preference.

May

May sits at the tail-end of the traditional auto show season when the new models displayed on the convention floor are rolled into the dealer’s showroom. Savvy buyers can get decent discounts on outgoing models during this time.

May also brings Memorial Day sales events. During these sales, car shoppers can get generous cash back, leasing, and finance deals before summer, usually the busiest car-buying season, gets rolling.

October

Traditionally, automakers roll out the new year’s model redesigns in October. This means that auto dealers face a lot of pressure during this month to clear out space in their showrooms. Smart shoppers can use this leverage to obtain some extra sweet discounts that they wouldn’t otherwise get. This tends to be true whether you are looking for the Cadillac Escalade for your big family or the Jeep Wrangler to go off-roading or the Genesis GV80 for your business travel.

November

For most retailers, November means only one thing, the festival (some would say mosh pit) of sales that is Black Friday. Car retailers are no different and many offer big savings in the weeks leading up to the Christmas shopping season. During this month, turkey and stuffing aren’t the only leftovers as deals can be especially delicious when buying an outgoing model still on the lot.

December

The December holidays are a stressful time for many, and auto dealers feel an ironic heat as their monthly, quarterly, and annual sales targets loom. The car seller’s source of stress is the car buyer’s source of leverage, and rebates can pour down like winter snowflakes, especially during year-end sales events.

During this month, automakers often offer special lease deals to help dealers collect year-end tax write-offs. These savings may be passed down to the buyer.

Best Days to Buy a Car

Waiting for the weekend to buy your new wheels? Check below if that’s really the best time to do it.

Mondays

Conventional wisdom states that the best time to buy a car is on weekends, when the dealer lot is busiest. However, this isn’t really true. Your sales person may feel too rushed to haggle, and they may just abandon the sale in hopes that the next person will buy the car.

On Mondays, the buyer can take their time to get questions answered and go for a test drive. The finance department is also less busy and more capable of taking their time with the customer. Therefore, Mondays are actually the best day to buy a car.

Three-Day Weekends

There are good weekends for car shopping, however. Specifically, long holiday weekends, such as President’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. During these weekends, auto dealers love to attract buyers with steep discounts and generous financing offers.

Out of the listed holidays, Memorial Day and Labor Day offer particularly good deals. This is due to the fact that these holidays represent the start of the busy summer car-buying season and the start of the new school year.

Worst Time to Buy a Car

Is there a worst day to buy a car? It could be that you will pay more if you try to buy a model in the first few weeks after it is introduced.

However, you may think that saving $500 later isn’t worth the risk of missing out on the exact color and style you want. If that’s most important to you, you want to shop for your new car when it hasn’t been on the market for very long.

Furthermore, when a new model comes to market, dealers may actually offer incentives to get shoppers to try it. This can work in your favor financially.

One thing we’ve learned is that you shouldn’t wait until your old car has broken down. After all, a major factor in car buying negotiations is leverage. A still-serviceable car will give the buyer more time to research their options. It will also get a better resale value that can contribute to a down payment on its replacement.

Have Fun

Car buying is often a stressful occasion, but you should try to relax and have fun. Internet inventory research is a good way to get started. Taking a test drive is a really cool activity, and it doesn’t have to mean you buy the car right then.

As this article shows, the time you buy can make a difference in how much you might save. The goal is to be ready when the perfect time arrives and to be open to all opportunities as they arise.

We hope these tips help you save money and still get the make, model, trim level and color that you want!