best time to car shop?

Answer 1

Shop the day after Christmas, buy on New Year's Eve. All the Christmas presents will have been purchased by the 26th, so the lots won't be full. December 31st is the triple witching hour -- last chance for dealers to make their monthly, quarterly and annual sales targets.

Pretty good deals in September, as the previous post says, but lousy selection. They'll be trying to clear out the previous year models, so you'll take a pretty big depreciation hit right off the bat. 7-15 years from now when you're trying to sell the car, no one will car what month you bought the car. They'll only care if it's a 2006 model or a 2007 model. The 2006 model will be worth less.

Answer 2

Hi Mc,

This answer has more info that what your question is, but I'm short on time and just copied and pasted from another persons question that I answered.

Hope it helps

Sales people are savvy to the the fact that consumers can now obtain invoice pricing, msrp etc from sites such as Edmunds and others as well. They expect you to know this information, it's not a hindrance to them at all, actually a benefit, of course to consumers well.

Supply and demand still rules pricing, especially with high line luxury cars, depending on what type of vehicle you are considering, if it's a hard to get vehicle, your bargaining power will be reduced.

You should be forthcoming, in a diplomatic way of course, let them know what you've found as far as pricing. This should be stated as soon as possible, or as soon as the conversation allows. By letting them know, they will at least not start so high with an original offer.

Don't appear to be so eager, if this is really the car you want, don't show it. This will allow leverage on their part and reduce your bargaining power once again.

Of course it's not just the bottom line price of the car that consumers pay for. It's add ons, such as paint sealants, undercoatings, window etching, PREP Fees and other items they may approcah you into buying. My personal and professional opinion is that these items are very seldom needed, if at all.

Extended warranties are another issue as well, depending on your usage of the vehicle, this may or may not be a good option for you. I'm a firm beleiver that they are valuable under the right circumstances, but they are not always a good idea for every circumstance.

If you consider a warranty, you can always purchase before the original factory warranty expires. If you purchase when you buy the car, and it's included with financing, you'll be paying finance charges for something that you aren't useing.

Financing is another source of income for dealers, if you finance thru a credit union or bank, you will most likely get a better interest rate, but if you finance outside the dealer, they may not be willing to negotaite with bottom line pricing.

You should compare the options and use an online comparison calucalator once you have the details. These can be found on most sites that offer auto loans.

ANOTHER small rule of thumb is the best time to buy, most people will tell you at the end of the month, this does have some value, but dealers will often ROLL the 1st day or 2 of sales into the previous month.

Manufactueres will offer incentives to dealers for number of cars sold, so if they are short, they may roll these couple of days to earn their incentives.

As with any business, sales people and dealerships are in business to make a profit, and so they should, but there is a big difference between making a profit and being taken advantage of.

Jerry Christopher
http://www.usedcarwise.com

Answer 3

I am a Sales Mnager of a car lot. There is really no best time now due to the new model years are broken up through out the year. For example the 2007 Tahoe came out in Feb. But if there would be a best it would be the last day of the month because the salesman will work harder and even loose money if the are 1 car away from there bonus. They will work the desk man much harder to hiy it

Answer 4

personally i would shop during the summer because they will probably give you a better deal because they need to make room for the next model year vehicles coming in.

Answer 5

september, thats when they do the model year change overs ,best deals as far as rebates etc