When it’s time to make your used car purchase, you’ll want to consider everything you can to save as much money as possible. Just like buying a new car, timing is everything. So, after all your research is done, after your money as been set aside, make sure that you choose the best time to make your purchase, and we guarantee you’ll save thousands.
Buy at the End of the Year
About the time that new car dealerships are prepping their lots for new inventory, used car dealerships are doing the same. It’s a cycle: people buy new cars and sell their current cars to the highest bidder. Oftentimes, the highest bidder is a car dealer who knows they can turn it around quickly given trends and demands of the population. So, as used car dealers prepare for “new” inventory, they’re willing to let those go that have been sitting a while for a little less than they would earlier in the year.
Buy at the End of the Month
Used car dealers rarely have rebates, discounts or promotions that go into affect early in the month. More often than not, they wait til the last couple of weeks of the month to put these money saving vices in effect; it’s a tactic on their part to help them in meeting their quote, but only if it’s really necessary. A dealer may not implement a sale if business that month has been great, so assume if a sale is promoted that he or she needs your business.
Used car dealers will also be more willing to deal with aggressive haggling toward the end of the month, if you’re up for it. If you do plenty of research in learning the true new car cost and what the dealer likely paid for the car, you will have the best luck in negotiating a better price. Keeping these prices in mind, your haggling will be more successful toward the end of the month as dealers and salesmen are inching closer and closer to reaching a quote or raking in bonuses for every sale made. Buying earlier in the month completely diminishes this incentive and can make haggling essentially fruitless for dealers who won’t entertain lower offers because they don’t need to.
Buy Mid-week
For used car dealerships, Tuesdays are typically the slowest day of the week. Weekends are booming with business and Mondays are deemed “clean up days”, where dealers are focused on follow up calls and tying up loose ends for the weekend business. Most people prefer not to car shop during the work week, so used car dealers will perk right up when a potential buyer drives up on their lot mid-week during the day. Since a mid-week sale can be rare, often times dealers will do whatever it takes to make the sale.
If you time it correctly, considering monthly and quarterly quotas, discounts, promotions and time of year, you should be able to get a great deal on the used car you have your eye on.
