When Is the Best Time of the Year to Buy a Car?

Everyone always wants to know how to save money when purchasing goods. People want to know when the time is right to maximize their value and get the best deals. Car buying is no exception, and there are many theories on when that prime buying time is. In fact, we’ve found that there’s not just one good time, but several times of the year when you can maximize the savings on your new car purchase.

End of the Month

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The end of the month is an excellent general time to look at purchasing new cars. You may be able to find a salesperson or dealership looking to meet a quota, and perhaps they’re a bit short of reaching it. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to know this ahead of time. Still, there’s potential for an opportunity here, and if they seem very willing and open to negotiating, they may be trying to meet their sales quota.

End of the Calendar Year

December’s often advertised “year-end sales events” can be a great time to purchase new cars or new trucks and can give a multitude of ways to save. The end of a calendar year is a good time to get the most incentives on the outgoing model year to continue to make way for the new model year vehicles. Even though the vehicle manufacturers may roll out the new model year vehicles in the fall, the dealers themselves still have annual goals that they wish to meet, and if you can hit this just right, they may be willing to let a vehicle go for a great deal, just to meet that sales goal.

Early in the Week

It turns out that the day of the week can have an impact on the deal you’re able to get as well. Early in the week is the best time to go, as they’re far less busy and will be able to give you the attention you deserve without having to rotate between several different customers. The day of the week can make a difference when it comes to the purchase of new cars or new trucks. Monday would most likely be your best bet  in situations where the dealership is closed on a Sunday, Mondays may be a bit busy yet, so then Tuesday is the better bet, and Wednesday is still good as well.

End of the Model Year

We’ve touched on this briefly, as the model year roughly coincides with the calendar year — but that’s not always the case. It used to be that all model-year cars would be introduced in the fall, making the end of the summer a great time to pick through the outgoing model-year vehicles. However, that has changed in recent years, and there isn’t a universal model year anymore.

Do a little research and find out when the next model year is coming out for the vehicle you want. Then look to deal just before or right after that happens to capitalize on the dealer’s desire to clear room for the new Chevys.

End of the Vehicle’s Cycle

If you’ve discovered that the vehicle you want is about to undergo a complete redesign for the next model year, you can save a lot of money purchasing the last model year before the redesign. The more extensive the changes, the more appealing the new model becomes, and the more motivated a dealership will be to dump them for a great value.

The motivation to sell is also there when the model is being discontinued altogether. However, you’ll want to determine why it’s being discontinued. Is it due to performance or reliability issues, or has it just fallen out of popularity, so the manufacturer wishes to focus its resources elsewhere? Any reason not involving actual mechanical problems would make this a good option to pursue.

Holiday Weekends

Around certain holidays, manufacturers and dealerships can offer special discounts and incentives. Three-day weekends tend to be the most common time for this to occur. Be prepared to deal with a bit more activity at the dealer site when it comes to looking at new cars and new trucks. With a little forethought, you can do the research, test-drive, initiate contact before the weekend, and just close the deal when the savings are active. Or, even better, finalize the deal the weekday after the “sale-a-bration” when things have calmed down, and you can get more direct attention.

February is typically the month with the fewest discounts and incentives, but if you are in a need-based situation during this time of the year, Presidents Day can often offer up some deals on new Chevys.

Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer and is a great time to capitalize on deals and incentives. This time of year is also when there’s the biggest selection, so if you’re particular about specific features or colors, Memorial Day weekend would be a good bet.

Fourth of July offers some of the same benefits as Memorial Day weekend with a great selection of both outgoing model year and incoming model year vehicles.

Black Friday is not just for getting that wall-sized TV for pennies on the dollar — it’s also a great time to look at purchasing a vehicle. Since the explosion in popularity of Black Friday, automakers and dealerships have been getting in on the hype and offering their versions of Black Friday deals. Since Black Friday is also around the time that all-new model year vehicles have been released, you should see significant deals on the outgoing model year vehicles.

If your daily driver is still in excellent working condition and you’re not in a hurry to purchase, doing some planning can save you thousands of dollars. Figure out when the new model year comes out and then see which of the timeframes mentioned above works best and try to get your deal done at that time. Having a reliable vehicle already gives you a lot of leverage in both ability to walk away if the deal isn’t good enough, as well as the luxury of waiting until the time is right to capitalize on maximum savings.

When you’re ready to purchase your new vehicle, used vehicle, or CPO Chevy, come see us at Stan McNabb Chevrolet of Columbia, where you always get the best deal around.