Best month - December has consistently scored high on both frequency and size of discounts, making it the best month of the year to buy a car. Holidays - Holidays are also good times to land a deal. You can score big with Black Friday deals, Christmas, or New Year's Eve.
On the other hand, December scores highly on both frequency and size of discounts — it's the month with the highest average discount and third highest frequency of deals — making it your best bet overall to find a good deal.
The months October to December are uniquely good for purchasing a new car. This is due to the fact that showrooms are often flooded with outgoing models of cars and have received a variety of new models.
Dealers generally do their best wheeling and dealing at the end of the calendar year. Automakers usually have big incentives to move the metal during the Christmas season because some dads and moms make the new car purchase their family's holiday gift. For some dealers, December is one of their biggest sales months.
Since January is the slowest month for sales, it is much slower for luxury cars to sell. Because of this, it may be more challenging for the most expensive ones to be taken out of your parking lot. To sell out the most expensive ones in your inventory, January is the best time to offer promotional deals to the buyers.
Mondays. Monday can be the best day of the week to buy a new car. Other potential shoppers are often at work, so representatives at car dealerships are focused on anyone who comes in the door.
If you have a high level of control over your timing, "New Year's Eve and New Year's Day" in particular "are the best days of the year to buy a used car, because there are 47.9% more deals than average," said CNBC, citing analysis by iSeeCars, a search engine for used cars. Martin Luther King Jr.
The two peak seasons for auto sales occur during the spring, from March through the end of May, and from September through November.
End of the Month
Most sales employees have smaller monthly quotas they need to meet, so visiting a dealership on the last few days of the month can incentivize salespeople to give you a better deal, especially if they're trying to earn a monthly bonus.
We almost forgot what that feels like, but our data show 2024 could shape up to be a buyer's market provided you're looking to buy new. New-car inventory increased by 36% year over year, with inventory levels close to what they were in February 2021 before pandemic shortages really started to hit.
Sell in spring or summer: People tend to be looking for cars to buy in the spring and early summer, when they're ready to do more pleasure driving, go on road trips, or take family vacations. It's also when tax refunds come in and well before major gift-giving seasons.
As a rule of thumb, car manufacturers usually release new models in the previous year's fall. Also, interest rates are low in December, making it possible for automakers to offer low-interest loans. Lest we forget, you'll likely get good discounts in November and December.
NerdWallet recommends spending no more than 10% of your take-home pay on your monthly auto loan payment. So if your after-tax pay each month is $3,000, you could afford a $300 car payment.
In general, the end of the month is, indeed, the best time to buy a new car from a dealership. Even better, you might consider buying a car at the end of a quarter — either March, June, September, or December. In those cases, you might get even more savings than you would from simply buying at the end of the month.
Shopping on days in the middle of the week—and toward the end of the month—can result in better service and better deals. Car dealerships offer holiday sales, special events or other incentives throughout the year to boost business, hit sales quotas and unload extra inventory.
Economic factors are perhaps the most crucial factor affecting car sales.
Shop at the end of the month or quarter. Make an offer later in the day. February, March, April, and May are the worst months to buy a new car. During February and March, many people are receiving their tax refund checks making these months a seller's market as opposed to a buyer's market.
Weekends are typically the busiest time at a dealership. The salesperson might be juggling multiple customers, and the finance office is likely to be a bottleneck. But if you show up on a Monday or Tuesday, there will be less foot traffic. You can ask plenty of questions and the transaction should take far less time.
The months preceding a new financial quarter (February, May, August and November) are good months if you are looking for a deal, as dealers will want a strong end to the quarter and to meet their targets.
No Test Drive
You found a car you're interested in buying, but the dealership or car dealer refuses to let you take it for a test drive. Cudd said this is a major red flag.
Dealers and their salespeople spend the month of December sprinting toward the finish line of their month-, quarter- and year-end sales goals. That makes the end of the year some of the best days to buy a new car.
“Mondays and Tuesdays tend to be less busy, as many people are occupied with work and other weekday commitments. By visiting the dealership on these days, you're more likely to receive prompt attention from salespeople and have more negotiating power.