Buying a car

catsareniice1 · February 2014

When is the best time of year to buy a new car?

I am thinking I can get a new buy an older model and get a better deal if I go at the right time.

When do 2016's come out?

I would love to hear any wheeling and dealing tips too if you have any that have helped you.

CuriousKiddosMama · February 2014

2016's will come out at the middle to end of 2015. Best time of the year to buy is generally the end of the year when they are trying to clear the lot, although once I think I got a sales guy motivated at the end of the month. So the end of the month could also be good.

Best dealing tip I have is to bring in with you a quote from a comparable dealership. Also know what KBB says the car is worth. I was able to save thousands by playing two dealerships against each other. This however was on my new van. I've never had any luck with dealing on an older model. The dealership's I've bought from have always said 'well, that's our best price, we don't negotiate" so I guess that may depend upon what types of dealerships you have near you.

Another thing to consider would be the classifieds. I got the best deal on a used car on a person to person sale. They were happy because they got more than trade in value, and I was happy because it was cheaper than a dealer. If you aren't sure about this method, ask if they will let you take it to a shop to get it checked out before you commit to the purchase.

jtmh2012 · February 2014

Find out when the dealerships in your area has to pay its taxes. Around here dealers have to pay taxes on any unsold inventory on the lot, so at that time of year there's a lot of deals to get rid of inventory. Also ends of model years (after the new models have come out), ends of months/quarters as the sales guys are trying to hit their numbers.

hoffse · February 2014

jtmh2012 said:

Find out when the dealerships in your area has to pay its taxes. Around here dealers have to pay taxes on any unsold inventory on the lot, so at that time of year there's a lot of deals to get rid of inventory. Also ends of model years (after the new models have come out), ends of months/quarters as the sales guys are trying to hit their numbers.

This is good advice.

Another thing to do is google dealer incentives once in awhile and see what manufacturers are offering dealers in order to hit their numbers. For instance, during December Honda gave each manufacturer $3,000 per car leased or sold to be used however they wanted - some used it to lower the prices of leases, others used it to lower the prices of new cars (if the buyer was haggling them down). H and I missed that deal because I still hadn't been told when I was moving jobs, and we weren't comfortable buying until we knew that I had a solid paycheck on the way.

Instead, we purchased around 7 pm on the last day of January. We went to a dealership that closes at 8 pm. For the base price, we used Costco's car buying service. It was significantly less than invoice. While we probably could have saved a bit more by really haggling, I don't like to do that and neither does H. We were pleased with how the Costco service worked. We DID, however, save a good bit on the "extras" that dealers always tack on at the end. They were so desperate to sell us the thing so they could report it for January that they just didn't charge us for a few of the items that they had already installed (on all vehicles, not just ours), and they knocked a couple hundred off of their admin fee too.

Including taxes and fees, we were barely above invoice when all was said and done, and I really couldn't complain about that.

I can't remember if you have a lease or not (I think you do?) but if you have something to trade in, I also recommend getting multiple appraisals. In many states, you can save a bit on taxes by doing a true trade-in (you're only charged taxes on the lower amount of the purchased car). However, sometimes cash in your pocket is good too. Carmax inexplicably offered us about twice as much as what we were expecting, and it was significantly more than the dealership. It was actually higher than KBB, which hardly ever happens. So after we bought H's car, we headed to carmax and sold his old one. Pocketing the cash was good for us, because we're trying to save for a house right now too. The whole thing took about 20 minutes, and we walked out with a $5,000 bank draft.

Also, if you need financing do shop around. We got a 0.99% rate from Pentagon Federal Credit Union for a 36-month loan. That's actually lower than the rate of inflation, so it was basically free money. We could have afforded to put significantly more down than we did, but having that cash available to us for a down payment in the relatively near future was more important for us right now. That said, for most people, you want to put down as much as possible. The monthly payments are very comfortable for us, but if you think they might stretch you then put more down. You really don't want to be paying for your car for more than 3 years. If you buy new, 3 years is usually when the manufacturer warranty expires.

Sisugal · February 2014

End of the month is the best time as sales people are working to make sure they get their quota bonuses. End of DECEMBER is the very best .
New models come out July-Aug-Sept ish depending on company & model. Some a bit earlier, some a bit later.
Be sure to consider a slightly used vehicle instead of a brand new car as the depreciation hit on a new one is a great deal to absorb. 1-2 years old with low mileage is my favorite.

formerlyGDaisy09 · February 2014

It depends if you're buying a new vehicle or a certified pre-owned. the end of the month is best for a new car. I've heard Labor Day weekend is a good time if you're looking to buy the year-end models.

We got a FANTASTIC deal on a certified pre-owned car this past July. the car was 2 years old, had 18K miles on it, we got a bunch of extra features (heated seats, back-up cam, leather interior, sound system, puddle lights, power seats...) for the same price as a 2014 basic model.

brij2006 · February 2014

We've had good luck purchasing a used vehile the dealer has had on his lot for a long time. We scored H's car for $13k when it had a $18k sticker/NADA price. They had it on their lot for over 90 days and wanted it moved.

Since then we've flat out asked the dealers which cars they have more wiggle room on or want to get rid of.

catsareniice1 · February 2014

Someone mentioned finding out when the dealership pays their taxes. Do you call and ask them or find out some other way?

I also heard that you should never seem to anxious or sold on any one car in particular.

catsareniice1 · February 2014

Sisugal said:

End of the month is the best time as sales people are working to make sure they get their quota bonuses. End of DECEMBER is the very best .
New models come out July-Aug-Sept ish depending on company & model. Some a bit earlier, some a bit later.
Be sure to consider a slightly used vehicle instead of a brand new car as the depreciation hit on a new one is a great deal to absorb. 1-2 years old with low mileage is my favorite.

My lease is up in March or April. Is it still best to go to the dealership at the end of December whether I decide to lease another car OR buy?

I am leaning towards buying though.

Sisugal · February 2014

I avoid leasing and do not know what is involved with ending a lease early You might want to talk with the lease holder - or it might be in your original paperwork.

catsareniice1 · February 2014

Sisugal said:

I avoid leasing and do not know what is involved with ending a lease early You might want to talk with the lease holder - or it might be in your original paperwork.

Yeah I have no idea if there is a penalty.

catsareniice1 · February 2014

Can you lease a car that is one year old or does it always have to be a brand spanking new model?

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

Leases are always brand new. Like many others, I would avoid leasing, but what you could do is buy a car that just came back from being leased. If you notice that dealers have a lot of cars from three years ago, that is usually why.

I know leasing is tempting for the low monthly payments. My H had to buy a car about a year and a half ago when our finances were quite tight (his old one was non-fixable after 160,000 hard earned miles) and was very tempted to lease. We looked into the details, realized how we'd be losing money in the long run, and he ended up buying a used car worth a little under $10,000. He financed it with a $2,000 DP (which would have been our honeymoon fund, but oh well...), and his minimum monthly payments are comparable to what the lease would have been. Now what we did is not a perfect example to follow-most, especially with short commutes, would have been better served by a very cheap beater-but I still do think its preferable to leasing. As it turns out, with H's new job we can now pay it off in three years, which I do like as a guideline for how much car to afford. I can justify taking longer if you have a very low interest loan, but I like the idea that you COULD pay it off in three years.

Now, at the end of three years we will have a car that is probably still worth a few thousand dollars we can sell or trade in, instead of nothing after a lease. We do have a "car fund" going to build on its worth for our next vehicle. I think it is easy to get stuck in a cycle of leasing because of the lack of anything to trade in.

jtmh2012 · February 2014

catsareniice1 said:

Someone mentioned finding out when the dealership pays their taxes. Do you call and ask them or find out some other way?

I also heard that you should never seem to anxious or sold on any one car in particular.

I live in Virginia which has a personal property tax and a business property tax. Any business property in their posession (including unsold inventory) gets taxed. Depending on where you live, you may or may not have this.

As for feeling anxious or sold. If the sales guy figures out that you "have to have this car" or are in desperate need for a car, you lose your bargaining edge. Why should they come down on price? They know you want that car and will eventually cave. The biggest power you have is being willing to walk away. Even if you want a particular car, there are other dealers. When we bought our last car, we couldn't get the dealer to meet us where we wanted to be on price. We got up and started walking out the door. Ended up signing on that car just above the price we wanted it for, but a good bit below what they were willing to give us just prior.

catsareniice1 · February 2014

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for responding. So much useful info here. Hope it helped others too!!

Buying a car

Re: Buying a car

Choose Another Board

Search Boards