When is the Best Time to Buy a Used Car? Right Now
If you fancy yourself an automotive bargain hunter, the best time to score a deal on a used car is right around the corner. So, stop clicking around on Autotrader for five minutes and equip yourself with some useful knowledge to better your odds of snagging some savings.
iSeeCars analyzed more than 40 million used vehicle sales between 2013 and 2015, comparing specific times of the year and days of the month to determine when consumers would be able to find more or fewer deals (defined as savings of five percent or more) compared to an average day.
Explaining the five percent metric threshold, iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly said, “The average used car costs $19,040, so even just a five percent discount on that means $952 for consumers to spend on something else.”
Purchasing a used car at the end of the year is an easy way to save money with minimal effort. As the current model year draws to a close around August, consumers begin trading in their used cars at higher quantities. This is also the time of year that leases typically end. All of a sudden, piles of pre-owned cars hits dealer lots, and retailers become desperate to get rid of them.
This makes November, with an average 26.9 percent more deals than average, the best month to buy a used car. December is only slightly less ideal at 23.5 percent.
Although, if you want the increase your probability of getting the very best deal, shopping on a specific holiday could save you even more. As unsettling as shopping on certain major holidays probably feels, those dates tended to be real real winners for thrift-minded consumers. Among the best were Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Columbus Day — all of which offer an estimated average savings above 30 percent.
Black Friday, the ultimate retail holiday, remains the bargain hunter’s dream. At 33.1 percent, it offered more deals than any other single day of the year. Like the television sets that induce annual tramplings at Walmart, used cars are also deeply discounted the day after Thanksgiving.
This is also the best day to snatch up a popular model. Dealers on Black Friday have more vehicles in their inventory and more deals on them overall. The top model on iSeeCars’ list, the Hyundai Elantra, offered 230.6 percent more deals compared to an average day. Other popular models (2011 or newer) like the Honda CR-V, Ford F-150, Honda Accord, Chrysler Town & Country, and Volkswagen Jetta are also incredibly good cars to purchase on Black Friday.
However, there are two sides to every coin and purchasing a used vehicle in April means you are probably getting hosed. In fact, that month averaged 27 percent fewer deals overall. The other spring months weren’t much better. Summer was slightly better, with August having deal offers only 10 percent below an average average month.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t good deals to be had during the warmer months — it just means they might not be easy to find. If you’re absolutely in desperate need of a replacement vehicle and are reading this in March, there are a couple of things you can do to maximize your chances of saving some dough.
Try to shop on the first day of the month or near the very end. Most dealerships’ sales months actually end a few days into the next calendar month. You might find a dealer trying to make last-minute sales to meet their monthly goals.
Go shopping on a weekday. Monday through Thursday offered a very slight, but consistent, advantage over weekend sales.
[Source: iSeeCars.com]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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how low can my monthly payment be. 84 months ? fine.
>> If the vans are moving at those asking prices then they’re not overpriced. Fair enough. Still so expensive that the news one offer better value. >> how low can my monthly payment be. 84 months `? fine. There's not much good about 84 months, but better 84 months on a new car that's a proven performer than 36 months on a 5-year-old car with 100k miles and an unknown history.