When is the Best Time to Buy a Used car?
Buying a used car is always full of questions. We want to know everything, from the best cars to buy through to the easiest ways to do it, but one of the big questions that many of us actually forget about comes from when the best time to buy a car is too. Everything has an impact on it after all, and you need to be sure you’re getting the most for your money.
With that being said, however, there’s actually a little bit more to it than you may have hoped for. There’s no one size fits all, as always, but what there are instead, however, is some great things to remember to help you get more for your money when the time to buy does come around. Make sure you check signs when to buy new car too.
Sales Targets
One of the most influential factors that come into pricing a vehicle comes from the motivation behind the sale. When we’re looking at private sellers, this doesn’t really carry much weight. Chances are they’re selling to buy after all, or to maximise profits. When we look at dealerships though, things get much, much more interesting. It’s really rather clever.
What we’re talking about here, is sales performance. Think about it. Car sellers are always looking to make sales, that’s a given. What people often don’t think about, however, is that these people are pros working sales jobs just like anyone else selling commercially. That means you have targets to meet, bonuses to have, and a sales calendar to work with. More often than not, that means quarterly sales figures that could always use a bump.
The result of this is usually more lenient salesmen, flexible prices, better deals and offers and other common sales tactics as well. All the stops come out when there’s more motivation, and that means that the best time to buy used cars could easily be:
- Late February
- Early March
- Late May
- Early June
- Late August
- Early September
- Late November
- December
Seasonal Impact
Another big player on the best time to buy a used car can be the time of the year too. Not in terms of the financial year here but for the season and the weather outside too. It makes perfect sense that supply and demand are always at play, no matter what you’re buying. Cars are absolutely no different so there are some things to think about.
Temperature and therefore season are the biggies here. It makes perfect sense that convertibles will fetch a much nicer price in the summer for example. Bigger more off-road-ready vehicles may well do better with snow and other conditions. It’s all relative and it all helps to make up prices.
By this logic, it could also be worth thinking about this in reverse. If you’re looking for a convertible, take a look later on in the year. If you’re looking for a large 4×4, this could be a better deal in summer. It may not always have the biggest impact, but you’d be surprised at what sellers can do to make their money.
Seller Convenience
Finally, it can also be a smart buying decision to take advantage of times that may be inconvenient for some sellers as well. That is much, much easier said than done, we know, but it can carry some weight in what you’ll pay for the same car. It can be a great way to get more bargaining power and get you a much lower price for sheer convenience.
To put that into context, it’s best to look at some examples. Buying around Christmas time from a private seller, for example, could be a great way to do it. It can be hard for any business to sell around the holiday seasons in winter. The same can be said for late summer in some cases too.
Any time there’s less footfall or fewer people buying can be a good time to make your move and get a better bargain. Always plan ahead where you can, although that too is much easier said than done.
Remember
Ultimately, it all comes down to you. There are some times where waiting isn’t an option and you have to take what you can get. Other times, you may simply have a stubborn dealer. Whatever the case, prices are up and down all the time, and there’s not a great deal you can do about it. Why good and bad cars really don’t exist.
Try your luck, think ahead, and do what you can to make your money go further. Buying a used VW. Buying used vauxhall, BMW, Jaguar, Ford, Volvo, Range rover, Bentley, Aston Martin.
Happy Driving!
Buying a used VW. Buying used vauxhall, BMW, Jaguar, Ford, Volvo, Range rover, Bentley, Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Hyundai, Tesla, Honda, Pagani