Taking a Closer Look at the Best Times to Buy a New Car

So you think you have everything in a row and you are finally ready to purchase your own new car. Before you grab your wallet and head out to local dealerships, you should make sure that you are shopping at the best time. Just like any other purchase, there is an ebb and flow to sales opportunities and good deals when you are shopping for a vehicle. If you are not careful about being a wise consumer, you could end up spending a lot more for a shiny new ride than you really have to. Here are a few good pointers to keep in mind.

Shop Late in the Season

If you are looking for a brand new car off the lot, the beginning of the year may not be the best time to show up at a local dealership to try and strike a bargain. There are a couple of reasons why it may be better if you wait a little into the year first:

1. The beginning of the year is when the year's models first come out, which means they will not only be new to you, but brand new to the dealership. Therefore, the price could be a little higher.
2. A lot of people shop for cars early in the year, especially around tax time or early spring. This means the dealership salesmen may not be so anxious to make a deal, because they have a lot of customers buying already.
3. Most dealerships have sales quotas that their employees will try to meet by the end of the year. Early on, there will not be as great of a push to get those numbers up, which means the deals may not be as plentiful.

Shop Late in the Day

Not only could it be better to wait until the spring push of sales is over to get a good price on a new car, it may even serve you better to shop later in the day. This may sound odd, but if you take a look at why, it makes good sense. By the end of the day if a salesman has not made a deal on a car with a customer yet, they may be pretty eager to do so. Furthermore, you may get a little more time and attention later in the day when most customers have already headed home.

Before you make an investment in a new ride, make sure you get ahead of the curve by becoming an educated consumer. You can even talk to local Dodge dealerships about when they typically run special promotions and discounts.