Best time to buy a minivan, Black Friday or New year day ?

[Anonymous]

Question: is it better to come in with cash, outside financing, or dealer financing to get one of these end of year deals?

We are in the market for a Subaru Outback. Not super picky about color or options. We just want those deals, deals, deals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the best time was the last few days of the month, because dealers are trying to meet monthly quotas.

+1

We happened to buy our last vehicle on the last day of the month, on a day that was pouring rain by the bucket so we were the only people in the dealership that day and all I could hear all day were the salesmen calling, calling, calling to follow up with folks they'd talked to over the last several weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to negotiate a good deal not wait for dome special sale

Figure out exactly what you want - model, add ons etc. contact every dealer nearby for a quote on exactly what you want. Get the price you’d pay to walk out the door with keys (including any fees, wheel locks, etc)). Refuse to test drive or visit the dealer until you get a firm number.

If you’re trading an old car, have the 2 or 3 lowest priced dealers give you a trade estimate. From there pick the best dealer, negotiate the price down and/or trade up and do the deal.

End of model year is best

This is similar to what we do. We also do most of it via email or on the phone before we even go to a dealership (after we've test driven or picked out a car and the details we want). We use the different offers to get each dealer to bid against each other and to get to the lowest price. This only works for a new car, though, because it's easier to compare apples and apples.

[Anonymous]

My brother is a top Mercedes salesperson. December 31st is THE busiest day all year. This may be somewhat because of luxury brands but he says that for tax purposes there’s a massive rush of sales before tax year ends-and those who are purchasing a ‘luxury’ car will be more sensitive to the calendar. He says very few true deals in December no mater the car though but December a much better time than January-and August better than mid-September-January

[Anonymous]

Year end

[Anonymous]

As someone who lives in Detroit and is very familiar with car deals, it's very unpredictable and depends on sales patterns, pressure from up top, etc. But I will admit that last few days of ANY month and especially a quarter often have added incentives to meet quotas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question: is it better to come in with cash, outside financing, or dealer financing to get one of these end of year deals?

We are in the market for a Subaru Outback. Not super picky about color or options. We just want those deals, deals, deals.

You negotiate the best price you can before you even discuss financing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My brother is a top Mercedes salesperson. December 31st is THE busiest day all year. This may be somewhat because of luxury brands but he says that for tax purposes there’s a massive rush of sales before tax year ends-and those who are purchasing a ‘luxury’ car will be more sensitive to the calendar. He says very few true deals in December no mater the car though but December a much better time than January-and August better than mid-September-January

Same here. My brother is at Audi and said December 31st!!