When is the best time to buy a new car?

I was watching Nissan, Chevrolet, and Honda back in 2011. Those that said the last day of the month are right on - I also noticed they ramped up their rebates the highest the month of March. My guess is they want to end the 1st quarter on a good note.

I worked my salesmen over for a few weeks and talked to him on the phone on 3/31 and told him I would drive over with a deposit check that day if the price was right - bam!

I got a crazy deal buying my ST at closing time on New Year's Eve. I think it was a combination of trying to make a quota and just wanting to get out of there. They threw numbers at me, they were a bit too high, asked what I wanted to pay and I gave them something I thought was crazy low, 20 minutes later they came back and said yes.

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

I'm amazed that took 20-some-odd replies.

That was not a compliment.

End of the month, when they're scrambling to hit the numbers for program money.

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

To some people, it is worth knowing the entire history of the vehicle, especially if they're planning on keeping it for a long time. So I guess I'm a chump.

I've never bought a car that wasn't at least 10 years old.

Sky_Render wrote:

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

To some people, it is worth knowing the entire history of the vehicle, especially if they're planning on keeping it for a long time. So I guess I'm a chump.

Yup. Put me in the chump camp too.

I just bought a new Sienna. I bought it at the end of December. I was originally looking for a deal on a leftover '13, but went got a '14 for close to the same price. I got a good deal, and 0% financing for 5 years. I swore I wouldn't buy another new car, but good luck finding a good deal on a late model Sienna or Odyssey. Newer was CHEAPER with the financing.

Depends what you are buying.

There are ridiculous discounts all year on cars like Mustangs or WRXs.

I didn't mean Kia Soul for a crazy deal, i mean't it for what the Mrs. was looking for. (sorry I turn every thread into a what should I buy thread).

For all the don't buy new car nay sayers, I've know people who went used car shopping and found that a new car was actually cheaper. Not as in just lower monthly payments, but outright once you considered new car rebates and 0-1% financing Vs used car 5-6-7% rates.

Another thing. Remember the bitch-fest over the $1,000 Kia brake job the other day? It's perfectly feasible for some people to buy a new car and keep it 5 years and never have to do a brake job. $1,000 repair instantly goes a long way towards making a new car a more attractive proposition.

My statement was based on the 80/20 but in traditional interweb style everyone has to make something out of it.

Yes end of the month except maybe December in every month is the best time to buy in that month. It really depends on how the dealers specific brand counts their cars for program money.

Here is a neat trick I use to take all the stress out. I check TrueCar and they show you thier prices.

I give the dealer I want to do buisness with a phone call and tell them this is the price they have to beat. Yes or no.

If they do great, if not call the next one. I have only had to call a third dealer once.

poopshovel wrote:

Sky_Render wrote:

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

To some people, it is worth knowing the entire history of the vehicle, especially if they're planning on keeping it for a long time. So I guess I'm a chump.

Yup. Put me in the chump camp too.

I used to be in the camp of saying "Let some chump take the hit" and only buying used cars. Not that I'm all for throwing money away now, but my view has definitely changed.

From a purely financial standpoint, used cars are still the best bet and I'll go that route quite often. But part of me now says berkeley it, I work hard and like cars. Hence I got my new Leaf a few months ago. I still bargain hard to get the best deal, but this was my first brand new off the showroom floor car since 1997. And I'm really liking it.

poopshovel wrote:

Sky_Render wrote:

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

To some people, it is worth knowing the entire history of the vehicle, especially if they're planning on keeping it for a long time. So I guess I'm a chump.

Yup. Put me in the chump camp too.

Me too. I paid $30,000 for a '13 GT Mustang, drove it for 7 months and traded it in for $29,000.

I'm an idiot.

In reply to Fletch1:

Thanks for posting that. I like those segments.

If shopping for a Honda, they close out the model year at the end of July. So if you show up, informed and ready to close a deal, on the 30th or so you can get a smokin' deal. Our pilot was ~$3500 under nominal invoice after rebates, hold-backs, etc.

motomoron wrote: Immediately after someone else depreciates it then has a fiscal calamity of their own making, opening the door for you to help them out by buying it for pennies on the dollar.

This. The best time to buy is on your schedule. If you go in expecting it to be a 4-6 month process, it takes a ton of the stress out of the experience. Pull up truecar/carsdirect, then shoot emails to all the local dealerships every 2 weeks or so. Bite once you get to a price you like.

Any day is a good day to buy a car. I have worked in a dealer that they didn't sell one car for three days. They had a dry erase "sale" board behind the sales manager in his high cube is how I know.

To the "never buy a new car" statement, IF I COULD, I would buy new just because I don't get the 3yr driving boredom itch most people get. I'll hold onto a vehicle until it can't be driven anymore. If I had a drive that only put a few miles a day on a vehicle, like 5 or less, I'd lease.

I heard now is the time to get a new Kia Rondo...

Plan on several trips to the stealership as well. My buddy kept walking out and they kept calling him back in. Saved almost $10k off sticker. I was surprised.
This was a 2011 VW Minivan.

In reply to fornetti14:

So he was the guy that bought the Routan that year. I heard they doubled sales the next year to two.

Datsun310Guy wrote: I was watching Nissan, Chevrolet, and Honda back in 2011. Those that said the last day of the month are right on - I also noticed they ramped up their rebates the highest the month of March. My guess is they want to end the 1st quarter on a good note. I worked my salesmen over for a few weeks and talked to him on the phone on 3/31 and told him I would drive over with a deposit check that day if the price was right - bam!

Nissan's fiscal year end is March 31st.

poopshovel wrote:

Sky_Render wrote:

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

To some people, it is worth knowing the entire history of the vehicle, especially if they're planning on keeping it for a long time. So I guess I'm a chump.

Yup. Put me in the chump camp too.

If that works well for you, then great, enjoy your new car smell and the confidence that no one outside of the dealership or test drivers has farted in your seat or wiped boogers beneath it (Although in my decades of dealership experience I've learned that many cars are damaged and or abused quite badly while in the dealer's "care"). I choose to let someone else take the depreciation hit (often to the tune of $15,000+), and I'm educated enough to be able to spot accident damage (be it cosmetic or mechanical) or neglect (I'm a licensed automotive damage appraiser with body shop experience, an ASE master technician and an automotive technology instructor) and I'm a skilled enough technician to economically repair any issues that should arise.

P.S. If any GRMers local to me (northampton mass) are looking at a used car and want me to check it out or want a look underneath it on a lift, let me know, I'm happy to help.

carbon wrote:

poopshovel wrote:

Sky_Render wrote:

carbon wrote: A new car? N E V E R. Let some chump take that hit.

To some people, it is worth knowing the entire history of the vehicle, especially if they're planning on keeping it for a long time. So I guess I'm a chump.

Yup. Put me in the chump camp too.

If that works well for you, then great, enjoy your new car smell and the confidence that no one outside of the dealership or test drivers has farted in your seat or wiped boogers beneath it (Although in my decades of dealership experience I've learned that many cars are damaged and or abused quite badly while in the dealer's "care"). I choose to let someone else take the depreciation hit (often to the tune of $15,000+), and I'm educated enough to be able to spot accident damage (be it cosmetic or mechanical) or neglect (I'm a licensed automotive damage appraiser with body shop experience, an ASE master technician and an automotive technology instructor) and I'm a skilled enough technician to economically repair any issues that should arise. P.S. If any GRMers local to me (northampton mass) are looking at a used car and want me to check it out or want a look underneath it on a lift, let me know, I'm happy to help.

And my dad sold cars for 30 years. And I've got a Master's from Harvard. And I berkeley supermodels. And if my aunt had a dick, she'd be my berkeleying uncle. I'm not calling you a "chump" for buying used. I bought my last DD with 195k and put another 200k on it. I don't give two E36 M3s about "new car smell." I can afford to stick my wife & kids in a brand new car, and choose to do so. That doesn't mean I feel you're a "chump" if you stick your wife and kids in a nice, reliable, $1500 car.

Dig?

A guy named poopshovel just asked me if I "dig?" LOL!

I wasnt trying to troll. As can happen easily in text, my lighthearted ballbusting came across wrong, I was just trying to save people some hard earned cash. I wasnt trying to start a pissing contest, just giving some background as to who I am (I never realy introduced my self here in any formal way that would give people an idea as to who I am aside from the fact that I'm clearly kind of a toyota fanboi) and why I feel confident doing it the way I do it. Then offering to help out anyone I could, in any way I could. Afford whatever you want to afford, I was just saying that if people on a forum (that seemed to me to be about maximizing the dollars we spend) want to stretch their dollars, a careful inspection of a used car by an educated tech can land them a killer deal on a well cared for used car, saving them some coin to spend on fun stuff like mods and racing. I'm sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way. Congrads on the supermodels. No hard feelings.