The Best Time to Buy a Car in Canada
When you’re looking to buy a car, there’s a lot you need to consider and a lot of research that needs to be done. One of the more overlooked parts of the process is knowing when the best time to buy a car is, because believe it or not, this is a big factor. In this article, we’re going to talk about when the best time to buy a car is and three other tips that can help you get the best deal.
Best Time of the Week to Buy a Car
Typically the best time of the week to buy a car is Monday through Wednesday. The reason being is that these are usually the lowest traffic times for dealerships, meaning you get more attention from salespeople. If you go on a weekend when it’s likely to be busy, the salesperson likely won’t be able to give you the same attention and you may feel rushed through the process. The last thing you want when making a big purchase like a vehicle is to feel rushed.
Best Time of the Month to Buy a Car
If you’re not in a huge rush to buy a car, your best bet to get a deal on a car would be to wait until the end of the month. Towards the end of the month, dealers are looking to both empty/change their showroom for the next month as well as meet their monthly quotas. Many dealerships have incentives where if they can sell “X” amount of cars they get a significant pay bonus. If the salesperson is close to meeting their quota, they’ll do everything in their power to get a sale, even if it means giving a significant discount to you.
Best Time of the Year to Buy a Car
If you can wait to buy a car and want to save money, try and wait until the end of the year. December is when you see a ton of sales events and “year-end clear outs”. This is due to the fact that dealerships are trying to rid their lots of the current year’s models to make space for the new year models coming in January. December is also a time where car salespeople and managers are trying to make their bonuses in time for the holidays, causing them to be more flexible in their deal-making. According to data collected by Edmunds, December is when you’ll find the biggest discounts off of MSRP.
Three More Times to Buy a Car
Car Model Being Discontinued or Redesigned
If a car model is being discontinued or redesigned, this is a great time to buy and save money on a car. If the car is being discontinued, the dealerships will want to rid get of these vehicles off their lot and will add sales incentives to do so quickly. If the vehicle model is being redesigned, the manufacturer will want to sell the newly designed model and get rid of all the old models, dropping the price on the older models.
At The Very End of the Day
This may seem counterintuitive, but it can actually work in your favour to get a quick deal on a car. While this only works if you already know the car model you want and don’t need to ask the salesperson a lot of questions. If you’re able to arrive at the dealership 30 minutes before they close for the day, you may get lucky and catch a deal. Most salespeople don’t want to stay late after work so this may lead them to give you a discount so they can get a quick sale and go home for the day.
Holidays and Dealership Incentive Sales
Sales events are obviously a great time to walk into a dealership and get a car at a discounted price. These sales events can be hard to predict so if you’re in a rush to buy a car, it may be hard to wait. One thing that is a bit more foolproof is waiting for major Canadian holidays. Usually, these holidays mean sales events at dealerships, which make for a more predictable way of knowing when the next sale will take place.
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