Is Now the Best Time to Buy a Used Car?

People who are getting ready to purchase used cars are often quite overwhelmed with the thought of haggling with the dealership for the best possible deal and doing research to make sure that the car is in good shape. Since this process can be seem quite involved, people often work hard to stay on top of it all. However, there's one factor in car shopping that is very easy to control, and that's timing.

Timing can actually affect the outcome of the deal you get on your car just as much as any other factor, including the more time-consuming activities like haggling and researching the vehicle. Getting the timing just right can actually save you several thousand dollars on your purchase. This is due to the ups and downs of the market and the way in which less-savvy car buyers make decisions.

One important tip is to make your purchase at the end of a particular period, when dealerships are more interested in getting a car off the lot than they are in selling it for the highest possible price. This could be the end of the day, when individual employees are thinking about getting ready to head home for the evening, or the end of the month, when dealers are eager to meet the sales quota for the month. The end of the quarter is also a good option and could even snag you better deals than the end of the month.

Dealerships also have a tendency to offer major sales on holiday weekends, such as Memorial Day, Labor Day or Thanksgiving. This is because most people who might be interested in buying used cars are instead preoccupied with family vacations. If you instead devote your precious vacation time to car shopping, you'll be rewarded with savings.

So if you pay attention to your timing when it comes to purchasing used cars, you can save quite a lot of money for minimal effort. All it takes is a little savviness and willingness to shop whenever the savings are available!

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