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Best Car Deals Come At The End Of The Month

Februarytruetrendsbestandworstdaytobuyacar

The Huffington Post   First Posted: 03/ 6/2012 10:48 am Updated: 03/ 7/2012 9:45 am

Thinking of buying a new car?

Don't do it on Tuesday.

March 6 is the worst day of the month to purchase new wheels, according to TrueCar.com--a web service that forecasts car prices using dealership data.

This Tuesday you'll get only a 6 percent discount off a car's sticker price, as reported on the site.

The best deals on autos tend to come at the end of the month when dealers need to meet their quotas, according to the site. On February 25, for example, the average discount was 8.34 percent.

After a year-long slump following the recession, auto sales have been picking up. February saw the highest auto sales in the past four years and higher gas prices drove more people to buy compact and midsize cars, the Associated Press reports.

If you're willing to wait it out for a deal, Edmunds. com reports that the end of December is the most cost-effective time to pick up new wheels, with discounts running between 8.5 and 9.5 percent off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).

Besides the best and worst times in the month, there’s also a pattern among the days of the week. Weekend shoppers get better deals. Dealers perceive people who buy cars on Mondays and Tuesdays to be “need-based buyers,” and are therefore less open to haggling, TrueCar senior analyst Kristen Andersson told Moneyland.

Other than days of the month and week, TrueCar.com notes that “vehicle availability, incentives, holiday shopping and economic conditions” can also determine car-buying discounts.

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Thinking of buying a new car? Don't do it on Tuesday. March 6 is the worst day of the month to purchase new wheels, according to TrueCar.com--a web service that forecasts car prices using dealer...
Thinking of buying a new car? Don't do it on Tuesday. March 6 is the worst day of the month to purchase new wheels, according to TrueCar.com--a web service that forecasts car prices using dealer...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Fonsini
Let there be pie.
10:14 AM on 03/10/2012
Only the ill-informed actually go to the dealership to negotiate, you only do that to test drive the car - the only thing you're doing is negotiating the salesman's commission on top of the purchase price if you take that route.

Go through the Internet sales manager for the price - via email.
01:56 AM on 03/07/2012
My husband is an auto dealer & any day is a good day, they've got daily quotas too. All that inventory on the lot is expensive if it sits. You can shop online, most places, before you go to the lots so you'll have competitor's prices & can ask them to beat it. They will if they can! Too, buy a car where youre going to have it serviced; the service department takes care of their customers' cars first. Cadillac is one that has great customer service because they are high end but they also get paid based on customer satisfaction. But, if youre looking for a deal on the hottest car in town like a black on black Range Rover you're going to pay top dollar because they're harder to find and other customers will out bid you on them. Probably, the best way to get a good deal is to be nice. Some people come in with an rude attitude, are demanding or unreasonable & are given a high price so they will just leave. At my husbands dealership, salespeople become good friends with their customers & will do anything for them!
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dems08
Above all... avoid the moor
01:07 AM on 03/07/2012
I bought a car in Nov. for $300 over the price paid by the dealer for it.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
KIVPossum
Moldova Marsupial
12:45 AM on 03/07/2012
Think my buying style has normally given me good deals.

Decide on the make and model I want then go to the dealership and make them an offer. No, don't drive the car and don't get shuffled into a sales booth. They will refuse your offer and want to do their mumbo-jumbo salesman-sales manager song and dance. Tell them your offer stands until you buy the car from another dealer, and when the car is prepped and in the delivery line you will bring them a check.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Isac C
My Micro-bio is empty
12:57 AM on 03/07/2012
My roommate used to say this has always worked for him. So, there is truth to this strategy.
12:07 AM on 03/07/2012
OT: Working in the car business for a year has taught me how important HCR is. I can't tell you how many people I can't get financed because of medical bills...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Justamailman
11:23 PM on 03/06/2012
I live in Walkerstan. We've lost jobs for six months and came in 50th out of 50 states. He's been good to the k*ch brothers. Maybe they can buy a bunch of new autos to go along with the many they probably have already. I'll have to keep driving my 2001 Cavalier. Walker keeps saying it is working and he wants us to keep moving "forward." A reality check proves it isn't and our new motto will soon be a** "backwards."
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billbb
Just the facts
11:29 PM on 03/06/2012
Best of luck to you and at least the mild winter didn't beat up your old bus too much. When Walker is gone, we'll try to get this state looking forward again. Not Walker's backward forward, but really moving.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
11:11 PM on 03/06/2012
Don't even think of buying a chevy V olt .. production suspended
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
MrBadExample
Friends call me ‘exampleicious’
10:41 PM on 03/06/2012
It's entirely possible that in the future, the best time to buy a car is... never. Even with falling housing prices, most of what was built in the last decade cannot be sustained if gas prices stay high. In 2010, the Obama administration began including the cost of commuting into the cost of housing. Based on the new metric, only about 39% of US housing is 'affordable'. http://dc.streetsblog.org/2010/03/24/feds-begin-redefining-affordable-housing-to-include-transport-costs/
10:27 PM on 03/06/2012
After almost 10 years working in the car business, I can't ever recall a sales meeting where we talked about charging more or negotiating less on a Tuesday because buyers are more needy on Tuesdays. Most Tuesdays we were just happy to sell something!

Mondays are spent trying to save deals we couldn't finish from the weekend. That's real.

Look, here's the bottom line. This economy needs encouragement right now. Let's not complicate car buying any further by making an already leery buyer have to worry about the best day to buy a car! If you're using a site like TrueCar or Edmunds you will get a fair price on your next vehicle purchase regardless of what day you go to the dealership.

If you're in the market to buy, whether you need to or want to, use a site like TrueCar, try to keep your business local and buy from someone who will take care of you before, during and after the sale. And for God's sake, don't worry if it's the first day, last day or the middle of the month.

The car business is picking back up, let's encourage that and as a result keep the economy moving forward!
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VoteObama2012
Are YOU in?
10:22 PM on 03/06/2012
I guess Willard will stop buying Cadillacs today then.
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Killjoy
I'm perfect in my imperfections
10:14 PM on 03/06/2012
I would buy a toy car now a days
CorpTreason
Fascism... it's what's for breakfast
09:56 PM on 03/06/2012
For people who like new things and can afford to pay cash (or very low interest rate like 1.9% tops) I can totally see buying a new car. You don't mind paying that extra first three years depreciation because you want to sit in a car that hasn't had three years of someone else's living in it. You pay for that privilege, and gladly so.

If that isn't important to you, then by all means by a used car with a warranty. And if you don't even mind unexpected major expenses that may pop up the first few years after you buy it, then skip the warranty and buy from an individual.

In the end, there is always a question of how flexible you are. The less flexible, the more you pay, and gladly so. To each their own.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
isis
Job 39:5 - Who has sent out the wild ass free?
09:43 PM on 03/06/2012
I like to buy cars and got a pretty good deal in January. But when the gas electric all wheel drive with the solar panel charger comes out I will probably want it too much to haggle.
09:19 PM on 03/06/2012
Pay Cash. Buy Used.

But that's also cause i'm broke.
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Elliott James
Will trade nudges for banana chips.
09:19 PM on 03/06/2012
Forget new cars. Buy a new bicycle. Lots cheaper to maintain and it will make you healthier. Lots healthier. If you buy a bike you'll feel better, save money and have the satisfaction of not sending money to unstable Middle East countries that sponsor terrorism.
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VoteObama2012
Are YOU in?
10:20 PM on 03/06/2012
Bicycles are not allowed on the interstate highways I commute on 25mi each way daily.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
MrBadExample
Friends call me ‘exampleicious’
10:36 PM on 03/06/2012
Move. Your commute is not sustainable in an era when gas prices are trending north of $5 a gallon. and if GAS is over $5, it's 50/50 that your state won't be able to maintain that nice, made-of-oil asphalt.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
MrBadExample
Friends call me ‘exampleicious’
10:33 PM on 03/06/2012
Spot on. People need to start entertaining a plan b for the very strong possibility that we've seen the end of cheap, plentiful oil. And the economic reality is simple--an economy where nearly half the workforce is stuck in subsistence-wage jobs at AppleBees or WalMart may well make the whole auto business unsustainable. It's not like the banks are lining up to reboot those days of EZ credit no downpayment auto-sales.

The bike is my commute two days a week (four in summer). It's also the reason I'm not laying out big bucks on my prescription plan for things like Zextril and Metformin. Bike on!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cpbsmw
War is won by the other guy dying not you - Patton
11:02 PM on 03/06/2012
It's not like the banks are lining up to reboot those days of EZ credit no downpayment auto-sales.

If a person has good credit they can still get what you spoke of. That is the way it should be and should have always been. Giving easy credit to those who did not have a good credit history was a recipe for disaster. A disaster we have all dealt with for these last few years. I recently bought a new car with no money down and it only took about 15 minutes to get approval for the loan. I have and have always maintained a good credit history.