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.