Best time to buy a new car?

[mistrpug]

End of year? Beginning of year? Doesn't matter?

I'm just about ready to buy my first new car (actually a jeep) and was wondering if anyone had any advice as to when I should buy or anything else I should know. Thanks in advance.

[Blarg]

Depends what you want to buy. Presuming you just want a good new car, and intend on keeping it for a long time...

Late August through the end of September. The new year's worth of any particular model are out, and last year's become MUCH harder to sell. Car lots are paying the manufacturer every day for last year's model, and every day it becomes notably harder to sell. New customers coming in almost always want the newest year, and even though the last year's model is still brand new, it's going to start depreciating very quickly, and customers know it. So they'll pay a big premium to buy the new one.

The dealer can only carry so many new cars in all the styles and colors and option ranges at once; every old car is a potentially lost customer, because it could have a new car in its place instead of one that's hard to move.

Bring in all your clippings from a week or more's worth of newspapers. Demand thousands of dollars off the sticker price. The dealer may hate to give you such a good deal, but if you tell him you know the score and that he's losing money every day on last year's model, he'll realize that you are right and that you can't be made to spend more money on something nobody else wants to buy but you. He can either take his money and cut his losses NOW, and get a car on the lot that will really make him a profit, or he can watch the same car get much harder to sell day by day, while he's paying interest to the manufacturer to hold it sitting there like a dead duck stinking up his lot. I did this and cut $5,000 off a $14,000 new car once.

[2planka]

Not being entirely facetious with this answer:

Best time to buy a new car? Right before your old one dies.

Once you've settled on a make/model. Use the Consumer Reports price service (costs $10 but it's worth it). Be willing to shop around for the best price and don't be afraid to get up and leave if you feel like it.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

www.carbuyingtips.com (http://www.carbuyingtips.com)

Do it.

[BusterStacks]

Never a good time to buy a brand new car, get one a year old.

[tripdad]

[ QUOTE ]
Never a good time to buy a brand new car, get one a year old.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is the best advice. new car = TERRIBLE investment.

cheers!

[Il_Mostro]

Right now is possibly the worst time in history to buy a new car. Only good thing is that tomorrow will be even worse.

[WDC]

In order to get the best price make sure you play the dealers off each other. Here a couple of suggestions:

Make a cover letter giving the details of the purchase you want to make; color trim, extras, etc. Fax it to all the dealers of that make in your area; make sure that they all know that you have sent the information to all the dealers. Just tell them you will buy from the dealer who makes the best offer.

You can also request internet quotes from most dealerships. I sent quote requests to six dealers. I then spent the day having them lowball each other until I got a deal I was comfortable with. Goodluck.