The best times of the year to buy a used car
Is a used set of wheels in your future? That may depend on when you go shopping.
In analyzing more than 40 million used-car sales from 2013 to 2015, iSeeCars.com, a deal-ranking site for used vehicles, compared specific times of the year, such as days of the month and week, to determine whether customers can score more or fewer deals than average. (A deal was defined as a savings of 5% or more.) Based on those findings, the site listed the 10 best times to land a deal.
“It’s always nice to save money, and when you are buying something as expensive as a car, saving even 5% of your purchase, or $952 off the average price of $19,040, can really add up,” said Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.com, in a prepared statement. (You can learn how to save $3,000 on your next car here.)
Read on for the best times to go used-car shopping:
10. New Year’s Eve
Percent More Deals Than Average: 21.3%
“Between year-end promotions and dealers scrambling to take advantage of the last few months of the year to meet their sales quotas, the conventional wisdom of shopping for a car at the end of the year holds true, though there are some holidays that are better times,” Ly said.
9. Christmas
Percent More Deals Than Average: 21.4%
8. The Month of December
Percent More Deals Than Average: 23.5%
7. The Month of November
Percent More Deals Than Average: 26.9%
In terms of months, November ranked first overall with 26.9% more deals on average, followed by December (23.5%), January (16.4%), October (12.8%) and February (6.0%).
6. Christmas Eve
Percent More Deals Than Average: 28.7%
You can see the full list of best times to buy a used car on Credit.com.
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