Best time to buy new?

Near the end of the month. The dealer will be trying to make a goal or such.

Do have a vehicle to trade? I'm sure someone will disagree with what I am telling you but if you have a trade, its value MUST be considered in the total cost of acquiring a new vehicle.

As the former Group Sales Manager of one of the largest mega-dealerships groups on the east coast, in my opinion if one is the average new car buyer who is trading a three to four year old vehicle, the best time to replace it with a new car was before the end of the calendar year. Shortly after intro, say November, any rebates, generally, will be in effect by then and before the end of the calendar year your trade will have its highest trade value. For example if you had purchased a 2006 model vehicle in November of 2005 your trade, say a 2003, would still appear in the NADA Used car Guide book as three year old vehicle, after the turn of the calendar year it will appear as a four year old vehicle. Although trade values drop a bit more at into than they do monthly, on average, they drop much more after the turn of the calendar year.

For example I purchased a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr in November of 2005, the car I traded was a 2004 Lincoln LS which was considered a one year old car in November of 2005, even though I purchased it in September of 2003. Had I waited till now to trade, it would look like a two year old car to a prospective buyer sitting on the lot. The more you go into the calendar year the more your trade depreciates. The rate of depreciation is generally much more than the rate at which rebates will increase.

Another example is my other vehicle. I have been buying Mustang GT convertibles along with Lincolns since I switched to them from buying Lexus. I bought the first, a 1999, in September of 1998. A 2001 in 2000, a 2003 in

2002 and a 2005 in March of 2005, because Ford did not build the convertible until March. The total extra cost of keeping my 2003 GT, between September of 2004 and March of 2005, was $6,000 more than had I been able to buy the car in September. Over 50% greater than the total of what I had been paying to buy the previous three ever two years.

Many buyers believe they save money waiting to buy at the end of the model year. They can, IF they keep the vehicle five years or more. If on the other hand they are the average new car buyer in the US, who replaces their vehicle with another new vehicle in three or four year with 30K to 45K miles on the clock, it will actually cost more to buy leftover models over the same time period than if they bough the current model at the beginning the model year when your trade is worth a lot more.

mike hunt

No time like the present.