Asan automobile auctioneerand former part - owner of an machine vendue where car were sold at a rate of over 100 vehicle an hr , I have seen hundreds of thousands of near - new and older used cars , from Acuras to Volkswagens , become their rank cheapest at one specific time of the twelvemonth . When is it ? Every week I get this question in more varieties than Baskin - Robbins has flavors .
There are several seasonal factors that come into play between Labor Day and the post - Thanksgiving consumer bonanza that is Black Friday . The net effect ? The holidays are unequivocally the in effect meter to corrupt a novel or used car .
Next year’s cars get shipped early, so current-year models get cheaper
Most " next - year " manikin begin to trickle into dealer showrooms around early September . By October , this drip turns into a million - fomite flowage , and that means the current - yr model , which are oftentimes nigh selfsame , get thousands of dollar in rebate and incentive that make them far more attractive deals .
If you ’re the kind of owner who likes to keep a gondola for eight years or longer , the few hundred dollar sign in excess depreciation you may experience after selling that 2016 car down the route , in 2025 or 2026 , will be dwarfed by thethousandsin nest egg you ’ll get from buying that current - year car that is load with discounts , which is still pretty much brand young .
Most people don’t car shop on Black Friday, which makes it the perfect time to find a good deal
Labor Day weekend is a huge advertising blessing for auto monger , along with other annual events like Memorial Day , the Fourth of July , and Christmas . By demarcation , late November tends to be pretty horrific for new- and used - elevator car dealer because most folks are just start their Christmas shopping , using Black Friday to make cheap consumer good and tech gadgets . The only fortune a dealer has to get eyeballs on cars is to create a blowout sales agreement for leftover 2016s . Thus , Black Friday is a surprisingly easy time to feel a great slew .
People are eager to sell their cars to get extra cash before Christmas
A lot of so - called " toy " cars , such as convertibles and roadster , get proffer for sale properly around early to mid - November by folk who befall to have limit Black Friday and Christmas funds . The same is true in those family unit where an extra gondola ( i.e. , one that does n’t get driven very much ) looks less attractive parked in a driveway than a clump of expensive present parked beneath a tree . Not only will you find a astonishingly great selection , possessor are oftentimes more unforced to negotiate in prison term for Christmas .
The worst time to buy? Tax refund season.
I buy an awful lot of $ 1,000 to $ 2,000 cars at dealer auctions during October and November that would otherwise be between $ 2,500 and $ 4,000 during any other time of the year . I then sell them for a considerable profit during mid - February and late June , when the used - machine market is heavily touch by a fiscal tsunami called " tax time of year . " Tens of meg of people will receive a material tax repayment from Uncle Sam and get it in their question to purchase a car . Prices for used cars in finical shoot up , turning a lot of $ 1,500 roll shit into $ 2,500 financial catastrophes .
By the close of summer , that market heat dies down , cost take up normality , and the cycle starts afresh .
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Flickr/Kevin Cabral (edited)
Wikimedia/transport-auto.com
Flickr/Gene Han
Flickr/David Pettit
