Buying a car

[SamSpade]

Another thing is to always buy your car on the last day of the month. Dealerships are always in constant competition with other dealerships, and the ability to say that you've sold more trucks, cars, SUVs, etc., than any other dealership is great for marketing... so as you get near the end of the month there's always a push to get out as many vehicles as possible so that the dealership can advertise that they are number one. Also, sales managers have monthly quotas to fill and if it's been a slow month the last day of the month is the last chance for them to make their numbers, so you'll get your best deal then.

Is there a TIME of *YEAR* that's usually best to buy a car?

I used to always buy a previous year model that hadn't been sold by President's Day. As in, all the new cars are 2007's but there's one 2006 that ain't sold yet, and it's February. I have no idea if that was a good time, it's just something someone told me once a long time ago.

 

[kwillia]

Is there a TIME of *YEAR* that's usually best to buy a car?

I used to always buy a previous year model that hadn't been sold by President's Day. As in, all the new cars are 2007's but there's one 2006 that ain't sold yet, and it's February. I have no idea if that was a good time, it's just something someone told me once a long time ago.

I have always gotten the best deals on the current year models around Labor Day, but the longer you wait in the year, the less choices you will have as to options, colors and such.

 

[Bruzilla]

Is there a TIME of *YEAR* that's usually best to buy a car?

I used to always buy a previous year model that hadn't been sold by President's Day. As in, all the new cars are 2007's but there's one 2006 that ain't sold yet, and it's February. I have no idea if that was a good time, it's just something someone told me once a long time ago.

There are a lot of factors in play as far as dates go. Is the next model greatly changed from the previous year or pretty much the same? Also how well is that model selling? If sales of a particular model are sluggish at the start of the year and pick up by the end of the year, there's a good chance that the price will be lower (due to incentives) early in the year than they are during end-of-the-year clearance sales. We were selling 2004 Mustangs at a sales price loss at the end of 2004 because new car buyers were waiting for the 2005 models to come out (and rightly so). The 2004 cars had aged to the point where accrued interest on them was costing the dealership more than the loss from selling them with the hold-back added in. We lost moeny on each sale, but we didn't lose as much as we would have by keeping them on the lot and accruing interest on the loans used to buy them from Ford.

Lastly, end-of-the-year clearance sale prices are just discounts made off the MSRP plus rebates. Speaking generally, you can go into just about any dealership on the last day of any month and make an offer of $100 or $200 over invoice, and if you hold to that amount you'll get the car for a better price than what you would get at an end-of-the-year "sale". Exceptions to this rule would be high-demand or specialized vehicles (for Ford that would be T-Birds, Cobra Mustangs, special edition F-150s, etc.)

 

[Bruzilla]

I have always gotten the best deals on the current year models around Labor Day, but the longer you wait in the year, the less choices you will have as to options, colors and such.

That's an excellent point! I worked in internets sales, so I wasn't as constrained to selling cars that were already on the lot as the floor sales people were. If someone came in wanting a specific model, color, interior, wheels, etc., and we didn't have one on the lot, I could search the inventories of every other Ford dealer in GA and FL and arrange to buy the vehicle from them. But the later you get in the year, the slimmer the pickings are, and people had to start making concessions and compromises to what they wanted. If you want the pick of the litter you have to buy early. If you are flexible on colors, options, etc., you can wait till mid-year, and if your sole focus is on price you can wait till the next year. But even so, you can usually get near invoice price anytime of the year.

 

[Bruzilla]

I would never go into the dealership with the attitide that I know what I'm doing, or that I knew the game. I did my homework, and knew what I was willing to pay for the vehicle, and I never used a "monthly payment" figure. That's ridiculous. I'f they agreed, great, then both parties are happy. if not, i walked. It's that simple.

Yep... you're the type of buyer that we used to love see coming into the dealership. I made more money off folks like you than any other customer.

 

[Dupontster]

Bruzilla....I am thinking about a new vehicle...Would you go with me?

 

[vraiblonde]

I hate buying cars.

Somebody mentioned Steve Baker - what a crook.

The next jerks that occupied that spot were crooks as well. They tried to screw me over when I bought an Eagle Talon from them - they didn't report the car to Chrysler and they got audited. So they wanted me to bring the car back and turn it in or pay them an extra $4000.

Yeah right.

So I'm sitting there in this guy's office, telling him I'm not doing either of those things, and he calls over the intercom - "Mr. So-and-So, please come in my office."

Five seconds later, there was an eclipse. About 6 huge black guys are crammed in this tiny office, towering over me in an obvious intimidation attempt. Fortunately, I'm not afraid of large black men so I got pissed, had a small fit and walked out.

 

[vraiblonde]

Then there was the lovely Ritter Chevrolet.

 

[willie]

Then there was the lovely Ritter Chevrolet.

Our used Blazer from Ritter was a disaster. It took a lawyer to get all our money back and just in time before they went belly up. No one could figure out who actually owned that car

 

[vraiblonde]

No one could figure out who actually owned that car

Steve Baker did that to a girlfriend of mine. She traded her car in and he never paid it off, then he sold it to someone else.

 

[willie]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponytail
I would never go into the dealership with the attitide that I know what I'm doing, or that I knew the game. I did my homework, and knew what I was willing to pay for the vehicle, and I never used a "monthly payment" figure. That's ridiculous. I'f they agreed, great, then both parties are happy. if not, i walked. It's that simple.

Yep... you're the type of buyer that we used to love see coming into the dealership. I made more money off folks like you than any other customer.

So, will you still be when he walks out the door?

 

[BS Gal]

I bought a car from that dealership. I came in with a 94 T-bird with 108,000 miles on it. I said I'm not trading this in. I want the car, -they gave it to me at the -$4000 trade-in, without the trade-in, and they gave me it to me for what I wanted to pay. I'm sure they made $ on it, but they have been good to me since I bought it when I had a problem with a warranty issue that Park Dodge couldn't figure out.

 

[willie]

On a positive note....The one and only non internet vehicle purchase that was a pleasant experience was with Louie Aldrich Jr. Not Sr. or anyone else at Aldrich but Jr. No small print, no surprises and actually more truck for the money I intended to spend.