What's the best time of the year to buy a second hand car from a dealer?

smokingman

Hi all,

In the market for a 2015 upgrade of my older Mondeo but just wondering if I am best to wait for the new year when dealers have a glut of trade ins?

Would that be the best time to get a bargain do you think?

cheers!

colm_mcm

February.

smokingman

colm_mcm wrote: »

February.

Is that because of the above?

bazz26

Most dealers will have already reduced their second hand prices now to January prices in order to try and move them. Any trade-in's they take in January would have been priced at 2018 values anyway when the orders were placed before then. You may not see another price reduction until the end of next February or March.

colm_mcm

smokingman wrote: »

Is that because of the above?

YES. And they’ll be so busy handing out cars in January you won’t get the best service. Plus the trade ins against new cars were probably deals done well before then. I always found we got better money for used cars in January.

bazz26

I'd say some people believe that car dealers go down to their garages on Jan 1st and adjust all the sticker prices of their used cars because they are a year older/

Mintoe

smokingman wrote: »

Hi all,

In the market for a 2015 upgrade of my older Mondeo but just wondering if I am best to wait for the new year when dealers have a glut of trade ins?

Would that be the best time to get a bargain do you think?

cheers!

Buying a used car in Nov/Dec will often get you a good deal as used car sales are quieter then and dealers are more likely to discount more to move on old stock rather than holding onto it into Jan and discount it then anyway. Most dealers try to reduce used stock by Nov/Dec to free up cash for Jan/Feb purchases for busier times. I worked in car sales for 6 years so I'm talking from experience.

FUBO

when they are cheaper than before

bucketybuck

Worth noting as well that in a lot of dealers, salesmen will have an eye on their full year total sales figures and an upcoming chat with the sales manager. So not only will dealers want to move on stock that is soon to be a "year" older, but there is a good chance the salesman wants to sell a few units regardless of their own markup.

All of which can make for a salesman accepting a deal that doesn't actually leave him with much commission, just so that he gets the sale.

dos29

Any idea if this same methodology would apply in the UK or would it shift on to Jan/Feb due to they're reg system?