Best Time of Year to Buy a New Car?

flea72

dealerships dont worry so much about end of month targets any more. if they are a few cars shorts of losing out on a bonus, they will just buy and pre-register them, to get the figures.

as they know that most people want to be seen to get a bargain, punters tend to fall for the pre-reg deals rather than buying new. all in all, both sides win, the garage gets their bonus, plus some, and the buyer gets a car at a greatly discounted price.

Flea

John_LG

We have perhaps foolishly bought our last two cars from new, but both thru' the web, for massive discounts, which the dealers can't match. Test drive as many as you can, see what the best deal is, present them with an Internet equivalent, and then walk away. I know people who have had price matching success, but we didn't. So we thanked them for the drive etc (which really helped us) and bought from the web. Full payment on delivery - I'd be wary about deposits.
My Clio came from newcars-uk.com (they do renualt, peoguet, vauxhall) with free delivery to your door, and no deposit!
Wife bought a citroen from motorpoint.co.uk (who actually have a few forecourts around the country too, so we could collect, and part/ex)
We saved thousands! And are very happy. With these savings we've considerably covered much early depreciation, with the benefit of hand picking exact model and spec. A deserved treat for such good money savers!

WannaBeHome

We tend to swap quite frequently, so have bought at all times of the year. Car forecourts tend to be emptier when the weather is bad, so late autumn/winter tends to be the best time to buy, especially if there is a run of bad weather. Be warned though, at larger garages you will spot a number a number of salesmen waiting to pounce as soon as you get within close proximity of the door.

I wouldn't recommend buying new either - you lose thousands as soon as you drive it. Have had pre-registerd and exdemo and we have hardly lost on them.

Personally, I would recommend cars made in Germany or Japan - generally strong and reliable. Also, do your homework as for instance Seat are spanish, but are very good cars as the company is owned by Vaulkswagen (German). We haven't found French cars to be very good in quality or drive (Renault or Peugeot).

Once you have shortlisted the cars you fancy, again do your homework. Some companies facelift quite a bit, so you might get a bargain at the end of a run. Also, when it is the end of a model line lots of things will be thrown in free - alloys, sat nav, air con, leather seats etc. As the reg is still new and you have all the extra's, you are unlikely to lose much, even though there is a new model out.

My other tip would be prepared to travel. Go to a car supermarket to check out the type of cars you like. Then look on the internet eg Autotrader site for deals with dealers elsewhere in the country (you can put in how many miles you are willing to travel). We have saved thousands this way.

And finally, always be cheaky at larger dealers. Ask if they will throw in mats and servicing etc free - if you don't ask you don't get!

paulow

Have a look at Motorpoint, they have quite a good website and have sites in Burnley and Derby (I think)