What is the Best Time of Year to Buy a New Car?

In this blogpost we will discuss when is the best time to buy or sell a vehicle, and why it’s a better time than others. That way, you can make the best decision for your own personal car buying and selling needs in Metro Vancouver.

Deciding When to Buy a New Vehicle

First off, deciding when to buy a new car depends on your reasons for buying a car altogether. If it’s out of necessity, it may not be a practical idea to wait until the optimal time. Additionally, buying a car may not be financially feasible for you right now, or it might not be later, so you must consider its financial viability as well.

If you’re buying a car because logistically, you need one for work, then now is a better time than any. If any of your reasoning is based off essential need and time sensitive logistics that could affect your work or school, there’s nothing to say that there’s a better time than now to buy a new car.

However, if you currently own a vehicle and are just starting to browse around for something new, wait until the right moment. But, how do you know when the right moment is to buy a car in BC?

Buying a New Car for the Best Price in BC

If you want to get the best deal on a new car, truck, SUV, or van, the best time to get the best price is towards the end of the year. Similarly, you can also start car shopping around the end of each month, or the end of the quarter.

This is the best way to get a great deal on a new vehicle because car salesmen operate primarily on commission. They also generally have quotas that are set out by their employer. If they haven’t hit their quota for the month or quarter, they will do just about anything to sell you a car.

This Includes:

• Offering you more money on your trade in (though still not as much as we will offer!)
• Giving you a discount on the new vehicle you’re considering
• Offering you a premium finance rate or additional cash back offers with it
• Giving you added incentives like free or discounted trim packages or optional car accessories
• Offering you “prizes” like gift cards for gas, a new TV, or a BBQ
• Allowing you to test drive the vehicle for an entire weekend, while working out a finance rate that is within your projected budget
• Allotting a considerable larger amount of negotiation room over pricing
• Free oil changes for a year, or two, or more

Every dealership offers something different when they are trying to draw up sales. Moreover, they also have “events” essentially to help attract attention to the dealership in general.

They do this by having BBQs with free food for the public, or tent sales, or even in-house financing promotions that are time sensitive for those with less than perfect credit. If you want to get the most for the least, with a few little extras thrown in, wait until the end of the month, quarter, or year to get a great deal.

The Best Time to Buy a Car in Canada

While buying a new vehicle is ideal at certain times of the month or year, the absolute best time to get a new car for the best price is at the end of the year, in the month of December. Why? Because the dealerships are trying to sell off last year’s models as quickly as possible, to make room for the new models that will be coming out.

Additionally, they will also offer great deals around the holidays on vehicles in hopes that people will buy their spouse or teenage children a new vehicle for Christmas.

So, even if you’re more interested in the newest model that’s coming out, you may still be able to buy it at a great price if you wait a little bit closer to the end of the year.

Why is December the Best Month to Buy a Car?

December happens to be Christmas bonus time for many car salesmen and dealerships. Their annual bonus is often based on their sales for the year. So, you’ll never be in a better position to get what you want, at the price you want it for, than the month of December.

Although you can get great deals on new cars later in the year, you’ll never get offered more cash for cars than when you sell your vehicle to Cash For Cars BC. Instead of trading it in at the dealership, where you’ll get a lesser offer than what you’d get with us, sell your car to Cash For Cars BC and get the MOST cash for your car.

What is the Worst Month to Buy a Car?

Dealerships in general adjust their pricing throughout the year for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s based off the previous month’s sales. Sometimes it’s to promote a new model coming out, or a company or brand anniversary. However, as discussed previously, there are better times to buy, so conversely there are also worse times to buy.

The worst month to buy a car in Canada according to statistics is February. This makes sense when you consider that many dealerships offer large discounts to clear out last year’s models, as well as offer Christmas discounts on new cars.

Based on sales in 2022, the average discount offered in February was only 5.7%. This is because December and November are the months that offer the highest percentage of discounts to consumers. Then, January rolls around and they try to clear out whatever they have left of last year’s models, and hard-to-sell vehicles.

When Should I Buy a Car in Canada?

Ultimately, the decision to buy a new vehicle is entirely up to you, the purchaser. While we can suggest a better time than others to purchase a new vehicle, it really all depends on your situation, as well as the reason behind your decision to buy a new car to begin with.

If you need a car for school or work, waiting until November or December may not be realistic. If it’s because you want a 4×4 to use on the weekends and for vacation camping trips throughout the summer, you definitely need to purchase it either the year before, or at the start of summer.

So, when it comes to buying a new car, the decision really is up to you. The same can be said for selling your current vehicle. There isn’t necessarily a better time than others to sell your car, but there is definitely a better car buying company to sell your car to… Cash For Cars BC.

Beware of Deals That Are Too Good to Be True

For many of us seasoned car owners, we’ve been through our fair share of the run-a-round at the local dealership. They draw you in with great sales gimmicks and offer you a vehicle with all the bells and whistles that you were hoping for, but when it comes time to sign your name on the dotted line, suddenly, the price jumps.

That’s because they dazzle you with everything you could ever want in a car, and often times, things you didn’t even think you’d need, want, or even existed. Then, after hours of talking and haggling and paperwork, they hope you’ll be too won over to decline paying a little extra. Additionally, this is the part where they love to tack on “fees.”

Paperwork fees, financing fees, random dealership fees, delivery fees, etc. Many of them probably don’t even apply to your purchase in reality, but the dealership will charge it if they can. A surprising number of consumers have paid unnecessary fees and didn’t even realize it.

Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a New Car

Before making any missteps and signing on to something for 72 months that you weren’t fully committed to go through our checklist to help safeguard you against unwanted price hikes, among other things.

1. Don’t Focus So Much on the Price

When you’re at the dealership, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. You go in there with a specific price range in mind, and when the dealership gets you into a car for the price you want, you’re happy. However, if you plan on financing your vehicle, expect to be paying much more than you agreed upon.

They charge you interest, additional fees, and if you ever need to defer a payment, more interest. Before committing to buying a car and financing it over a 5 or 7 year term, look at what your monthly payment will be, and not just the cost of the vehicle itself.

2. Consider Your Insurance Costs

In addition to your monthly car payments, another thing to consider before buying is what your new insurance rates will be with the vehicle you’ve selected.

If you’re switching from a regular car to a hybrid, you will probably notice a hike in your insurance premiums. Also, if you’re switching from an economy car to a luxury or sports car, your monthly insurance costs will go up.

Aside from your premiums, check on what your deductible will be if you get into an accident, or your vehicle gets damaged in any way, or worse, written off by ICBC. The deductible you pay right now, may be different depending on what you’re going to be driving, and what kind of coverage you get on your new vehicle.

3. Factor in the Cost of Gas & Maintenance

We’ve already talked about the cost of the vehicle, the monthly payments with all the fees and interest added on, plus car insurance. But two other very important things to consider is the cost of gas and the cost of maintaining the vehicle.

Some vehicles require much more maintenance than others. Depending on whether or not you’re driving a hybrid, a 4×4, a premium vehicle, or an economy car, you must consider how much maintenance you’ll need to put into your car to keep it running at its best.

Some vehicles have a smaller gas tank, making it seem less offensive when you fill up at the pump. However, you’ll be gassing up more because of it, which means you may not be saving on fuel.

4. Think It Over First

A common mistake many of us have made when buying a car is buying it too quickly. When you’re sitting at the dealership for hours on end, and you’re getting tired and just want to get out of there with a car, it’s easy to make a hasty decision. In fact, many salespeople are counting on it.

Just because they offered you a great deal today, and perhaps even suggested that the “deal won’t last”, does not mean it won’t be there tomorrow. Moreover, it also doesn’t mean that another dealership won’t make you a better offer than the first one.

This is why it’s important to not let the sale pressure get to you, and to take home all of the information they’ve given you, so that you can read it over in confidence, and in private, and make a decision that is the best one for you.

Cash For Cars BC operates much in this way. We don’t try to sell cars because we are in the business of buying them. That being said, we don’t pressure you into selling your car to us either.

We believe in doing what is best for our customers, even if we don’t buy your car in the end. This is why more people choose to sell their car to Cash For Cars BC over any other local car buyers in the Lower Mainland.

5. Don’t Forget to Test Drive It!

It may seem odd to buy a car without even driving it first, but it happens a lot. Many people get their mind set on owning a certain kind of car, and don’t take the time to test drive it at the dealership before buying.

Just because you’ve always wanted to own a Mercedes, doesn’t mean the one you’re buying is going to be practical for your needs. Also, it doesn’t mean that it will offer exactly what you were hoping it would. This is why test driving a vehicle before buying it is one of the most important things you can do.

Check how it handles, what the turning radius is like, and what the wheel-base is like compared to your previous vehicle. Check for any visibility issues that you may not be comfortable with and be sure to check that it has all the creature comforts and safety features you were looking for.

6. Make Sure You Negotiate the Price

Regardless of what the salesmen have offered you, don’t skip negotiations. Not only will it get you a better price on your car at that dealership, it could get you a better price at another.

Just because one dealership has offered you one price on a car, doesn’t mean another dealership wouldn’t’ be willing to price match, or beat it. Even if another dealership offers you the same price, they may throw in some extras free of charge.

It may not be a better “deal” on the car, but free stuff is free stuff, and at least you’re walking away with a little something extra, if not a better price for your car.

Selling Your Vehicle in the Lower Mainland?

If you think it’s the best time to buy a new car, talk to Cash For Cars BC before taking your car to the dealership for a trade-in assessment. We always offer the MOST cash for cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, and motorcycles, and the dealerships can’t even come close to how much we pay.

No other used car buyers in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, or Vancouver Island will treat you the way that we do either. We believe in always putting our customers first because we know that nothing says good business like a great review… and we have a lot of them!

Sell My Car in Metro Vancouver

When you make the decision to buy a new vehicle, one of the things we factor in the most is the cost of the new car. What better way to offset that price than with a large down-payment that is more than what the dealership offered you as trade-in?

Cash For Cars BC does just that; we pay the MOST cash for cars in Metro Vancouver. Instead of wasting your time at the dealership, fighting to get the most value out of your trade-in vehicle, sell it to us and get more cash for cars than any other car buyers can offer!

Contact Our Car Buying Team Today

If you are serious about buying or selling a vehicle, talk to our expert team of car buyers first. We know more about buying cars than any other used car buyers in the Lower Mainland. That’s because we’ve been buying vehicles since 1998, and we know how to get you the MOST cash for cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, and motorcycles.

Provide us with the make, model, year, and condition of your vehicle. Then, our car buyers will arrange a day and time to see your car in person. Once we see it firsthand, we’ll make you an instant cash offer right on the spot.

If you accept our offer, we’ll pay you can in hand, and leave with your vehicle that very day. No endless haggling, no bouncing from dealership to dealership. Just a quick sale of your car for the MOST cash.

Call, text, or email us today to find out how much your vehicle is worth. You’ll be glad you sold your car to Cash For Cars BC and not the dealership, trust us!