What part of the month/year is the best time to buy?

[lectoid]

After getting some great advice in the "cash vs finance" thread, it made me wonder what part of the year or month is the best time?

What little I know about dealerships, I'd think the end of the month is best because of commissions and getting the numbers in.

Would Autumn be the best part of the year because typically new models come out and they want to get rid of old inventory.

Most likely I'll be buying a CPO. I'd like to stretch a new car, but I'd like to not have a car payment.

[Pretender]

Originally Posted by lectoid

After getting some great advice in the "cash vs finance" thread, it made me wonder what part of the year or month is the best time?

What little I know about dealerships, I'd think the end of the month is best because of commissions and getting the numbers in.

Would Autumn be the best part of the year because typically new models come out and they want to get rid of old inventory.

Most likely I'll be buying a CPO. I'd like to stretch a new car, but I'd like to not have a car payment.

In US, after tax season (4/15) to May.

[shmohawk]

You'll get a million different opinions, do your research on comparable CPOs in your area and figure out a price range you're comfortable with. Best time to buy is when you find the right car in your range. After the deal is done, stop looking. 100% satisfaction guarantee

[lectoid]

Yea you're probably right. Problem is I want a three row x5 and there are only 14 within 200 miles of me from 2014 on up.

[Flying Ace]

the best time to buy a car is when you don't need a car. If you wait until you need a car, the deal might not be there.

I've been "shopping" for my next car since this time last year just to give you an idea. B/c I'm monitoring and testing the market weekly, I am confident I will get the price and options I want.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by lectoid

Yea you're probably right. Problem is I want a three row x5 and there are only 14 within 200 miles of me from 2014 on up.

200 miles?! That's nothing! I drove 3 hours each way for my M3, and flew 500 miles to pick up my X5 and drove it back.

For a car where deal discounts can range in thousands of $$, you better be motivated to drive up to 2-4 hours to pick up a car.

Solely buying in town is probably a great way to get screwed.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Pretender

In US, after tax season (4/15) to May.

what? no way. After tax season is when all other buyers come into the market. Think about it, when people figure out their refunds, that's when they go out and spend. Hell, some people even take out a refund anticipation loan and give up 15% of it just so they can cash a check at Walmart today.

So you want to buy when no one else is buying, i.e. excess supply, low demand.

Seasonally, winter (Jan-Feb) is the best time to buy (from what I heard), and January would be the best as people have blown their credit cards and cash on xmas gifts, the early birds are still trying to figure out if they are due refunds and if they will take out a tax refund anticipation loans, which takes weeks to estimate and process etc.

Today, right now, it's probably a terrible time to buy in this respect, as spring-summer is the hottest time from buyer demand.

[Doanster]

From a pure "when to get the biggest discount" perspective, fall is indeed the best because of the new model year cars rolling in. The later you go into Sep/Oct/Nov, the bigger the discounts, but also the lower the supply of current model year cars. For reference, we bought our '14 35i in Nov of that year for 10% off MSRP with no questions asked.

[lectoid]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

200 miles?! That's nothing! I drove 3 hours each way for my M3, and flew 500 miles to pick up my X5 and drove it back.

For a car where deal discounts can range in thousands of $$, you better be motivated to drive up to 2-4 hours to pick up a car.

Solely buying in town is probably a great way to get screwed.

Yea my local dealer only has one 50i and I'm looking for 35.

What's the best approach when you have several cars on your list? Play the dealers off of each other? Like say "this other guy has x with y miles, what are you gonna do for me" type of stuff?

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by lectoid

Yea my local dealer only has one 50i and I'm looking for 35.

What's the best approach when you have several cars on your list? Play the dealers off of each other? Like say "this other guy has x with y miles, what are you gonna do for me" type of stuff?

wait, are you buying new or used?

New would be the easiest way. Here's some general tips:

Prereq: Have funds ready, either all of it for cash transaction, the bank loan arranged and preapproved, or the downpayment ready for dealer finance.

1. Never go into any dealership until you firm up the purchase price, you're wasting your time otherwise, or you're more likely to walk out with a bad deal b/c you feel like you've "invested" time going in. They will want you to come in to chat b/c of this very same reason.

2. Call, don't email

3. When you call, give them specs of the deal you're looking for:
a. the exact car you see on their website

b. Tell them cash or dealer finance. If you're paying with a bank loan check, it is cash.

c. Whether you have a trade. (assume they will give you kbb on trade, ideally don't even introduce your trade until after FINAL pricing is settled.)

d. tell them the price you want. Price variables needs to be consistent and is INCLUSIVE of all fees (title, registration, paperwork, coffee, dick sucking fees), but EXCLUDING taxes, which you still pay. Remember, in-state purchases, dealer collects taxes upfront, but will charge you and arrange for registration. Out of state, you pay taxes when you register car at homestate motor vehicle department.

4. Everytime someone, either you or dealer says anything about pricing, make sure it complies with #3d above. (including all fees, excluding tax). This prevents dealers from "throwing in" additional fees at closing. A trick I often see is they talk top of the line numbers, but your bottom line number will be different and higher.

5. Tell the dealer the best deal you have. Tell them exactly what you have so they know you're not bullshitting. Tell them what town, maybe even what dealer. Most sales guys are smart enough to check in to see if you're bullshitting anyways, so you better hope that inventory is posted online so he can call in and see. (don't worry he will, but basically let him know what his competition is).

6. Tell him if you gives you the price in #3d above, you WILL COME IN AND CLOSE ASAP.

7. Chase the deal!!! They're going to say no first. They always say no. Afterall, the price you're giving them is a great deal for you, not them. 1-day later, call the sales guy back, adjust pricing in #3d above as necessary. Keep telling him #6 above. If he throws different numbers at you, that's a good sign, you're not far off. Again, take the initiative, chase the deal. Call him every day if you have to. He'll know you're serious after 2nd call. Also after 2nd-3rd call, you'll know the dealers who won't do the deal. Usually 3 calls will close the deal or strike off dealers not in the running.

8. repeat #7 above for all dealers in the running. Adjust pricing as necessary. Tell them where they are in the rankings of who has the best deal. If you call the 3rd lowest guy, tell him he hasn't even beaten the 2nd lowest guy yet, and keep telling him #6.

9. Keep all your info straight, record it on a master sheet. Know exactly what you offered them, what they countered, guy you spoke to, and last day/time of call.

10. Be prepared to go in to close the deal. Be prepared to mail him a check. In most states, you didn't legally consummate the transaction until you sign the papers, not when you deliver the payment. So you'll see they never cash the check until you sign. When pricing is finalized, run, don't walk, to the dealership. They can undersell the car to the next highest bidder any time until you signed the paperwork. Remember, you got the best deal, they're now shopping your deal with other buyers. Same shit cuts both ways.

At the dealership when closing, check final deal papers to ensure no extra fees are thrown in. Before you even go, get them to tell you the bottom line number subject to #3d above so you know exactly to the penny what you should see on papers.

[lectoid]

I was looking at used around 50k. That's what I have in cash. But in another thread I asked is cash better, or finance and pay off at first payment better.

The consensus was finance but don't tell them I'm paying it off. That way they'll dip on costs and give me a higher rate since they think they'll make it up over the 5 years or whatever.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by lectoid

I was looking at used around 50k. That's what I have in cash. But in another thread I asked is cash better, or finance and pay off at first payment better.

The consensus was finance but don't tell them I'm paying it off. That way they'll dip on costs and give me a higher rate since they think they'll make it up over the 5 years or whatever.

Read the other thread closely. No one can confirm they didn't get screwed in financing. Ideally, just see if you have any prepayment restrictions or fee penalties. They might discount a bit on pricing if you finance through them, but I am betting they get a nominal fix fee for a finance deal, and is not based on price of car. I concluded that you need to get financing disclosures (or ask about rate and finance charges) and do quick math on cost of finance (interest + finance charges + penalties) vs the discount you're getting with financing.

The entity that lends to you (financing bank/company) and the entity that sells you the car (dealership) are separate. You buy the car from BMWNA's independent dealership, but the loan is through BMW Financial Service based in Dublin, Ohio. Legally, it's risk based pricing. Dealers themselves don't run underwriting, and it's illegal for them to steer you into a higher rate loan "just because you're [insert your race/sex/ethnicity here]". So it's all based on your credit and they (the financing bank/company) generally use an automated underwriting engine in which all borrowers with same credit profile get the same interest rate. It's pretty much the standard these days so the lender doesn't get sued for discriminatory pricing practices. From my professional observations, if regulators can show you charged higher rate to [insert race/sex/ethnicity here] vs the control group (usually white/males/under 60) and all had the same credit profile, they will get the pants sued off them, and have to cure the borrower the difference. So I wouldn't worry about this aspect. You can thank Dodd-Frank for this.

Used is also tricky b/c if you follow my steps above, you need to show them you're comparing comparable cars. So dealer may say, "yeah well that car is black, and mine is a more desirable white", but you just need to say, "yeah, well I'm [color or insert option here] indifferent". And really when you buy used, you need to be flexible about the lack of certain options or combos.

Obviously, they will ask you what you like about their car. You'll be dumb to tell them, b/c if they key off a rare option (special color, special option), they will put the screws on you. Just say, you like their car for many reasons and leave it at that. It's like giving away your poker hand if you tell them exactly why you chose their car.

[alphaod]

There is no best time to buy a car. It's just what you want and are willing to pay. Personally I had options I wanted for sure, some that were option. What I was willing to give was having the end of the model year.

So in the last quarter of 2015, instead of doing for a 2016 model, I ended up with a 2015 model on it's last month... which made bringing the price down easier, but I got the options I wanted. I couldn't care less about resell value, because I know by the time I get rid of this vehicle it'll be on it's last legs in terms of mileage anyways.

[Flying Ace]

OP is trying to buy a used car...So new model year game doesn't impact as much.

OP- there's a lot to take in from what I wrote. If you want, pm me your cell number, and we can chat on phone and address questions you have on my methods and understanding how loans/pricing work and my best practices.

Since 2010, I bought 2 new cars for my parents and 2 used BMWs for myself, and sold a car so I've figured it all out. I work in consumer compliance in a financial institution, so I also know how the finance game works too.

[Habs11]

Not sure how a BMW dealer (assuming you want CPO) finances their lot but sometimes when a vehicle has sat close to 60 days is a great time to buy so they get it off their books before they get hit with finances charges of their own.

[Pretender]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

what? no way. After tax season is when all other buyers come into the market. Think about it, when people figure out their refunds, that's when they go out and spend. Hell, some people even take out a refund anticipation loan and give up 15% of it just so they can cash a check at Walmart today.

So you want to buy when no one else is buying, i.e. excess supply, low demand.

Seasonally, winter (Jan-Feb) is the best time to buy (from what I heard), and January would be the best as people have blown their credit cards and cash on xmas gifts, the early birds are still trying to figure out if they are due refunds and if they will take out a tax refund anticipation loans, which takes weeks to estimate and process etc.

Today, right now, it's probably a terrible time to buy in this respect, as spring-summer is the hottest time from buyer demand.

Maybe I meant in Northern California because there's pretty much no Winter here and guess what : it's from the sale adviser, a lot of 1099 working people here are broke after 4/15. So the dealer has deeper discounts to milk them. I always thought it should be Feb - Mar and during the week of rainy days or storms because no one would go to dealers in those days.