You’re ready to buy a new car.

It pays to focus your efforts on negotiating areas where you can have some influence. Among those is picking the best time — and avoiding the worst — to get a deal on your car.

Even so, doing all the necessary homework ahead of your trip to the dealer is the most important step toward success in the car buying process.

No matter the timing, if you don’t prepare for your time at the dealer – knowing how much you can afford, price points of the vehicle you want to buy, getting pre-approved, knowing your trade-in value, shopping ahead of time for things like extended warranties so you know your options – you can still get a bad deal at the optimal time to buy a car. The bottom line is good timing doesn’t replace the need to be prepared.

Best Time to Buy a Car

Statistics show that the winter months offer the greatest potential discounts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should wait until then to buy a new car. Remember, as the year wanes, inventories become more limited, so even though great discounts may be available, they might not apply to the model you’re shopping for.

If you have your heart set on something, think about whether the extra savings is worth potentially missing out on the car you really want.

Worst Time to Buy

According to historical statistics, springtime probably isn’t the ideal time to buy a new car. More people are out and about as winter weather clears, and tax refund checks are warming consumers’ pockets.a

With summer days ahead, more shoppers, who have a little extra cash in hand, are looking for their next new car — which means dealers don’t need to offer quite as many discounts to entice customers to buy.

More Considerations

Research New and Used Cars

Use a Car Buying Service to find, finance and insure your next vehicle.

Here are four additional tips to help sway the buying process in your favour:

Shop early in the week. On weekends, salespeople typically have their hands full with shoppers. Going on Monday or Tuesday can get you more personal attention.

Shop at the end of the month or quarter. Salespeople are judged on their performance. At the end of the month or quarter, any sale could help them keep their jobs, making them more willing to cut a deal.

Make your offer later in the day. If a salesperson hasn’t racked up a sale all day, he or she may be more amenable as the minutes tick toward closing time.

Look at outgoing models. Shop for last year’s models when the new ones are due or first rolling into the showroom. The dealership wants to sell new cars and will be more willing to make deals on older models to get them off the lot.