Buying a car is potentially one of the most expensive purchases an individual will make in their life, second only to buying a house. This means that car owners need to do everything in their power to lower the asking price and to get themselves a good deal, as this can help save them a few thousand and allow them to afford the best car they can.
There are many tips and tricks buyers can implement to help improve their chances of obtaining a good deal. Here are a few of them that every person on the market for a new car should try.
Consider Buying Pre-Owned
When buying a new car from a dealership, you’re going to be paying a premium for the luxury of having something straight out of the factory that hasn’t been driven much. It can also be hard to haggle the prices down at a dealership, meaning that you’ll end up paying over the odds for a new car.
Instead, a good option is to browse the second-hand market, as you can find really good and fairly current cars for great prices. The reason for this is because once a car is bought, its value decreases significantly during its first couple of years on the road. This means that you can get a car that’s only a few years old from second-hand dealerships for a great price, such as this Ford Fiesta ST Line trim.
Try to Buy During the Week
When buying a new car, either from a dealership or an independent seller, it’s always a good idea to go during the week, and to avoid buying over the weekend. This is because the weekend is peak buying time, as people aren’t in work, meaning that shopping during this period means that there are more potential customers that you have to compete with. On a weekday, there are fewer people around, meaning that sellers might be willing to drop the price as they’re more eager to make a sale.
It’s also good to shop just before the end of a financial quarter, which fall at the end of March, June, September and December. This is because dealerships have quotas to hit to keep their owners happy, so if they’re under this quota just before the end of a financial quarter, they may be more desperate and more likely to give you a better deal.
Learn to Haggle
Many people may find the idea of haggling embarrassing and scary, but it’s really the norm in car dealership, so it’s a good idea to engage with the practice when searching for a new car. Most of the time, the price that a car is listed at can be reduced, so don’t be scared to try and drop a few hundreds off that price.
To put yourself in a better position to haggle, do some research and collate the prices of some other cars in your area, as threatening to shop elsewhere and making dealers aware of their competitors’ prices may encourage them to drop theirs so that they don’t lose you or a sale.
