The best time of the year to buy a new car comes down to a variety of factors but the month of January does offer numerous advantages.
Dodging a years’ worth of depreciation
Vehicle valuation tools utilise the year in which a car was built to determine the value. This means that buying a pre-owned car in January will see you buy a car that is technically one year older. For example a 2023 model in 2025, is now a two-year-old car, which was only one year old in December. This can mean a 5-10 percent saving as opposed to buying a car in the last three months of the previous year.
Business can be slow over the festive season resulting in better deals
January can also be a great time to buy a new car as dealership business can be slow with South Africa only getting up to speed midway through January when schools reopen. This can mean that dealerships and salespeople will be more eager to get a deal done in order to get some sales on the board. Special offers could include a discounted price or added value such as a service plan, roadside assistance or a free tank of fuel.
Time to take your time
One of the best ways to get a good deal at any time of the year is to take your time and shop around.
December and January are often more relaxed times of the year as many companies shut down and employees take annual leave. This gives shoppers the opportunity to really take their time and shop around for the best deal. With extra time on your hands it can be worth your while to consult online classifieds such as those on Carfind extensively. Free time during the holidays can also be used to visit multiple dealerships in search of the best deals according to your needs and budget before signing on the dotted line in January. During this quieter time dealerships also tend to be less busy which means that sales executives will be able to devote more time to customers and customers will also have more time to negotiate a better deal.
The time of year is not everything
While the time of year can have an effect on a vehicles price it is only one of the factors that influences pre-owned vehicle pricing.
During the last week of any month of the year, sales executives could be more motivated to make a sale in order to meet their monthly target. Meaning they could be more likely to offer you a great deal during this time. So if you are looking to get a really good deal, it could be worth waiting until the last few days of the month before doing the negotiating.
Keep an eye out for new models on the horizon
Pre-owned vehicle pricing will also be affected when a new or updated version of a particular model is launched. This is due to the fact that this model becomes slightly less desirable. Stock levels will increase as motorists dump cars in favour of the latest model. If you are not concerned about driving the latest and greatest, then buying a previous generation model can be a great way of getting a good pre-owned deal. Keep an eye on the news in order to time your pre-owned vehicle purchase around the launch of the new model and you could get a great deal on a pre-owned example.
Putting your December bonus to good use
Buying a car in January is also a great way to put your December bonus to great use. A bonus can be used to bolster your deposit which will result in significant savings over the contract term of the financing agreement as interest is applied to the total loan amount. The smaller the loan, by way of a bigger deposit, the more you will save in the long run. Putting down a bigger deposit also means you are less of a risk to banks, which could mean you will be charged a lower interest rate, resulting in even further savings.
