B-day Car Deals?

Anyone know if dealers will have better deals on used/new cars...

all you have to do is to walk into any dealer and tell them it's your b-day

seriously though, most people would tell you to hold off till after the holidays, you can generally get a much better price as most pep already spent all their cash on the holidays and dealer are eager to make sales.

I've been shopping for a used truck for the past month....the sales people are starting to get hungry now, some prices dropping, but I expect more will drop in Jan/feb. then rebound.

Originally Posted by hd2002

seriously though, most people would tell you to hold off till after the holidays, you can generally get a much better price as most pep already spent all their cash on the holidays and dealer are eager to make sales.

WTF? December is the slowest month! Get the car now. See if you could pick up a 2004 model as they're desperate to get rid of that. Not only do they want to make their monthly quota, they'll have their 2004 quota to meet also.

It's all about the art of negotiation, some got it, some don't, Wait until boxing day.

btw, happy birthday.

The best time, sales-wise is Jan/Feb. Typically things are dead, dead, dead. However, if you are buying new, the programs available are not as agressive in Jan/Feb, and usually don't start until mid-late March for the Spring. Some of our biggest months were in Dec.

So you have to weigh the lower traffic, lower sales of Jan/Feb vs programs. However if you're buying used, then it is very possible to get a better deal on a vehicle at that time. When you're talking used you are talking about the dealer's money sitting there so the motivation to move them as quickly as possible to put the money back into circulation is very real.

Lastly, there are more vehicles built every minute. So you can't tell me that "this deal won't last" or "its the last one". BS. Been There Done That. Got the t-shirt AND the belt buckle.

You don't like the deal, walk away and go find another one. And this is almost the biggest purchase you are going to make. Research your decision and have fun.

Jan/Feb is the best months to make a deal I bought my first new car at that time. I got a 93 Jeep renegade fully loaded 6000 off for $20500 I later sold the SUV four years later to another dealership for 17500 after it was in a major collision and only had 60000km. I had the sucka prepped and waiting to go to a car show at the time. Best memory I had with the SUV is when I had to replace my windshield 2 times in one week due to my stereo.

But anyways Dec/ Jan / Feb are the months to name your price and don't fall in love with the car in front of the sales person otherwise they may bump the price up and make you think that you are getting a deal. I used to be a car salesperson so I know. Those guys are evil.

Originally Posted by hd2002

all you have to do is to walk into any dealer and tell them it's your b-day

i think he means boxing day

Evil, hey? Are we telling tales here of how you did things?

But seriously, if you don't get on with your salesperson, move on. Theres lots of them around, and you are not supposed to connect with every single one. Just like regular people, there are some you like and some you don't.

That being said, there are some professional salespeople out there who work hard and are honest. Yes, its true. They're out there, and once you find one you want to keep them around. Otherwise you get to run around all paranoid and stuff.

Good luck in your purchase.

Originally Posted by dealman

Jan/Feb is the best months to make a deal I bought my first new car at that time. I got a 93 Jeep renegade fully loaded 6000 off for $20500 I later sold the SUV four years later to another dealership for 17500 after it was in a major collision and only had 60000km. I had the sucka prepped and waiting to go to a car show at the time. Best memory I had with the SUV is when I had to replace my windshield 2 times in one week due to my stereo.

But anyways Dec/ Jan / Feb are the months to name your price and don't fall in love with the car in front of the sales person otherwise they may bump the price up and make you think that you are getting a deal. I used to be a car salesperson so I know. Those guys are evil.

Anybody knows what's the best site for car pricing service?

So far I've found these sites:
carcostcanada.com
cars4u.com
dealfinder.org
Are they any good? Do they actually work? Which one should I use?

Also if you were me, which one of these would you choose?
- an Echo
- a Corolla
- a Civic
- a Mazda 3
- a Sentra

The Echo is the cheapest one but the top model is priced about the same as the Corolla CE, according to MSRP. (However, I've heard that it's possible to get a huge discount on the Echo, but not the Corolla. Is this true?) The Mazda 3 is like the most expensive one of the bunch - is it worth it to pay the extra? From the reviews, it seems to have the best performance, but it sucks on fuel consumption and it may depreciate faster than a Toyota or Honda.

The all new models are coming out for both the Civic and the Sentra in 2005/2006; would the prices for the 2005 models come down a lot when those newer 2006 models come out?

BTW, are Korean and American cars really that bad? All the people I know told me to avoid them, why? What are the main benefits of choosing a Korean/American car over a Japanese car?

Thanks in advance,

Aim for sometime in January. Most people typically spend a lot of money during the Xmas holidays and car sales take a big hit for the next month after it.

Originally Posted by Fllay

Also if you were me, which one of these would you choose?
- an Echo
- a Corolla
- a Civic
- a Mazda 3
- a Sentra

The Echo is the cheapest one but the top model is priced about the same as the Corolla CE, according to MSRP. (However, I've heard that it's possible to get a huge discount on the Echo, but not the Corolla. Is this true?) The Mazda 3 is like the most expensive one of the bunch - is it worth it to pay the extra? From the reviews, it seems to have the best performance, but it sucks on fuel consumption and it may depreciate faster than a Toyota or Honda.

The all new models are coming out for both the Civic and the Sentra in 2005/2006; would the prices for the 2005 models come down a lot when those newer 2006 models come out?

BTW, are Korean and American cars really that bad? All the people I know told me to avoid them, why? What are the main benefits of choosing a Korean/American car over a Japanese car?

Thanks in advance,

If you don't mind a first year car, add the Chevy Cobalt to your list, too. It's supposed to be quite nice. Avoid the Cavalier, though, it's just antique.

American cars have a bad reputation due to major issues in the 1980s, mostly. The ones they build now seem to be decent in terms of reliability, though usually things like interiors may not be as nice as on Japanese cars. If you're a fan of nimble, sporty, good-handling cars, there may be few American models meeting that criteria (though there are more every year). Resale values are also quite a bit lower on American cars (though they make up for that with discounting/lower interest rates on leasing/etc). But, American cars are usually significantly cheaper, so a big di$count may make you overlook some of their flaws. My dad, for instance, is quite pleased with his...

I won't comment on Korean cars due to lack of knowledge.

But, you said you wanted a hot deal. American cars, especially the models that have been around a few years, tend to be discounted like crazy. Japanese cars traditionally have not been, which means you could be paying thousands extra for a similarly-equipped car.

Originally Posted by Fllay

Anybody knows what's the best site for car pricing service?

S
Also if you were me, which one of these would you choose?
- an Echo
- a Corolla
- a Civic
- a Mazda 3
- a Sentra

Mazda 3 all the way. Test drive the car on you list and you will know why the Mazda 3 is above anything on your list. I know I was in the same situation a month ago.

Certainly January being a sales bonanza at the local auto dealer is a given, unfortunately interest rates (if you are financing that is, my take is try not to finance anything except your home! You will be ahead of 90% of people that way, anywayss...) seem to remain relatively high for imports (this is my plug for imports i.e. Toyota/Honda/Maybe even Mazda, as compared to well, domestic junk as I like to call them). August/september is the best time to finance, especially with Toyota/Honda as their interest rates typically hover around 0.9-1.9 for 36/48 months. I know the Big 3 have/had 0% financing, but like I said...ahem..domestic junk.

As for car invoice prices, stick with www.carcostcanada.com, also, check this informative site out: www.carbuyingtips.com. It is an american website, but most information also applies to us. There is a worksheet, that I have successfully used to purchase two vehicles last summer, -04 camry, -04 4runner, with a combined savings of approximately 6,500 dollars. It is great.