Ask an expert

Is there a particular month or time of year when new car dealers are liable to run special offers or make you a realistic one to reach their sales/financial targets ? Regards,Bill.

Often the best time to buy a car (from a dealer) new or used, is at the end of a given month as sales staff try and meet set target numbers.

Some of the franchised dealers work on a set total volume target for new and used stock and instead of concentrating on individual sales figures they will look at what has been achieved as a total over a given period. If the target is unlikely to be reached heading towards the month end, the incentives to purchase can be better than that offered at the beginning of the month.

If a new model is being released there is always a push to get rid of stock of the previous model. In a perfect world there are limited numbers of the old stock when it comes to launching the latest model. It does depend on the market and the push to clear the old model leading up to the release of new product.

Some dealers get caught with a lot of old stock while others have a lean period waiting for the new model to arrive in showrooms.

Often new car buyers will wait for a new calendar year rather than buy in December to ensure their new car on paper, is registered in a new year.

Many thanks for your helpful reply. Regards,Bill.