Best time to buy a car

[VMG]

Whar is the best time to buy a car - is it September ( Half yearly closing ) or December ( year end )?

[fiery enzyme]

I would say December. That is when you will get all kinds of offers from dealers. Though it might affect you when you are selling your car.

My car was bought Dec 15 '03 but actually it is '04 model because 15 days don't make a big difference.

[Eddy]

End of quarters is a good time to buy a car. Thats the time when salesmen gove the best deal.

But if you have to keep the car for a longish period, the best time would be the year end. It does affect resale but IMHO the initial discount that you can avail at the year end are more than the loss of resale value.

A friend of mine bought a Santro in mid January07. The dealer had a Dec06 car that he offerred at a 40k discount and my friend was more than happy to accept it. I am sure that after 5 yrs when he decides to sell off the vehicle, he will not lose 40K on account of it being a Dec06 rather than Jan07. And we have not considered the time value of money []

[snaronikar]

My car I bought on 18th Dec. Now I want to sell the same....but i'am getting less (about 10K) due to depreciation. My feeling is, the best time would be during festivals (Dusshera/Diwali). You may get some accessories as freebies.......

[karty_83]

I second sranoniker. dussera/diwali is the best time to buy cars. We get acceptable discounts and also freebies.

[gemithomas]

I would say January to March. This is when everyone would be trying to get rid of their models that were manufactured in the previous year. It is at this time that you can have a real good bargain.

[kkdelhi]

If you are not too superstitious and want to get good discount, buy one in September, though October should not be bad either (what with all the freebies AND discount being offered during festivals). If, on the other hand, you are looking to make a real killing, go for it in December.

- KK.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

I would say December. That is when you will get all kinds of offers from dealers. Though it might affect you when you are selling your car.

My car was bought Dec 15 '03 but actually it is '04 model because 15 days don't make a big difference.

No it would actually be an 03 model and will have a resale value that of an 03 model.

[deepak_ms]

from october(Diwali) to January as you get lot of cash discounts and some free accessories... i bought the car in last Diwali with around 25k cash discount + few accessories...

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

I would say December. That is when you will get all kinds of offers from dealers. Though it might affect you when you are selling your car.

My car was bought Dec 15 '03 but actually it is '04 model because 15 days don't make a big difference.

it will, if it is registered in '03 itself.

[alabjarus]

I bought by VTEC in 2nd week of Dec 2006 (gaining all the 'limited' freebies that Honda offers). I got a temp reg done (valid for 1 month) costing Rs 1000. The permanent reg was done in Jan 2007 (and the RC book reads as Jan 2007 model).

[madan80]

for me the best time has been around march 20- 30, I have bought 2 cars around that time, and a few friends have also bought cars around that time. most indian companies have to close their books on march 31, so the dealerships always throw the best deal. if not for cash discounts, they will give freebies!

[nitrous]

For business people, September is a good month to sell/purchase cars.
Half-yearly Depreciation can be claimed on the new car. A purchase after october won't make it to the depriciation account.This is what im told.

[autoenthusiast]

Folks, apologies about reviving an old thread, but since we are coming to the end of the year and I'm planning on picking up a new vehicle in Nov/Dec it made sense to check if anyone had anything new to add on this.

I spoke to an used car dealer about selling my old Santro Xing and also asked him what would be the resale of my new car if I picked the vehicle in December, the dealer mentioned that it would be considered a 2008 model and the resale value would be according to the Y2008, even if it was only 2 or 3 weeks in this year.
Had a few questions.
1. Is the above true and is it better to wait for the Jan 2009 ?
2. If I'm going in for a vehicle in Dec 2008, do dealers hand out larger discounts during this time that might offset the depreciation ?
3. Any experiences that any of you might have had, who bought a vehicle in December and sold it at a later period, did you feel you were on the losing end ?