By Tony Iorio

A lot has been written on this subject.  I've seen a wide variety of opinions...usually one contradicting the other.  However, I'm going to tell you what I think the best time to buy a car from a car dealer is.  My opinion is based on my own experience as a salesman, a Finance Manager and a Sales Manager.  The real deal from years of working in the dealership trenches!

In my opinion, the best time to buy a new or used car or truck is the last weekend of any month, and Monday night if it happens to fall at the very end of the month.

1) The Weekend Including Monday Nights:

What do weekends and Monday nights have to do with anything?  Plenty!  They are always the busiest times of the week in a car dealership.

Very often sales promotions are targeted for weekends and the following Monday.  Most dealerships are open late on Monday night, and weekends and Monday nights are usually very busy.

The sales manager and the salespeople are all psyched up to make the most of the traffic.  They often discuss strategy before hand.  Often the sales manager will offer extra bonuses to the sales force on weekends and during these end of month promotions.

Sometimes the salesperson who makes the first deal of the day will get an extra $100 or $200 cash in hand!

Oftentimes, the salesperson who sells the most vehicles during a weekend will get an added bonus of $200 to $1,000!

Beware here.  Frequently, sales managers will base the bonus qualification on Gross Profit rather then number of units sold!

So be careful and be prepared.  "There's sharks in them there waters!"

Many dealerships will provide lunch for the salespeople on weekends.  They will bring in sandwich fixings, rolls, chips, soda drinks and so forth. All of these tactics serve to really light a fire under the salespeople's butts, and they'll go out of their way to put a deal together for you.

This equates to Savings for you!  So take advantage!

2) The End of the Month!

Car dealers, and consequently sales managers and salespeople are very "quota" conscience.

A sales manager may have committed to selling a certain number of new and used vehicles in a given month, and he or she may have a big bonus ridding on reaching that goal.

The salespeople are usually assigned a monthly quota, and if they reach it they are sometimes paid an additional bonus.

The point is, that during the last few days of the month the sales manager and the salespeople are all very motivated to put together as many deals as they can, so they can make their quota and bonus.

This is good for You!  Use it!  Take advantage!

3) The End of the Model Year!

When the new models are rolling in, the car dealers desperately want to get rid of their leftover models as soon as possible.  As such, they are very likely to accept almost any reasonable deal that you offer them on these vehicles.

Additionally, there are many rebates still available on leftover models.  There are also hidden rebates that go directly to the dealer.  If you are aware of them you can usually get the dealership to give up this direct to the dealer "incentive!"

There is, however, one very important factor you must be aware of when purchasing these prior model year leftovers.  That is, you are purchasing a vehicle that is already a year old.  Granted, the car is brand new, and if you plan on keeping it a long time then you will probably be OK.

If however, you only keep vehicles 3 to 5 years, when you go to trade it or sell it you're trading or selling a vehicle that is a year older than if you had purchased a current model year vehicle.  This can cost you thousands.  Certainly as much or more than your initial savings.  So think it through if you're looking at year old new vehicles.

So there you have it.  Just make sure you prepare yourself before you set out by spending some time exploring this website.  The information and tips will save you time, money and aggravation.