Is now a good time to buy a new car
My car shopping market score for buying new with trade is 80. Zero is the worst market to consider purchasing a vehicle, and 100 is the absolute best. So make sure you find the one that matches your current vehicle situation.
POOR time to purchase 0-20
AVERAGE time to purchase 20-70
GOOD time to purchase 60-90
EXCELLENT time to purchase 90-100
In the past couple of years, the number one question I get outside the dealership is whether it is a “GOOD” time to get a new car. So I have set out to answer this the best I can based on all the information I have and see every day working in the business.
As we have come out of the pandemic, the past couple of years have been some of the most challenging as a consumer and working in the industry, as I have seen in the 30-plus years I have been in the automobile business.
It is a good time to buy a new car if you have a trade
So if you are considering getting a new vehicle and have a trade or a car you will sell, NOW might be the best time to check out your options. It is NOT a good time to buy a new car. However, all that changes if you have a trade, especially in the 1-6-year-old range.
Here is why it is a good time to buy if you are trading a car in
The used car market is still very high, and there is a short supply of used vehicles. So dealers are willing to pay a premium to get inventory.
The value will NEVER be more on your car than it is today. Ok, so after the past couple of years, I should never say never, but the used car market has already peaked. Your car’s value is decreasing daily, and they are losing value faster than usual because of the abnormally high values we used vehicles have had the past year and a half.
Don’t wait to check all of your options.
Here’s the deal, we are seeing customers that bought pre-owned cars 2 to 3 years ago are getting 80-90% of what they paid for the car! That is unheard of! Cars depreciate a lot. So driving a car for two to 3 years, putting on 20,000-30,000 more miles, and getting almost what you paid for is nuts.
What about the price of the new one, aren’t they higher now
Yes, they have gone up, some way more than others, but they are not coming down. The manufacturers will not lower the price, well 95% of them. Tesla just did it a couple of times, but that is because they don’t offer incentives. There are some dealers now that are offering more discounts and negotiating more. Some manufacturers are back to providing some incentives and special rates. If you find a vehicle with a bit of or decent supply on the ground or at least some availability, you should see more discounts.
But discounts aside, the increased value of your car trade makes it a good time to consider a new car now.
The average pre-pandemic manufacture incentive was around $2000, so even if they are not offering anything on the one you are interested in, you are still saving more overall with the higher trade values.
If you have a worth trade that would have been worth $20,000 a couple of years ago, that same trade is up 20-30%, yes, $4000-6000 more! That is much better than waiting for a couple thousand dollar rebates to come out and losing the opportunity for the higher trade values to be around still.
You have more options to sell your trade today.
The past couple of years has created more options to get a value on your trade and sell it fast to the best offer. Not only can you get an offer for your car from the dealer as a trade, but there are also other places to sell your trade without selling it yourself. Carvana, Vroom, and CarMax, just to name a few, along with your other local dealers, all need pre-owned inventory. The great news is that they will compete with each other and are willing to pay top dollar to get your car. All of these have buying services across the US, and most will make it very easy to sell your car to them; some will even come to you and give you a check on the spot.
Inventories are returning, and dealers will have more and more vehicles to sell in the next several months. The incentives to sell cars WILL improve as we move through 2023. Cox automotive New-vehicle affordability report.