Free preview · from the dealership side of the desk
Ask ten people when to buy a car and you’ll get ten answers: the last day of the month, a rainy Tuesday, Black Friday, December 31st. Some of that advice is grounded in how dealerships actually get paid. Some is folklore that hasn’t been true for years. And none of it matters as much as being ready: knowing the car, the price and your financing before you walk in.
Here’s the real mechanism. Many manufacturers pay dealers volume bonuses for hitting monthly or quarterly targets, and some programs pay back to the first car of the month once a target is hit. That can make the last few deals worth far more to the store than their own profit. Below: which timing effects are real and how big, why model-year changeover is one of the biggest levers, a worked example, demo and loaner cars, which holiday sales are mostly marketing, and what to say.
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In the full guide
- Why timing matters at all
- End of month, quarter and year
- Model-year changeover: one of the biggest real levers
- Worked example: outgoing model year
- Demo and loaner cars
- Holiday sales events: mostly marketing
- Myths and half-truths
- What to say
- Your game plan
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