Whether you’re thinking about buying a car around Christmas time as a gift for someone else, or you’ve decided to treat yourself this year, here are the best tips for car shopping this festive season.
Wait Until The last Second
It seems antithetical at first, but the closer you get to the end of the year, the better deal you’ll be able to get. This is less to do with Christmas directly, and more to do with yearly quotas.
You’ll see many year end deals such as this when buying a car around Christmas!
Salespeople are generally looking to meet a certain number of cars sold per year, and so if they have one or two left by the end of the year they’re going to be much more likely to offer discounts and savings so they can secure any bonuses they may get.
This is also the time when car dealerships are clearing old stock, ready for the new year, so if you’re looking for a slightly older model especially, this is a great time to shop.
If you have the luxury of waiting, the best time for buying a car around Christmas is actually that week between Christmas and New Year, though that’s not ideal if you’re planning on giving it as a gift. Speaking of which.
Never Surprise Someone With a Car
You may think it’s a grand romantic or caring gesture, but trust is, it’s not. A car is a massive deal. Big, expensive and critically: not something you can just return if you don’t like it. You may see it as providing them with new transportation or a new toy to play with. But what you’ve really done is burden them with worries about Insurance, fuel, maintenance, all the other costs that come with car ownership.
If you really do want to buy someone a car, make sure they know what you’re buying and that they actually want it. Just because someone says “X is their dream car”, that doesn’t mean they actually want one right now.
It may ruin the big reveal, but trust us, having the recipient of the car involved will make everyone much happier in the long run.
Book a Test Drive
Might seem obvious but should still be said, If you’re getting a car make sure you try it first, and if you’re getting a car for someone else make sure they’ve driven it first. We are in Canada and winters are harsh which can be a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it. Heading out to the dealership when it’s minus 20 outside is a bit of a nightmare, but you’ll never have a better opportunity to test how a car runs during extreme conditions. Suddenly luxuries like heated seats will seem much more important. Besides, if the car can’t handle a Canadian winter, you probably don’t want it anyway.
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