Used truck in your future? Be a smart shopper

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It’s always been the conventional wisdom that you should buy a new car at the end of the month when dealers and salespeople are fighting to meet their sales quotas.  I don’t know if it is actually true, but I do know that anyone looking for a deal on a used vehicle should avoid buying it on or around a dozen holidays. It is an interesting insight since these are the same days that dealers run special sales according to their ads.  That makes it a red flag for buyer beware.

In a recent research study done by iSeeCars.com (which should be on your radar along with Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book when searching for used cars and trucks), the site found that from 2013 to 2015 there are fewer good deals to be scored even if there are massive sales being touted.

The website says that the best time to buy is often late summer and early fall when new models are often introduced and trade-ins hit dealer lots.  While I agree that the variety of vehicles might be better, I’m not sure that it makes a huge difference when it comes to trucks since good used ones fly off the lot almost as fast as they come in.

Think about taking a day off if you don’t think that it’s a day for deals.

Worst times for a great deal

According to their research, iSeeCars.com, there is the worst deal list:

• There are 28% fewer deals than average on the 4th of July
• Mother’s Day almost rivals it at 27.5%
• The entire month of April isn’t so great at 26%
• May (27%) is also a down month as is June (23.6%)
• Easter lags at 22.2%
• Good Friday isn’t much better at 21.6%
• Memorial Day (18.3%)
• Father’s Day (18.3%)
• July (11.5%)

My take

There is no really bad time to buy used if you are a smart shopper.  Find what you want for the price that you want to pay.  Be realistic and make a good deal.  Think about adding a bumper-to-bumper warrant to your sale price — you never know what’s hiding or how hard the truck was driven and truck repairs can be pricey.