When To Buy
It used to be that September saw a huge peak in car sales because of the annual registration change. Now that there are two changes a year, that peak has evened out a little, but autumn is still the busiest time.
If you really want to negotiate a hard deal, buy a car just before the new registration is due. This is because the dealers need to shift old or pre-registered stock. The downside of this is that, when you come to sell, your car will be considered six months older than the car with the newer registration - even though they may be only a day apart in real age!
But whatever time of year you are buying, the best time to get a good deal is when the dealer needs to reach sales targets - this is generally the end of the month. Push the dealer hard at this time, you might be surprised at the discount you will get.
Another good time to buy is holiday time (July and August) when most people have other things on their minds, and January - most people are skint after Christmas. At both these times, sales are slow and dealers may be prepared to do a good deal to achieve a sale.
