It’s the most wonderful time of the year; the time that you part with your old car. We know, it’s bittersweet but at some point it makes sense to sell your car. But when is that point? Is it used auto market like the stock market with highs and lows? Let’s talk about some of the best times of the year for selling your car.
Spring & Summer
There is a pretty strong correlation with various seasons and the demand for used cars. You’ll find that the best opportunity to sell your vehicle for the most money is during the spring and early summer. Typically, car buyers do their purchasing during these two seasons so that’s when used car dealers need more supply. The need for more supply means they are willing to pay a little more than they would if there wasn’t any demand.
There is good reason for these two seasons being the strongest. First of all, nicer weather means more consumers are leaving their homes for something other than work. Car buying is somewhat an “outdoors” activity, though any outdoors folks will likely cringe at that notion. The point is, the customer would much prefer to head outside in the sunshine to shop for cars than the dead of winter.
In addition to the nice weather, March brings about tax rebate season. A lot of U.S. taxpayers end up getting a little chunk of cash back from Uncle Sam and have every intention of spending it in the coming months. This small infusion of cash flow is just the incentive they need to purchase a new car.
High school grads are also looking to scoop a used car before they head off to college so they don’t have to rely on Mom & Dad to drop them off. College grads are also looking to make a car purchase if they landed a job. The old beater they were using just doesn’t quite fit their new professional lifestyle and they are eager to look successful.
Even with the primary selling seasons in mind, it’s worth to look up the used car inventory in your area. If there are ton and tons of your same make and model available in your area already, you might want to hold off until this supply dips a bit. You’ll have a better chance of getting a higher price if used car dealers have less inventory of your specific make and model.
Winter months, besides being cold in most parts of the U.S., also contain the holidays. With gifting budgets taking priority, most consumers aren’t thinking too much about purchasing a new vehicle. Selling during the winter might only be worthwhile if the dealer has some sort of incentivized promotion when you trade in your vehicle.
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