The end of the year with all of the accompanying holiday activities and tasks associated with wrapping up business and personal tasks can be an incredibly hectic and busy time.
Many people are looking for ways to shorten their to-do list, not add to it. However, if buying a new car is one of your new term goals, there is a strong case for doing so now.
Car Buying Trends and Inventory
New car finance contracts have been on a steady decline over the past couple of years. A slowdown was perhaps inevitable as the new car market exploded around 2010. In 2017, the slowdown became evident and the drop has been fairly steady since then. In September of this year alone, sales of new cars dropped by a somewhat staggering 20%. Used car sales in the UK have outnumber new car purchases by a ratio of three to one for many years.
Buying new offers a number of advantages in terms of warranties, technological advances which make the car safer and more fuel efficient, and various special incentive schemes offered by manufacturers. Buying new also eliminates any concerns over unknown problems in the vehicle’s history.
Interest Rates
The cost of financing a new car plays a big role in the decision process. At the moment interest rates on personal loans are competitive, and completion for writing new loans is relatively high.
However, for better or worse, UK banks tend to follow the trends of the US Federal Reserve Bank.The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates three times in 2018. While the rates did not change in the latest meetings, most analysts think that more rate hikes are in store. If UK banks follow the historic trend, interest rate hikes are likely around the corner. Financing a new car purchase now may result in decent savings over the life of the loan.
The Environment
The world is now facing new environment constraints which means our car manufactures are looking at ways of improving their vehicles. That said, there current and older models are still available in many cases. Great deals can be sought by visiting a dealership to see if they are offering discounts on older stock.
As newer and more advanced stock hit the market, the prices of older models will decrease. As mentioned, above visiting a dealer is important when seeking older stock, but also, at this time of year, dealers are trying to meet their sales targets so some sales staff may be keen to discount.
Time of Year / Type of Vehicle
Winter has now started and traditionally cars sales decrease. If you visit private and trade sellers armed with this information, with will give you a haggling tool. When there is excess stock, the car market reacts by reducing its prices, making winter months an idea time to start looking around.
Finally, buying a car that is not season as appropriate is another bit of advice that should be taken when considering buying a car now. Look for summer cars such as convertibles and sports cars, as they can still be used in the winter but the consumer doesn’t want then thus the prices will be lower.
