Help me buy a car for the first time!

[Chisoxfn]

14's are dropping in price like crazy.

I wouldn't say December is necessarily the hard and fast, deals on the older model year start hot and heavy as soon as the manufacturer starts putting out the new model year, which can vary. There are a lot of 2015's that are already out. If you wait too late, the deals tend to run dry and it could be harder to find what you want as the inventory on those models gets low. You also should be careful and make sure you get the deal you really want when the new model is out and also consider new model upgrades that could impact resale value, etc. I've seen people buy older model new and then have another friend, same time frame, by newer model and just were more shrewd and actually pay less. Basically put, be cognizant to ensure you are really getting the price you feel comfortable with to justify the older model year vs. newer model year.

[nitetrain8601]

I wouldn't say December is necessarily the hard and fast, deals on the older model year start hot and heavy as soon as the manufacturer starts putting out the new model year, which can vary. There are a lot of 2015's that are already out. If you wait too late, the deals tend to run dry and it could be harder to find what you want as the inventory on those models gets low. You also should be careful and make sure you get the deal you really want when the new model is out and also consider new model upgrades that could impact resale value, etc. I've seen people buy older model new and then have another friend, same time frame, by newer model and just were more shrewd and actually pay less. Basically put, be cognizant to ensure you are really getting the price you feel comfortable with to justify the older model year vs. newer model year.

 

Agreed. Also, if you're financing, there's a point in time in which banks consider buying a brand new older model more of a risk than buying a brand new new model. For example, I was at a dealership in May and they had a few brand new 2013s on the lot for the car I was looking for. They knocked off $6000 right off the bat before even looking at the car. Since I was financing though, I bought the 2014 model since it was a 4% interest rate deduction and my monthly payments came out lower. The extra cash I spent was fine with me knowing I bought a brand new car that just got delivered as opposed to one in the lot waiting around.