Over the years I've heard people say that the best time to buy a vehicle is at the end of the month.
Is this true? YES!
And let me tell you why. It's because the automotive industry is extremely competitive, and all sales are paid on a monthly basis.
Let me give you an example...It's the last day of the month and as a car salesman I know that my commission on all of the deals I've participated in I will get a 25% commission since I have sold 10 vehicles for the month. If I sell 11 cars in a month then my commission bumps up to 40% on all of my car sales for the month. So...I am going to do everything in my power to get that 11th deal, right? HELLS YES! And that even means going to the decision maker for the dealership that I work for (usually the general manager) and I am even willing to cut a side deal with the manager to give him a cut of my bump up in pay for this final deal that will give me a significant pay increase for the whole month! So now the general manager is in too. And believe me this happens more than you think. Not only that but the same goes for the general manager's pay if he can get just a few more deals out for the month.
Don't get me wrong there are exceptions to every rule...and the commission percentages and number of vehicles to sell is a little bit different across every dealership, but every dealership that I have ever heard of, worked for, or knew someone that worked for all based their pay on a month to month basis. And at the end of the month all these car salesman across the country are all calling each other asking how many vehicles did you sell last month, and how many vehicles did the dealership sell last month, and so on.
After knowing this as a buyer you also have to understand the psyche of your ordinary car guy...and it doesn't matter if he's the car salesman, or sales manager, or finance manager etc... They all play around all month long and call in sick, take long lunches, leave work early, and have a whole bunch of unnecessary meetings. Then usually towards the end of the month around the last week everyone works their ass off trying to catch up what they lost out of during the beginning and the middle of the month.
So in my humble opinion, and also after participating in a lot of the mentioned above myself I don't just believe that the end of the month is the best time to get your absolute best deal on a vehicle...I know it!
