I am often asked, “Is December the best time to buy a new car?”. I always answer with “I’m not sure about that, but December is a good time to buy a new car.”
Usually this is received with some puzzlement, since most people expect equally cut-and-dried answers to point-blank questions. I then have to explain why I make this distinction, so here goes.
Why is December a good time to buy a new car? 1) Discounts, in a word. At the end of the year, manufacturers take a look at their unsold inventory across their product portfolio and go “How can we quickly shift these?” The answer is to dangle the discount carrot in front of potential buyers, and if there’s anything us Indians love, it’s a good, old fashioned price cut. Virtually every major automotive brand is offering year-end deals and benefits at the moment, so you could do a lot worse than to take a look at them.
It must be emphasised that this year, the scale of the discounts festival is smaller; blame the worldwide semiconductor shortage and COVID19 troubles for that. Shortages have led to less stock, which in turn has led to less unsold cars, which has meant less scope for deals and discounts. Waiting periods have also gone up, so keep that in mind. Nevertheless, go forth and you will definitely find reductions on sticker prices, extended warranties, free accessories and suchlike. For example, Renault is offering a substantial Rs 1.3 lakh off on the Duster, and you can get up to Rs 40,000 off on a Tata Safari and Harrier.
2) December is a great time for exchange offers as well. If you want to trade in your existing car for a new one, December is the time to do it because waiting for January will make it a year older; the dealer you approach this month will make you an offer on the basis of this year’s prices. Honda, for example, is offering an exchange bonus of Rs 9,000 on the City.
3) Making a purchase in December means you’ll beat the price hikes that almost all manufacturers will hit you with next year. These increases are due to rising manufacturing costs, which is a yearly phenomenon.
This brings me neatly to...
Why is December not necessarily the best time to buy a new car? 1) Being caught up in a “Sale! Sale” frenzy isn’t necessarily the best thing for you. All sales tend to provoke an urge to buy something – anything – which is why they’re so effective. That said, how often have you spent good money on something just because it was on sale and then ended up regretting it? This is still possibly OK if we’re talking about, say, a pair of shoes – but you really don’t want to end up doing this with a car.
2) A car bought in December is older than one bought in January (well, obviously), and this usually affects its resale value when you want to part with it, so that’s a factor to consider.
3) Perhaps most importantly, a December purchase means you’ll miss out on the all-new (and refreshed) models that’ll be launched next year – and I can tell you that there are lots of interesting new cars lined up for 2022 by all manufacturers. Of course, if you’re Mr. Moneybags and are up to covering both ends of the spectrum – discounts as well as fresh models – then very little of this applies to you.
In the end, it comes down to what you really want, because frankly, the stone-cold truth is that the best time to buy a car is when you feel like it. There will always be newer, flashier, sportier and more feature-laden cars launched literally minutes after you’ve bought yours, and buyer’s remorse can be an unpleasant feeling. This is why it’s crucial to identify what you’re looking for in a new car, do some thorough research and then just go out and get it – never mind the possible discounts that may materialise further down the road. If you just happen to do all this in December, then of course you’ll likely have a wider smile on your face as you drive home from the showroom.
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