As we stroll into the last month of 2025, Christmas shopping has quickened and will sharpen to a fever pitch. My house is full of Amazon boxes, and my weekends have shopping trips planned to pick up things for my friends and family. December is also a great time traditionally to pick up a new set of wheels.
New car manufacturers even go out of their way to promote end of year deals, such as Lexus’s “December to Remember” and BMW’s “The Road Home” sales events. While manufacturers give end of the year incentives, the local dealer may as well.
Car manufacturers want to sell cars just as much as your dealer, and they handsomely reward dealers that do with added per car bonuses and allocations of rare or well-selling models. Most dealers have a quota that must be met each month, and a cumulative quota for the whole year. Statistically you will get the best deals at the end of any month, but December is special.
Last year I played this strategy on the purchase of my new Ford Maverick, and I worked a great deal on a 2024 model. The only problem was there was a stop sale on the truck, and I wouldn’t be able to take delivery due to a recall. The deal I worked on expired when the ball dropped in New York, so I ended up paying a lot more than I wanted to. I love the truck though, so it wasn’t much of a pinch. It is important to remember that some of these deals take more than a day to finish so going too late into a dealer to initiate a sale may derail your whole plan.
Many things can impact a car sale, including model desired, availability, financing choices, and even the time of day or week you are going shopping. No two car deals are the same, so these are just loose guidelines.
If you want a highly desired vehicle, you may not get any slack on the price at all, no matter what time you buy. My Maverick purchase was not discounted at all, and even my ask for a Ford baseball cap to be added in was denied. The Maverick I purchased was a 2025, was one of the only ones in the southeast at the time and had to be dealer transferred. I was able to negotiate all the “gimme” fees off the bill of sale. If I waited, I could have probably got a better deal but at that point I was tired of the process. Make sure the incentives you see advertised apply to the model you want.
The most important thing you need is a plan, or even a set of plans. Going into a dealer blindly without knowing your price limits, financing, or preferences is a recipe for buyer’s remorse. Luckily there is a crazy amount of information online about every new car, from review articles, videos, and consumer satisfaction reports. Even dealers are rated in reviews and picking one has never been easier. Walking in to a dealer well informed is a money-saving move, and the willingness to walk out without buying is one too.
Once you have your strategy down, now you must pick a day and time. Off-peak times I consider better moments to buy a car. These are times when the traffic is slow and the staff are looking for something to do. If everyone is busy selling cars, they might just shrug at selling one more. Having the salesperson and the manager focused more on you is the key. December is one of the busiest times at a dealer and it is normally all hands on deck. 10:00 AM on a Wednesday is better than noon on a Saturday.
While December is traditionally a time of giving, treating yourself to a new car could save you enough money to play Santa just a bit more generously.
As for me, I will see you on the road!
Taylor Bryant is a master auto mechanic who is an instructor at Augusta Tech.
