Key Takeaways:
- Increased inventory and incentives have helped new vehicle prices become more affordable.
- Luxury vehicles have more inventory and better incentives.
- In-between seasons (like Memorial Day and Labor Day) are better times to buy.
Advertisements promote massive savings during three-day weekends like Memorial Day. Without industry knowledge, it can be difficult to know if these limited-time promotions are actually a good deal or the result of marketing. With over 20 years of helping Californians buy or lease any new make or model, at Cartelligent, we understand a good deal when we see one.
In this article we’ll use our industry knowledge to answer the question ‘Are there good deals during Memorial Day’ and explore how 3 other popular summer holiday weekends compare.
Understanding the Current Car Market: Is Right Now a Good Time to Buy a Car?
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company, new vehicles in January 2024 had an average transaction price of $47,401, 3.5% less than January 2023. In March 2024 the average transaction price was $47,218 for a new vehicle. This means new car shoppers can expect a steady market this summer.
Increased inventory and increased incentives have helped new vehicles become more affordable. In February 2024, new vehicles reached the best affordability seen in the last 31 months. While luxury vehicles have more inventory, the incentives by luxury automakers continue to be more generous. According to Kelley Blue Book, March luxury incentives were double the level seen in March 2023. Non-luxury vehicles saw an increase of incentives from February 2024 to March 2024 by 2.6%.
What New Car Incentives Can I Expect During a Holiday Weekend?
Each automaker will provide different incentives based on their target demographic. Here are a few of the types of manufacturer rebates that may be available during holiday weekends.
Some of the incentives you can expect to see this Memorial Day weekend include:
Low APR Financing: Some dealerships may offer low interest rates when financing a new car purchase or lease.
Cash Back: This is a flat discount on the purchase or lease of a new car.
Conquest Rebate: Manufacturers sometimes offer this as an incentive to get drivers of a competing brand into their vehicle.
Loyalty Rebate: Some automakers offer a rebate to those who own a vehicle from their brand as a way to incentivize brand loyalty.
High Residual Value: This is the vehicle’s value at the end of a lease. A high residual value means lower lease payments for you.
Discover the other incentives you may qualify for in ‘Understanding New Car Rebates and Incentives‘.
A Cartelligent expert advisor can discuss all your options during a free consultation. In a phone consultation you can ask any question, including leasing vs buying, to understand all the options available to you.
Is Memorial Day a Good Time to Buy a Car?
Memorial Day weekend is the kick-off event to summer and is considered a good time of month to buy or lease a new vehicle. Dealerships use Memorial Day weekend to start clearing out remaining stock and make room for the new models arriving in the fall.
This year, Memorial Day weekend is set to have better deals. This is thanks to high inventory levels, expensive floorplanning costs, and where it lands on the calendar. Prices are more competitive towards the end of a month, quarter, or year. Historically, this is why December is the best time to get a car, followed by August. However, great deals can happen throughout the year and Cartelligent can help you to identify and take advantage of these.
Find the makes and models with great incentives this month here.
Is 4th of July a good time to buy a new car?
4th of July is a good time to buy a new car at a fair price. Its incentives might not be as competitive as Memorial Day weekend, but it offers shoppers more time to make an informed decision compared to other three-day weekends.
4th of July weekend offers new car shoppers great incentives like lower interest rates, extended loan terms, and more. The aggressiveness of the discounts will depend on inventory levels, how popular the make and model is, and what financing option you choose to use.
Is Labor Day a good time to buy a new car?
New makes and models typically start hitting the floor in the fall. As the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day weekend is one of the busiest times for getting a new car for good reason. Next year makes and models will be arriving and dealerships need to clear floor space for them. This means new vehicles will be more aggressively incentivized.
How Do I Know I’m Getting a Fair Deal on a New Car?
Not every deal you encounter will be a good one. To read an advertisement like a Cartelligent expert advisor does, read our guide ‘Understanding New Car Ads and Specials’. In it, we analyze two advertisements by breaking down what the fine print does and does not cover.
If you’d prefer to leave all the work to the experts, Cartelligent offers a concierge new car buying and leasing service to people in California. For $595, we match you with an expert advisor who is a personal shopper, negotiator, and industry insider all rolled into one. Because of our industry knowledge, we are able to secure our clients better deals than they could have on their own.
We are able to secure better deals thanks to our broad network, knowledge of current incentives, and negotiation know-how. If you decide not to use our service, we refund you 100% of the service fee.
Try Cartelligent risk-free today and see why over 30,000 clients have trusted us to get them a fair deal.
