The Auto Writer

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally the day when retailer’s balance sheets go from red to black to reflect their first profits of the year. Though Black Friday certainly doesn’t mean what it once did for retailers – who rely on other business throughout the year to make money – it is still an important time for them to slash prices to help bring in a fresh surge of Christmas gift buying traffic.

Dead Traffic

Pity the poor car salesman who sees traffic backing up in front of his store as throngs of shoppers descend on nearby malls. Personally, I wouldn’t set foot in a mall on that day no matter how good the sale was, but I might want to consider buying a car as analysts have indicated that the best day of the year to buy one is on Black Friday.

Who knew?!

Thanks to Jes Cote the relationship manager for AutoRevenue, who shared a link to a CNN article on Twitter, I now know that if I’m going to make a purchase over the next few months I might want to move that decision up to November 27th. CNN amplified what TrueCar researchers have discovered: once your turkey has finally been digested, heading over to your local new car dealership could prove beneficial to you financially.

TrueCar Analyzes

According to TrueCar analyst Jesse Toprak, “The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers’ incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday.” This makes sense because at this point in the season, many car manufacturers have already begun their year end specials. Pair those specials with whatever deals you can get locally and the savings could be spectacular.

Typically, car buyers can shave 4.7% off of the sticker price when negotiating a deal. That rises to just over 6% right around Thanksgiving but peaks on Black Friday right around 7.5%. This means that your $30,000 sedan can be had for $1417 off of the sticker price on most days, but savings jump to $2250 on Black Friday. Moreover, you may be able to strike a special deal on a slow selling model with a sizable inventory – therefore it certainly pays to do your research before heading out to any new car dealer.

Final Weekend

One more thought: Black Friday is always part of the last full weekend for the month of November. You can bet that automakers are jockeying for market share and would like to seal a deal with whoever straggles in on that day.

So guys, if your wife if heading off with the kids to her favorite mega mall on the dreadful Day After, why not tell her that you’re going out to buy a special gift too? Besides, a stylish new car always beats a frumpy cashmere waffle sweater even though it costs about 200 times more than that!

Photo Credit: Jay Lopez