What is the Best Time of Year to Buy Used Cars?

the best time of year to shop for a used car

Curious to find out if there is a best time to buy used cars? While the answer is surely yes, this all depends on your preferences and requirements. Perhaps you want the greatest number of savings. What about the lowest price? Perhaps the biggest selection? Or the greatest offer on your trade-in vehicle? Different times of the week, month, or year can often create various opportunities. To assist you to better understand all the options, we are going to look closer at the most popular times to get a pre-owned car below.


Buy Before You Need It

Purchase another car or truck before you need it. Certainly this response isn’t quite time-specific, but it’s almost always better to have more time for this type of decision rather than rushing out to purchase a replacement. It’s always good to begin finding out the options in order to make a knowledgeable choice rather than a last minute one. Furthermore, it’s recommended to make a decision before your car breaks down, because it receives a better offer for a trade-in because it doesn’t need repairs.


In The Last Quarter of the Year

Why get a used car during the final months of the year? This time of the year is suggested because of the amount of seasonal holiday dealer sales available. Furthermore, let’s keep in consideration that they need to find space for that incoming inventory.


Purchase During the Start of the Week

Why should one shop for a pre-owned car or truck at the beginning of the week? Well, when car dealers aren’t extremely busy, it can be easier for car buyers to get the car they’re looking for. Compared to Fridays and Saturdays, Mondays are often the least busy by far. This circumstance often means greater attention and time from sales employees.


During Holiday & Seasonal Sales

Seasonal holiday sales are almost always a perfect time to shop for a car. While these national sales events boast great offers on new cars and trucks, many car dealers also provide local promotions, incentives, or promotions on their certified pre-owned and used car inventory, too. For the most part, New Year’s ranks amid the best of all yearly sales events for car buyers searching for some worthwhile discounts. In the middle of the year, shoppers can expect to see more savings for Independence Day and Memorial Day. Finally, there are a numerous amount of holiday and seasonal sales events starting in early October with Labor Day then concluding in December with End of Year events to bring the year to a conclusion.


At the Final Days of the Month

What is the merit of buying a used car towards the month’s last week? Honestly, because most auto dealerships work on a monthly basis, it’s potentially probable that some models may need to be cleared in order to make places for incoming inventory. This may increase your success at obtaining the right car at the right price.


Volkswagen online car buying San Antonio  TX


It’s Always the Right Time to Shop at Volkswagen of Alamo Heights

No matter what day of the year, month, or week, Volkswagen of Alamo Heights invites you to buy a used or certified pre-owned car or SUV in San Antonio, TX. We offer a great selection of used vehicles at our local Volkswagen dealership to assist you in finding the one you’ve been looking for. View our entire stock of San Antonio area pre-owned cars and trucks for sale in-person or online. Schedule a test drive today or buy online with delivery at Volkswagen of Alamo Heights.


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DealerRater Oct 23, 2026

Donte Butler with Sales provided excellent customer service. He made the process painless and outdid my expectations. This is my second purchase with, highly recommend working with Donte!

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DealerRater Oct 23, 2026

Good communication, wonderful service, everyone was friendly, my service lead Katie had been a real doll for me and i appreciate her

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DealerRater Oct 21, 2026

Service Advisor Raul Rodriguez was very professional and explained every part of the process to me. He kept checking to make sure I was updated throughout the process. His customer service is outstanding.

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DealerRater Oct 19, 2026

Great Salesperson. But the service department just made whole experience not worth the headache of going back and forth. I have never experienced a place that wouldn't service what was sold.

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DealerRater Oct 14, 2026

The experience this time was great, crystal was an amazing advisor and kept me up to date on everything!

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1402 NE Interstate 410 Loop, San Antonio, TX, 78209

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Group 1 Volkswagen Alamo Heights 29.5151787, -98.4457564.