Right now may be the best time to buy a car at the best value.
For many big-ticket items across multiple industries, demand tends to pick up starting around the end of winter as consumers start receiving tax refund checks and as better weather makes shopping and driving easier. The automotive industry is no exception. During those months, the number of vehicle purchases often reaches its peak for the entire calendar year, as many car buyers flood the automotive market looking to spend the lump sum of money they receive from their tax returns. In typical supply and demand fashion, prices on automobiles go up, as do the interest rates associated with the purchases.
In other words, waiting ‘til the new year to purchase a vehicle is like breaking wind in church – it’s bad timing!
Believe it or not, despite the looming holiday season, now is actually the most opportune time to beat the tax season rush and find the right car for you at the best overall value. Though the actual average price of used cars doesn’t begin to rise until about March (reaching their peak towards the end of summer thanks again to increasingly improving weather conditions across the country), interest rates remarkably reflect the onset of tax season. With financing options at their most affordable rates just prior to tax season, the potential savings of taking advantage now may be of particular benefit to those with lower credit scores, as the worse your credit is, the higher the interest rate will be come the end of winter. In fact, an average low credit buyer who buys a $20,000 car during tax season figures to pay at least $1,000 more in interest over the life of their loan.
Regardless if you beat the tax season rush, Carvana sets its market rates to be competitive and often below the average market rates.
Carvana not only prides itself on providing customers with $1,681 in average savings at purchase, but we also hang our hat on total transparency throughout the car buying process.
That includes financing.
By utilizing our easy-to-use Financing Search Filter that you can find on any car detail page, Carvana customers can simply adjust the Finance Dials to find the right combination of down payments, monthly payments and terms that are available. Interested in comparing the average interest rate based on your credit score versus the one you’d receive with Carvana? Use our simple auto loan calculator to find out what’s fair for you.
