When Black Friday Comes, What Deals Will You Find?

Finding That Steely Van

You know the band “Steely Dan”, right? “When Bla-ack Friday comes...”, and then some other lyric. Excellent band, terrible morals, here’s the point: black Friday is under a month away right now. You want to get deals at department stores. Cyber Monday has become a thing, too; you want to find deals online.

What about when it comes to vehicles? You can get some sweet deals on cars during the insanity of Black Friday. In 2019, Chevy, Toyota, Hyundai, Buick, Volkswagen, and Nissan had  0% interest on financing for five years—some even provided that deal for six years. That’s a great way to save money on a new car; but the real gems are in the “used” market. 

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Local Dealership Considerations

Of course, much of this will depend on your local dealer, but smart salesmen understand people are ready to spend some money on Black Friday, and so they provide a few deals. However, owing to general annual markups throughout the year, the deals you think you’re getting may not be as good as they seem when you’re testing a new Chevy on the lot. 

There’s a big reality to consider, though, regardless of the vehicle you’re considering: salesmen are going to be slammed. How do you get ahead of that? Simple: test drive in advance and show up ready to buy when you get to the dealership. That salesman will recognize you, know he’s getting a commission, and there’s a higher likelihood you get prioritized. 

For 2020, CarFax.com lists a few trending deals on used vehicles, which include .99% financing for four years on certain “Certified Pre-Owned”, or CPO, vehicles. This applies to BMW vehicles. Infiniti has options of .99% financing for three years, or 2.99% for six. On Subaru, you can find 1.99% financing on vehicles from 2014 to 2019. 

Here’s the thing CarFax isn’t telling you: if you can, you shouldn’t finance a used car. What’s wiser is setting yourself a $5k budget and getting an idea of the best vehicles in town for that cost. Buying from an individual owner will generally net you a better bargain at a lower price, but that’s going to be a hard prospect on Black Friday.

Sewing Sales Seeds In Advance

What you might want to do is shop around all the used dealerships with a notebook, figure out which vehicles you like the best between them, list them out, and then move in for the kill when the retail holiday rears it’s strangely-shaped economic head. Look at all vehicles $10k and under that you think fit your needs. 

On Black Friday, have $5k in cash on you, go to the sellers, and pitch them the cash price right off the bat. You may be able to cut the price of the car you like right in half without losing value. Odds are, in a large enough town, you should be able to get one of the cars you specified on your list for a substantial discount. 

If the seller won’t budge, then be catty with the guy: “Oh, okay. Well, I’ll just go to X dealer across town then, have a nice day!” And be on your way. He may just grab your elbow and give you the price you demanded; especially if you’ve got cash on-hand.

Black Friday is a special circumstance, people expect the deal, and dealers know they can make bank if they give in a little. So don’t be afraid to play a little hardball with them. 

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Getting The Best Deal For Your Money

Certainly, be willing to go a little higher on price if you’re considering a really sweet deal; but be willing to walk if you can’t get what you want. As our 45th president Donald J. Trump so aptly pointed out, being actually willing to fulfill your threat of walking is a great way to cinch a deal. 

You’ve got to be willing to leave the table, truly willing, or there’s no pressure on whoever you’re trying to buy from. To learn more about this and other key pieces of information pertaining to the best deals on cars, be sure to explore our blog at Anybody’s Autos!