TIME OF YEAR

You won't always have the luxury of choosing when you need to buy a new vehicle. Some buyers show up at a dealership because their old vehicle has suffered a terminal breakdown or has been totaled in a crash. But if you have more leeway in when you can turn in your vehicle, you'll also be able to consider the timing of your next purchase.

The time of year, month, or even week can sometimes have an effect on the price of the vehicle. Dealers may have more of an incentive to clear out old inventory, meet sales quotas, or otherwise offer a vehicle at a considerable discount.

Dealerships often offer year-end discounts on a variety of models. Ronald Montoya, writing for the automotive site Edmunds. com, says December tends to offer the best discounts, with considerable price cuts often available in the last quarter of the year as well. You're less likely to get a discount in the first four months of the year, when dealerships typically see more sluggish sales.

Buying a vehicle at the end of the year can offer savings for a few different reasons. The dealership may be short on an annual quota and eager to meet the sales numbers before New Year's Eve. They may also be looking to clear the inventory of the current year's models to make room for newer vehicles, and offer incentives to make these vehicles more enticing.

Some dealerships may have quarterly quotas. The automotive site Autotrader says these businesses may be more likely to offer deals as this deadline approaches not only at the end of the year, but also at the end of March, June, and September.

You can also do some research to find out when an automaker will be debuting a new model year. Montoya says that while the next year's models once appeared exclusively in the autumn, they now debut at varying times during the year. However, the late summer and autumn can still be popular times for new models to debut, resulting in more incentives on the previous model year.

Dealerships may be willing to cut costs or offer deals on certain models depending on the time of year. Jim Akin, writing for the credit bureau Experian, says these may include promotions on minivans tied to back-to-school sales or discounts on sports cars during the winter since these vehicles are less likely to sell in cold weather.

Plenty of dealerships offer sales events tied to holidays. Popular times include Presidents Day,