December Vs January: Which is a better month to buy a car

December is that time of the year when there are good deals and discounts on cars. After all, festival season still extends until new year. But the question is should you fall for these discounts or wait until the new year to buy the dream vehicle? After all, new year means your car gets the news year’s date of registration. And this date has a substantial impact on the resale value of your car. Watch the above video to know more details or simply read on.

Let’s see this with an example:

Assume that you are buying your car in December for 4,75,000. When you sell after six years, you would get around Rs 1,75,750 less, which means the resale value would be Rs 2,99,250. But, if you wait for January and buy the car for Rs 5,00,000, the resale value after five years, which is 30 percent or Rs 1,50,000 less, will be Rs 3,50,000. Of course, these are number as per the assumptions we have made of 37% loss of value for the December car.

So in short, you might get a lower price if you buy in December, as an additional year is added to the age of the car though it is just a month that matters.

Now, if you are buying in January, you might miss out on discounts, but due to a new year’s date of registration you stand a better chance to earn a higher resale value for the car.

What to do

When to buy a car will really be your call. But if your plan is to use the car for long term, you could look at making use of the December discounts. For those who plan to resell the car in three or five years’ time, buying in January may work out better.

Disclaimer: Do your own math by finding out the resale value of the car you are planning to buy. In short, make a cost-benefit analysis before simply going for December deals.