To the delight of car shoppers, 2024 has been a buyer’s market. Still, even with incentives rising and used car prices making headlines, there are important questions to be answered. Is right now a good time to buy a car? Are year-end deals worth waiting for? Or is it better to wait until 2025? Luckily, the CarEdge team is sharing insider perspectives to help you time your car purchase.

New Car Market: Low APR Offers and Great Lease Deals

If you’re on the fence about whether you should buy a car now or wait, we have answers for you. Experienced car shoppers know that the best deals of the year come right at the end. Indeed, December 2024’s sales are certain to be huge. Here’s why new car deals are so strong today, and why the deals will only grow towards the end of 2024:

1. The Urgency to Sell. New car inventory remains above average, wavering between 80 and 90 days of supply. That means if no new inventory is added (in a fictional scenario), it would take three months to sell all inventory. In a healthy, well-balanced market, that figure would be around 60 days or so. The longer a car remains unsold, the more it costs in terms of dealership floorplanning expenses. Especially at today’s high rates.

2. Interest Rates Remain High: High interest rates make the cost of borrowing money go up. As rates increase, automakers counteract this by offering more attractive financing options to entice buyers. This month, there are low APR offers that making buying a new car much more affordable. If low APR financing is important to you, you’ll want to see the best offers this month. Expect financing incentives to continue, and even become more common, towards the end of 2024.

3. 2025 Models Are Arriving: Every day, thousands of 2025 models arrive on car dealership lots. The only automakers still waiting for their first large shipments of 2025 models are Hyundai, Nissan, and Stellantis brands like Jeep and Dodge.

As of September, 80% of all new cars on sale in America are 2024 models. Automakers and dealers alike will be increasingly desperate to sell the 2.5 million remaining ’24’s before lots start to overflow with new arrivals. Smart car buyers can use this dynamic to negotiate the best deals towards the end of the year.

Used Car Market: More Uncertainty Ahead

When it comes to the used car market, the situation is less clear-cut. Used car prices have been on a downward trend until recent weeks. Now, prices are stabilizing at both wholesale and retail car markets. Throughout 2024, used car prices have been impacted heavily by outstanding new car incentives. More buyers were shopping new car deals, which in turn softened demand for used cars.

The recent reversal from falling prices may be a fleeting aberration in 2024’s market. On the other hand, falling interest rates this fall and winter could send buyers flocking to used car lots, with plenty of pent-up demand following many months of high APRs. Time will tell, but either of these scenarios could play out in September, October, and November.

👉 See this week’s used car market update

Take Advantage of Deals Today

For new car shoppers, this month’s sales present a great opportunity to secure a low interest rate. With numerous incentives, including zero percent financing and great lease deals, now is a fine time to buy if you are in need of a vehicle soon. Of course, the best decision for you wallet is usually to keep the vehicle you already have, but sometimes that’s not an option. If you CAN wait until year-end sales, expect even better deals in December 2024.

Looking at the used car market, it’s tougher to foresee price trends considering the dynamics at play. CarEdge Co-Founder and 43-year auto industry veteran Ray Shefska has this timely advice for used car shoppers late in 2024: If you find the car you want at the right price with a loan rate you are happy with, now is a ‘fine’ time to buy. Waiting only prolongs the car market uncertainty at this point.

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