March 23 named as the best car buying day in 2009

Parker's has named 23 March as the best day to buy a car in 2009. 

Anyone buying in March stands to make substantial savings on what they would have spent this time last year, but Parker’s has singled out the 23 March. It’s the day that dealers are likely to be offering the best discounts to meet monthly sales targets, there’s the widest available selection used cars part-exchanged for new 09-plate models and it’s likely to be the last month that there will be such a spread of new car deals.  

Parker’s has calculated that this will be the best day to buy in what is likely to be the best month for car buying in many years. 

Although there are some great deals on offer now, Parker’s has learnt that the biggest discounts are likely to be on offer towards the end of the month and these deals are predicted to peak from 23 March. Huge discounts will become increasingly scarce as existing stocks of new cars sat at airfields and ports across the country are run down. Production cuts will bring supply more into line with demand by the end of the year. Prices will rise once this has happened, as manufacturers face increased import costs with the falling value of the pound. An increase in VAT of at least 2.5 per cent is also planned at the end of the year. 

March will be the last opportunity for buyers to pick up a bargain on a soft-top. Prices will start to rise when the clocks go forward on 28 March and the weather gets warmer. Parker’s is predicting that car prices across the board are likely to rise in the coming months, as there’s a shortage of good quality used cars and auction prices have been rising steadily in recent weeks.