If you’re in the market for a new or used car and looking for a good deal, you may be in luck this Fourth of July weekend, as it is traditionally a busy time for dealerships all over the U.S.
“The new car inventories are really starting to flow in,” said Randy Barone, vice president of business development for ACV. “Dealers are spending on average about $700 per car in marketing.”
Auto dealerships are expected to be fully operational by the Fourth of July following a cyberattack that caused a software outage in mid-June. CDK Global, the software provider affected by the attack, informed Scripps News via email that as of Tuesday, “substantially all dealer connections are live on the Dealer Management System (DMS).” CDK is also working on bringing additional applications and integrations online.
The cyberattack disrupted sales and services, prompting car dealerships to offer attractive deals to regain business.
“A lot of the dealers missed out on a lot of sales,” Barone noted, “so the dealers are very motivated right now to offer incredible deals on both new and used cars.”
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To save money, Barone advises consumers to set a budget before heading to the dealership but not to focus solely on price.
“I see consumers go in and argue down to the last dollar on price,” he explained, “but then they didn’t think things through like the financing, the warranties, all those other things that are going to cost them, over the life cycle of that car, a tremendous amount of money.”
Barone suggests being open to cars available on the lot, even if they are not your preferred color or feature set. He also recommends expanding your search beyond your local area.
“It’s a very attractive time right now. You don’t have to wait until the next holiday,” he added.
Despite the incentives, don’t expect drastic price drops: the average price of a new car was $48,389 in May, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Market research firm Cox Automotive referred to the June outage as a “curveball.” In a statement to Scripps News, their researchers indicated that June retail sales were impacted by the outage, with new-vehicle sales volume down year over year by more than 3%.
