Is This a Good Time to Buy a Vehicle?
Posted on May 7, 2021
The pandemic has changed how we do, well, just about everything. Normal life things that we took for granted a year ago have been adjusted to maintain the safety of ourselves and everyone around us. The car buying experience is no different. Lockdowns have people itching to hit the open road but they also limit what we can safely do. Chip shortages have affected vehicle manufacturing and more first-time buyers than ever are wading into the market to skip public transit.
All of this begs the question: is now a good time to buy a vehicle?
It may seem like a safe bet that a car dealership’s answer to that question would be a resounding ‘yes’ but at CarHub, we work to learn your driving priorities before we help you to make buying decisions and avoiding mistakes when buying a car. What do you use your car for? What do you aspire to use your car for? Many factors influence whether or not someone should take the plunge into new car ownership today but we’re going to help you make sense of what the vehicle market looks like at present.
How It’s Looking
According to Comscore, the pandemic has been (not surprisingly) a huge disrupter of car purchases. Over half of the respondents to Comscore’s study have stated that the pandemic has changed their car purchasing plans in some way. The biggest change? A massive priority shift. More buyers than ever are focused on finding a great deal over any other factors.
This comes as no huge surprise, the pandemic has caused massive instability and a ripple effect of financial malaise. Not everyone has been affected monetarily but the idea that unforeseen circumstances can come down the pipeline and change a person's financial standing and perspective is fresh in everyone's minds. Four out of ten respondents said that the pandemic is their top economic concern and that it is affecting their vehicle purchase decisions.
The study goes on to say that potential purchasers are more apt to research their potential purchases heavily. More time at home and a heavy shift in time spent on the internet have led to a glut of research time. The result is that more buyers are interested in purchasing new -- if possible. The pandemic has spurred more demand than supply for new vehicles in some regions, which has been exacerbated by the chip shortage which is affecting the entire automotive industry. This means that many people who would have otherwise purchased new may need to shift their view to pre-owned options.
When is the Best Time to Buy a Car?
According to a study done by Edmunds, the best time to buy a car is generally at the end of the calendar year. This is unsurprising from a price perspective because many dealerships attempt to unload their previous year’s stock. At CarHub, our one-price guarantee and transparency promise means that we offer our lowest prices possible on our vehicles at all times. For instance, we’ve listened to our community and we know that the desire for a new vehicle increases in springtime. That’s why we offer our one-price guarantee year-round: you shouldn’t have to time your buying decisions based on the dealership’s needs. The dealership should be working to meet your priorities. Winter, spring, summer, or fall, the best time to buy a car at CarHub is whenever it is right for you!
Buying Online
The pandemic has changed more than just what people want to buy in a car though, it’s also changed how they want to buy them. As the pandemic has affected how we interact with safety considerations being top of mind, many buyers who would have otherwise made an in-store purchase have transitioned to remote purchasing. Car dealers have been forced to reimagine how the purchasing journey should look for a buyer, and many have had to update their digital infrastructure to keep up with new buyer demands.
CarHub has been in an advantageous position of having a remote buying option in place pre-pandemic. We saw the writing on the wall before the pandemic struck -- we knew that customers wanted the option to take control of their car buying experience. That’s why we put our Buy Now button into development, tested it, and rolled it out in the form that it’s in today. Our Buy Now button is tailor-made to create a seamless remote buying option for our customers.
Our Buy Now Button
Our Buy Now button is extremely easy to access. Just click on the vehicle that you’re interested in and on the vehicle detail page, you’ll see the Buy Now button in orange on the left-hand side of the page. Click it and the Buy Now tab will pop out for you.
We know that some customers may be wary of the remote car buying experience and with good reason. Not all companies have been as nimble with their remote car buying infrastructure and the internet is awash with accounts of poor experiences from people who attempted to make a remote purchase and failed for any variety of reasons. Some say that the car that arrived is not what they expected, or that transparency in the process was lacking. Some lamented that communication with the dealer throughout the process was broken or stilted, especially if there were complaints or returns to be had.
The Buy Now Difference
At CarHub, we’ve made an effort to recognize these potential concerns and address them within our remote buying process. Our Buy Now button has the complete purchasing process built directly into it, including provisions to apply for financing, lease, and cash real-time price generators, accessory add-ons options, and the ability to offer a trade-in.
Here’s the best part about CarHub’s Buy Now button: unlike so many remote buying options offered by our competitors that leave you out in the cold during your car buying journey. That means that even though physical distancing and safety precautions are in place in our store, our Product Advisors are on hand to ensure that your buying experience happens without a hitch. As an essential service, we remain open and we’re happy to answer questions at any stage in the remote purchase process. If it is the way that you’d like to tailor your experience, we can offer something of a hybrid model, wherein you take control of your buying process with our Buy Now button but reach out for professional support at any stage in the journey.
Is This the Right Time For You?
The truth is, there’s no ‘right’ time to buy a vehicle. The right time is specific to you, your needs, and your circumstances. The pandemic has undoubtedly affected buying considerations for all of us but that doesn’t mean that you should rush into a purchase nor does it mean that you should necessarily hold off. We recommend that if you have decided that now is the right time for you to purchase, make sure that you find a dealer to work with which has transparency, honesty, and a hassle-free experience built into its practices. We would also recommend that you choose a dealership that has built a simple, practical, and fun way to buy a vehicle online. Ideally, you would also want a dealership that has a trained service staff that is dedicated to professionalism and intent on providing a fantastic buying experience to their customers.
We can’t speak for other dealerships but we can say without a shadow of a doubt that CarHub provides all of the above for our community. When the time to purchase a new vehicle is right for you, we’re here to help. You can access our remote purchase option today with our Buy Now button on any vehicle detail page and/or book an appointment to speak with a friendly and knowledgeable Product Advisor at CarHub.ca!