Buying a Car This Christmas? Here Are Some Shopping Tips

Are you thinking about purchasing a new car in NJ for a family member or friend? First off, congratulations, you're a fantastic person. Dealers in NJ typically will start advertising now for holiday promotions as they attempt to get as cars off the lot as possible. According to research compiled by marketing research firm Kantar Media, dealers spend nearly $2 billion each year on advertising in the months of November and December. They know that people are feeling more generous this time of year, and they are looking to get rid of older inventory as they prepare for the New Year.

In fact, the end of December and early January is typically a healthy time of year for dealers as people have both money and time. With time off for the holidays, people have more opportunity to make a visit to the lot in order to find and test drive cars that appeal to them. Although NJ auto sales do go up this time of year, this doesn't mean that dealers won't offer special deals or go the extra mile to ensure a sale. So how can you ensure that you're getting the best deal on an automobile this holiday season? Here are several tips to keep in mind:

Know How Much You Want to Spend on a Car: Obviously maintaining a personal budget can help your finances, so you should be doing this already. Take a look at all of your debts, savings, and monthly costs and subtract that from your monthly pay. This will give you a better idea of how much you can budget each month for your car. However, when it comes time to negotiate, focus on the total cost of the car rather than the monthly payment. You can stretch the term of your loan to meet your payment requirements, but means you're spending more on interest.

Get Your Credit in Order: Another thing to remember if you're financing is that your credit score can affect your interest rate as well. Although a FICO score of under 600 won't necessarily completely disqualify you from getting an auto loan, you may have to put more down or agree to pay a higher interest rate. Therefore, the best thing you can do for yourself is get your credit in order before you start shopping around for a car. Get a free credit report or use a service like Credit Karma to get an idea of where your credit's at. If there are any mistakes, make sure to get those fixed. If you can, focus on lowering your credit utilization as this is the easiest way to get your score up.

Shop Around: Although we are in NJ auto sales ourselves, we would not recommend just going to a single dealer. Take the time to look around for the best deal. Many times, the dealer will either match that promotion or even offer you a better deal.  At 1800 Autoland in Springfield, NJ, we always strive to offer you the best price on your new car. Check our website for our latest holiday deals. And if you're driving along RT. 22, make sure to stop by. We have a large inventory of fantastic cars from Toyota, Jeep, Dodge, and more.