Car companies are offering Black Friday bargains galore this year, but you might not lose out if you sleep in on Friday.
Last year, discounts on autos were actually higher on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and highest for the whole year on Dec. 31, according to auto shopping and advice web site TrueCar.com.
The average discount, measured as percent off suggested retail price, hit a high of 8.8 percent on Dec. 31 last year, TrueCar said earlier this week. That represented $3,156 off the average sticker price of $35,793. Dec. 2 was next-highest, at 8.6 percent.
On Black Friday last year, the average discount was roughly 8.2 percent, TrueCar said. That was also equaled on Dec. 20. Still, the figures showed the five highest days of the year for auto discounts were all Thanksgiving weekend or later.
End-of-year sales on luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus have made December the peak sales month for luxury cars the last several years. As usual, Lexus launched its December to Remember big-red-bow promotion well before Dec. 1.
Santa Claus is pushing Mercedes-Benzes out the workshop door again this year – regardless whether you’ve been “naughty” or “nice” -- in the Mercedes-Benz Winter Event. BMW has BMW Black Friday Weekend offers, in addition to its BMW Happier Holidays Event.
Chevrolet Black Friday Sale; chevy.com
The luxury-car boom every December also tends to repeat itself because so many people lease their luxury cars. In turn, most leases expire after 36 months. That tosses thousands of people back into the market every third December.
This year, many mass-market brands also joined the year-end party, said Jesse Toprak, chief analyst at Cars.com. “The year-end sales appear to be for everyone, not just luxury,” he said in a phone interview.
Honda got a jump on the market earlier this month, launching its Happy Honda Days promotion in some markets effective Nov. 4, weeks before the Thanksgiving rush set in. Nissan is promoting its “holidayevent.” toyota.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:http://www.toyota.com" aria-label="Toyota">Toyota has a “Winter Wonder Event Plus Black Friday Savings.” Domestic brands like Chevrolet are also on the Black Friday bandwagon.
All in all, chances are you can sleep in on Friday and still get one of the best bargains of the year. Just don’t hibernate past Jan. 1.
