Tips on Buying Cars: When, How, and Which Car to buy?

Question
Hello,

1) I was thinking of buying a new car in December, because I read that is when you can get the best deal.  Is this true?

2) My plan was to try to get an auto loan from my credit union, so I can buy the car outright at the dealership and possibly get a better deal by doing so.  Your thoughts?

3) I've been researching the best 2015 affordable compact SUV to buy and these are what I came across: Honda CRV, Mazda CX5, Jeep Cherokee, Hyundai Santa Fe, Nissan Rogue, and Kia Sportage.  How would you rank these and why?  I'm not concerned about the bells and whistles.  I just want something durable/longevity.

Thank you,
CJ

Answer
Good morning CJ I just saw your message in my queue I am traveling this morning but should be able to respond before noon today Pacific time sorry for the delay talk to you soon.

OK I am back home for the evening and here we go...

1. Can you get the best deal in December?
Answer: The data suggests that factory incentives are at their highest in December ...True car data advises people to buy in August where the average transaction prices are the lowest and Edmunds says to buy during the model year changeover which is September-October ish So the short answer is ...you can capture the best factory bribes to get you to buy a new car in the late fall / early winter than any other months. Recognize here CJ that this is for buying the outgoing model year and not the incoming model year. BY this time of the year most of those (in our case) 2015 models will already have blue book values as used cars and won't be worth as much as they were a year before. That's why the incentives are higher. What you sdee happening during this time are factories putting "final pay" dealer cash on certain yr old new cars which is how they clean out all of their old inventories. Dealer cash is not a rebate to the customer its a rebate to the dealer who can elect to either share it with you, write his inventory back or just keep it...almost all will give it to the buyer to make the deal as good as possible wthout losing money. Check the incentives section at Edmunds.com to see what the current incentives are and also which cars have the dealer cash on them.

2. Getting money from the credit union (car loan) in advance of buying.

Answer: Great IDEA!! That way you have taken away one of the best ways for a dealer to make a big gross on you ... get pre-approved at your credit union and then let the dealer try to beat their rate ...chances are the dealer is already set up to run contracts thru your local credit union through the CUDL system and you can do it all at the dealership ... get pre approved going in though and if the dealer can sign you up for your credit union then let him do it he will get paid by them to do it usually 1% of the amount financed.

3. What to buy?:

Answer: Get the CRV

ASK ALL THE FOLLOW UPS YOU WANT...I WILL HOLD YOUR HAND THRU THIS CAR PURCHASE ALONG THE WAY IF YOU NEED ME TOO