August may be the best month to get a deal on new cars

Contrary to popular belief, August is the best month to get the lowest price on a new car or truck, TrueCar.com says.

Most people – including me – would probably say December, when dealers rush to try to clear their lots before the end of the year.

But many manufacturers do “change-overs” at their factories in July, ceasing production of current-year vehicles and starting to build the next year’s models.

As a result, dealers may be trying to clear their lots of older vehicles this month to make room for the new ones that factories will soon be shipping.

TrueCar said its data showed that December is actually the most expensive month to buy a car with prices averaging $31,146.

August was the lowest, with transaction prices averaging $29,296 over the last five years, TrueCar.com said.

The average transaction price in August was at least $169 less than any other month, the service said.

“Consumer buying trends have been turned upside down during the past decade due to the emergence of big data,” said Scott Painter, founder and CEO of TrueCar.

The company’s data also shows that Saturdays are the best day of the week to buy a new vehicle, with prices averaging $30,408.

The worst day of the week was Friday, when prices averaged $31,351.