Compare the same car and specification on four things: the full amount you pay, the delivery date the seller commits to, the warranty and seller's liability, and the cost of getting it on the road. November and December can produce good offers when dealers clear older stock and previous model-year cars. They also bring large advertised discounts, low monthly payments and deadlines that hide the final bill.
Is November or December the best time to buy a car?
No date guarantees the lowest price. Clearing older stock can bring real discounts, but the choice of engines, trims and colours narrows as cars sell. Edmunds describes year-end clearance in the US new-car market; treat that as context, not as a promise for a dealer in your country.
Pick the scenario that fits you:
What is different at the end of 2026
US-built cars from US auctions. Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 of 25 June 2026, Art. 1(1) and Annex I (CN chapter 87), sets 0% EU duty on cars of US origin. Under Art. 8 it applies from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2029, and the Commission can suspend it under the safeguard in Art. 4, so check the rate on the day of clearance. The car must be built in the US, not just sold there: a VIN starting with 1, 4 or 5 is only a clue; decode the full VIN, photograph the certification label in the door frame and ask for the manufacturer's origin documents. An ordinary passenger car built in Mexico, Japan or Germany still pays 10% unless another relief applies.
The difference on the same customs value of 20,000 euros (price, auction charges, transport and insurance to the EU border):
These are subtotals, not the cost of the car on the road. VAT is then charged in the country of clearance on customs value + duty + incidental costs; where a national excise applies, as in Poland, the excise is added to the VAT base as well. Our guides for Poland and Germany show the full calculation.
New Chinese-made EVs. Since October 2024 a new battery-electric car made in China normally pays an EU countervailing duty on top of the 10% customs duty, from 7.8% to 35.3% depending on the producer and its documents. Imports under a price undertaking accepted by the Commission, through that producer's approved channel, can be exempt. What counts is where the car was made, not the brand's nationality. Check the current TARIC measure for the exact producer before you pay a deposit.
Tax deadlines that are not there. Check whether a tax rule really ends on 31 December where you live before a seller uses it as a reason to hurry. In Germany, for example, the vehicle-tax exemption for battery-electric cars covers cars first registered by 31 December 2030, for up to ten years and at the latest until 31 December 2035, so this exemption has no cutoff on 31 December 2026.
Are Black Friday car deals worth waiting for?
Get a dated written offer before the promotion and another during it, for the same specification, equipment and payment method. A reduction from list price does not show that the car was not cheaper last week, and an advertised maximum saving may apply only to some buyers. Before paying a deposit, get in writing what the deadline applies to (ordering, signing the finance, registration or delivery), how long the quote is valid, what happens if delivery slips and when the deposit is refunded.
0% finance or a cash discount: which is better?
Ask for both offers in writing, with these figures for the finance: the nominal interest rate, the APR (the annual percentage rate including mandatory costs), the amount financed, the total repaid on the credit and the total of all payments including the deposit. A 0% nominal rate with a fee or compulsory insurance is not a 0% APR, and the financed price may be higher than the cash price.
Illustrative arithmetic, not an offer: the cash price is 28,000 euros. The 0% offer is on a price of 30,400 euros: 4,000 euros upfront and 48 monthly payments of 550 euros (26,400 euros financed), with no fees or final payment. That is 2,400 euros more in total payments than paying cash. Decide whether keeping part of your cash for longer is worth that premium.
Compare the same car over the same period. With a lease that ends with returning the car, the car never becomes yours, so compare it separately. The EU consumer-credit rules give you standard pre-contract information and usually 14 days to withdraw from the credit agreement, Under the rules in force until 19 November 2026 these protections do not cover credit that is interest-free with no other charges; the new EU rules applying from 20 November 2026 extend them to many such offers, depending on national law and the contract date. Ask the lender which rules cover your contract. Withdrawing from the credit does not necessarily cancel the car purchase, but if the finance is linked to the purchase, for example arranged by the dealer, withdrawal can release you from the purchase contract too.
Is an outgoing model year a good buy?
It can be, if the specification still meets your needs and the price reflects what changes. Ask what is different in the new version: safety equipment, charging speed, warranty or only styling. Build date, model year and first registration are three different things; ask whether the car was pre-registered by the dealer, used as a demonstrator or stored for a long time, and when the warranty starts. No fixed depreciation percentage tells you which offer wins.
New with a discount, used, or imported?
Compare cars that do the same job: a discounted large SUV is not better value than a smaller car that costs less to run and fits your trips. For a used car, add service needs, tyres and inspection findings. An auction purchase has no guaranteed year-end saving; compare its cost delivered, repaired, approved and registered with a car you can buy locally. Before you bid, check:
Check the available records with the VIN check, then estimate the taxes in the import cost calculator.
How to check a used EV before calling it a bargain
"Battery report" can mean a reading from the car's battery management system, a diagnostic scan or a measured usable-capacity test, and they are not interchangeable. Ask what was measured, by whom, when and against which baseline for that model. A dashboard range estimate is not a battery assessment, and no single state-of-health threshold suits every model.
Then check what the report does not cover: the underside of the battery pack for impact damage, stored fault codes, AC charging and a DC fast charge, open recalls, and the battery warranty for that VIN, including whether it transfers and is valid in your country.