What is Black Friday?
Black Friday originated in the US; it was the day after Thanksgiving Day, which is always the fourth Thursday in November and heralded the start of the USA Christmas shopping season.
Starting in 1952 Black Friday has become a US phenomenon and since 2005 it’s been the busiest shopping day of the year in the US. With more and more American retailers operating in the UK, the Black Friday Sale was originally introduced by Amazon. In 2013 ASDA joined the band-wagon launching their Black Friday sale and since then Black Friday has really taken off in the UK.
You may think that Black Friday sales are purely a time for buying Christmas presents, TVs or white goods, but you’d be wrong; it’s also a great time to buy a car, new or used, with genuine Black Friday offers meaning you can bag yourself a bargain set of wheels!
Are all Black Friday offers a bargain?
No!
Though Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now worldwide phenomena, not everything is at it seems and some retailers rely upon customers getting caught up in the frenzy and the hype of the event.
There are discounts online and in-store, but some may not be what they seem. Don’t be distracted by something at an ultra-low price, which you wouldn’t normally be interested in; the chances are it may well be a ‘doorbuster’ (a Black Friday tactic, which involves offering a product at an extremely discounted price).
Hardly any of these items, will be available, but the offer will get lots of people through the doors, hence the name ‘doorbuster’. It’s the retailer’s hope that when you find the product is no longer available, you’ll end buying something else, which is probably closer to its usual price.
This practice happens a lot with TVs and other electrical appliances, so be warned! The good news is that there are plenty of genuine deals; it just takes research and a calm head to ensure that you bag one.
Remember, Black Friday isn’t restricted to just that day. Some retailers start a couple of days before and almost all include the weekend and the Monday after, referred to as Cyber Monday. Stick to what you’ve researched and the product that you want and you should come out on top.
Do car dealers offer Black Friday deals?
Yes!
The run-up to Christmas can be a quiet time for car dealerships. People’s minds turn to Christmas and changing their car isn’t necessarily uppermost in their mind; Black Friday is a way of encouraging people to buy a new or used car and a traditionally quieter time of the year.
Do make sure you do your research and stick to the cars you’ve selected as suitable. You don’t want to get carried away with the frenzy of Black Friday and find yourself buying a car that’s not right for your lifestyle.
However, if you’re flexible on colour and not precious about the exact trim level and accessories fitted to the car, then you’ll find cars on offer with large discounts and you really will be able to bag yourself a bargain.
