The 10 Best & 10 Worst Times To Buy A Used Car 

A new iSeeCars study identifies the best and worst times to buy a used car.  When it comes to month of the year, April through October are the worst times to buy according to researchers, while November through March offer far more good deals. Those months also include the two best-ranked holidays for finding used car deals: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and New Year’s Eve and New Year's Day.

Study Highlights:

• MLK Day is the best day of the year to find a good deal on a used car, offering 65.5% more deals than average.
• January is the best overall month to find a used car deal, with 55.6% more deals.
• July 4th ranks as the worst holiday to buy a used car, offering 22.4% fewer deals than average.
• June is the worst month for used car deals, with 22.8% fewer deals.

Researchers analyzed over 40 million used car sales from 2024 and 2025 for the study and iSeeCars defines a "good deal" is defined as savings of at least 10%, or $2,689, off the average used car price of $26,889.

10 Best times to buy a used car - iSeeCars

Cold-weather holidays and months dominate the list of the best times to buy, according to iSeeCars data. The average chance of finding a deal is 13.7% throughout the year, but on MLK Day the number of deals is 65.5% higher than average, followed by New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with 58.6% more deals. Winter months, including January and February, and winter holidays like Veterans Day and Christmas Eve, also rank high for good deals. 

1. MLK Day - 65.5% More Deals Than Average
2. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day - 58.6%
3. January -55.6%
4. Presidents' Day - 47%
5. February - 36.2%
6. Veterans Day -23.1%
7. Christmas Eve - 15.2%
8. December - 15.2%
9. Thanksgiving/Black Friday - 9.5%
10. Halloween - 6.8%

10 Worst times to buy a used car

Warmer temps have the opposite effect on used car deals. The availability of used car deals swings from having 65.5% above average on MLK Day to 22.8% below average during the month of June. You'll also want to steer clear of July 4th - another bad time for used car deals, with warm temps and family vacations creating a festive environment. Dealers know this and they offer 22.4% fewer used car deals than average as a result.

1. June  -22.8% Fewer Deals Than Average
2. July 4th -22.4%
3. May -22.2%
4. July -22.1%
5. Father's Day -19.7%
6. Juneteenth -19.7%
7. Memorial Day -18.0%
8. April - -18.0%
9. Mother's Day - 9.2%
10. August - 7.8%

To see all the data visit iSeeCars.