When Is the Cheapest Time to Buy a Car?

Page published October 26, 2026. Revised November 6, 2026

The short answer first

Timing helps, but it doesn't decide the price. The end of a month, quarter, or year, and the stretch when next year's models arrive, are when a deal is most likely, because dealers are working to hit targets and clear older stock. No month guarantees a lower price on a specific car, and a strong quote in a bad month beats a weak quote in a good month. The studies below come with their definitions attached. A deal count and a discount are two different numbers, and most articles blur them.

Go ahead, play with it. Change any number and watch the total move.

Where the numbers come from: Quote A: Kelley Blue Book, December 2025, average price buyers paid $50,326 · Quote B: J.D. Power, December 2025, buyers paid 89.0% of sticker price on average.

Calculation transparency

Jurisdiction. United States. Sales tax, titling, registration, and incentive rules are set by your state and the manufacturer, so the figures depend on where you buy and which car you buy.

Rules and time period. The comparison is the day-one out-the-door total for the same car. The timing figures are from the studies named below: iSeeCars November 2025 for used cars, covering sales from 2024 through October 2025, and Kelley Blue Book and J.D. Power December 2025 data for new cars.

Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. A "deal" in the used-car study means a listing at least 10% below estimated fair market value. The percentages count how often such deals show up, not how much cheaper a car is. No month guarantees a lower price on a specific car. A buyer's order is the document that binds.

Source links checked November 6, 2026. Figures: iSeeCars best-times-to-buy study (November 2025); Kelley Blue Book December 2025 average transaction prices; J.D. Power and GlobalData December 2025 forecast.

Primary sources: iSeeCars, best and worst times to buy a used car (November 2025); Kelley Blue Book, December 2025 average transaction prices; J.D. Power and GlobalData, December 2025 forecast; Our methodology; Our sources.

How to use

1. Enter Quote A, the out-the-door total from the first dealer. For scale, the average price buyers paid for a new car in December 2025 was $50,326 (Kelley Blue Book).
2. Enter Quote B, the out-the-door total for the same car from the second dealer. In December 2025 buyers paid 89.0% of sticker price on average (J.D. Power), so a quote well above that share is worth a second look.
3. Read the difference and the share. The lower quote wins. The calculator shows the gap in dollars and as a share of the higher quote.
4. Check the timing against the studies. For used cars, January had 55.6% more deals than average (iSeeCars, November 2025), and Martin Luther King Jr. Day had 65.5% more. For new cars, December 2025 had the highest incentive rate of the year at 7.5% of the price paid (Kelley Blue Book).
5. Get the winning quote in writing as a buyer's order, with every line listed, before you sign. Timing picks when to ask. The quotes are the answer.

Formula

The difference equals the higher quote minus the lower quote. The difference as a share equals the difference divided by the higher quote, times 100. If the two quotes match, the difference is zero and neither quote is lower.

With the starting inputs: $32,500 minus $31,200 is $1,300. $1,300 divided by $32,500 is 4.0%, so Quote B is 4.0% below the higher quote.

The timing figures work the same way. A "deal" in the used-car study is a listing at least 10% below estimated fair market value. The average chance of finding one on any day is 13.7%. January ran 55.6% above that average, which works out to about 21 in 100 listings (13.7% times 1.556). Martin Luther King Jr. Day ran 65.5% above average, about 23 in 100. June ran 22.8% below average, about 11 in 100. Those are counts of deals, not discounts.

A lower price is worth more than its face value when you finance it, because the smaller loan also costs less interest. For what a discount is worth over five years, see the year-end car deals page.

No month-by-month percent-off-sticker table exists. No current publisher study gives one, and older percent figures still floating around online are stale, so this page does not publish one.

A worked example, from the calculator above

Example: Quote A at $32,500 and Quote B at $31,200 for the same car. The calculator shows Quote B lower by $1,300, or 4.0% below the higher quote. The calculator above starts on these exact numbers. Change either quote and the example becomes your shopping.

Definitions

Incentive. Money from the manufacturer that lowers what you pay, usually as cash back or a low-rate loan. Kelley Blue Book put December 2025 incentives at 7.5% of the average price paid, the highest point of that year.

Rebate. Cash back from the manufacturer after the sale, one form of incentive. It lowers the price you pay, not the sticker price.

Model-year changeover. The stretch when next year's models arrive and the outgoing model year is still on the lot. Leftover outgoing models are where the year-end wiggle room sits, because the dealer wants the older stock moved.

Sales target. The monthly or quarterly number a dealership works to hit. The end of a period is when a dealer has the most reason to close a sale.

Out-the-door price. The full amount owed on day one: vehicle price plus doc fee plus destination charge plus tax, title, and registration plus add-ons.

What actually moves price, and what is myth

• End of month, quarter, and year. A real mechanism. Sales targets give a dealer a reason to close a sale before the period ends. The effect is on the odds of a deal, not a fixed discount.
• Model-year changeover. A real mechanism. When next year's models arrive, the outgoing models left on the lot are the stock a dealer most wants moved. A late-November 2025 listings study found 21.3% of 2025 model-year new cars still listed, which shows where the wiggle room sits: specific leftover models.
• Holiday sale events. A real sales push. The used-car figures below show more deals around some holidays. An event price still needs a second quote to mean anything.
• Myth: a calendar month guarantees a discount. No current publisher study gives a month-by-month percent-off-sticker table, and older percent figures still floating around online are stale. Any page showing one is either guessing or quoting an old study.
• Myth: a high-incentive month means cheaper cars. December 2025 had the highest incentive rate of that year and, at the same time, the highest average price buyers actually paid, because buyers bought pricier trucks and luxury models. The incentive rate and the price of a given car moved in opposite directions.

What the current studies actually show

Used cars, iSeeCars, November 2025. The study looked at over 40 million used car sales from 2024 through October 2025. A good deal means a listing at least 10% below the estimated fair market value. On any given day, the average chance of finding one is 13.7%. Against that average, January ran 55.6% above it, February 36.2% above, and December 15.2% above. June ran 22.8% below, May 22.2% below, and July 22.1% below. Holiday peaks included Martin Luther King Jr. Day at 65.5% above average, and New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at 58.6% above. Read that carefully: those percentages mean more or fewer deals than average, not percent discounts. A month with 55.6% more deals doesn't mean cars cost 55.6% less.

New cars, Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive, December 2025 data published January 13, 2026. Incentives rose to 7.5% of the average price buyers paid, the highest point of 2025. That's up from 6.7% in November, but below the 7.9% of December 2024. At the same time, the average price buyers paid hit a record $50,326, and the average sticker price hit a record $52,627. New-vehicle prices typically peak in December. Cox itself points out the average reflects what was sold, not what was on the lot, and nearly 20% of December buyers bought luxury models, a peak for the year.

New cars, J.D. Power and GlobalData, December 2025 forecast. Average manufacturer incentive spending was on track for $3,433 per vehicle, 6.5% of sticker price, while the price buyers paid held flat from a year earlier at 89.0% of sticker price. J.D. Power itself warned that 2025 seasonal patterns were thrown off by tariffs, the end of the EV tax credit, and the switch to new model years. A thrown-off year is a weak guide to a normal one, so take the 2025 timing patterns with that warning attached.

For the bill behind any quote, whatever month it arrives in, see which dealer fees are real. For December specifically, see year-end car deals: what a December discount is really worth over five years. For the new-versus-used side of the same decision, see the new vs. used comparison.

Common questions

Is there one cheapest month to buy a car? No single month guarantees the lowest price. Timing changes the odds of finding a deal, not the price of a specific car. The studies on this page measure how often deals show up and how big incentives run, which isn't the same as a discount on the car in front of you.

Does buying at the end of the month help? It can. Dealerships work to monthly and quarterly sales targets, so the end of a period is when a dealer has the most reason to close a sale. That's a reason to shop then, not a promise of a lower price on a particular car.

Are holiday sale events real discounts? Holiday events are real sales pushes. The used-car study on this page shows more deals around some holidays than on an average day. A sale event still needs the same check as any other price: the full out-the-door total for the same car, next to another quote.

Why do studies disagree about January for used cars? They measure different things. One study counts how often a deal shows up, and January ranks high on that count. Other guidance looks at price levels, where January can run high. A month can have plenty of deals and still have high average prices, so the two findings aren't the contradiction they look like.

What matters more than timing? The quote comparison matters more. Two out-the-door quotes for the same year, model, trim, and mileage tell you more than any calendar rule. Timing helps you pick when to ask for those quotes. The quotes themselves are the answer.

Related: A discount at the right time is worth more. See what $1,000 off is really worth.

Related: Timing helps only if the car fits the budget. See how much car you can afford.