Black Friday just the beginning of prime season to find good used-car deals
Image courtesy of iSeeCars.
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The holiday buying season has officially begun with the traditional Black Friday sales.
But is the busiest shopping day of the year really the best time to buy a used car?
Well, no, according to the latest research from iSeeCars.
The automotive search engine and research website analyzed more than 40 million used-car sales transactions in 2024 and 2025 to determine the best and worst times to get a good deal — defined as a listed price 10% or more below iSeeCars’ estimated fair market value.
The study found Black Friday barely makes the top 10 of best times to buy, ranking ninth with 9.5% more deals available than the average day. But it does mark the beginning of the prime season for getting a great deal on a car, iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said.
“Consumers struggling to find a good deal on a used vehicle will have far more opportunities in the colder months,” he said. “In general, used-car prices follow the average temperature, with both falling between November and March and bottoming out between Dec. 31 and Feb. 28.”
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The research showed the top day to find a deal is actually Martin Luther King Day — the third Monday in January, which next year is Jan. 19. Buyers on that day will find 65% more bargains than the average day.
The iSeeCars report said the average chance of finding a good deal on any given day is 13.7%.
MLK Day is followed by New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day (58.6% more deals), January (55.6%), Presidents’ Day (47%), February (36.2%), Veterans Day (23.1%), Christmas Eve (15.2%), December (15.2%), Thanksgiving/Black Friday (9.5%) and Halloween (6.8%).
On the flip side, summer is the worst time to find a deal on a used vehicle. June ranks at the bottom of the list, with 22.8% fewer deals available than the average.
In fact, May (22.2% below average), June and July (22.1%) are the worst three months for deals, according to the study, and July 4 (22.4%) is the least favorable holiday, behind Father’s Day and Juneteenth (both 19.7%).
“If you’re seeing announcements about ‘special offers’ between Memorial Day and Labor Day, be skeptical and do your own research to compare an advertised car’s price versus its market value,” Brauer said. “Keep in mind, these figures only illustrate the likelihood of finding a good deal on a used car, with chances much higher in the winter and lower in the summer. If you need to replace a car in the summer months you can still find a good deal — you’ll just have to work harder and use a site like iSeeCars to confirm true market pricing before buying.”
The full study is available here.
