Black Friday Is a Terrible Time to Buy a Used Car. These Seven Holidays Are Better

A new study shows that Black Friday isn't anywhere near the best day to do used car shopping.

Black Friday Used Cars

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Anthony Alaniz

By: Anthony Alaniz

Nov 25, 2025 at 8:30am ET

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Black Friday is when many of us peruse the classifieds to see if that one special item is finally on sale. But if you’re looking for a used car, it’s actually one of the worst times to buy, according to a new study.

A new iSeeCars report, which analyzed over 40 million used-car sales from 2024 and 2025, discovered that your chances of getting a good deal on a used car fluctuate throughout the year. Black Friday and Thanksgiving rank ninth out of ten as the best time to buy. According to the study, your chance of finding a deal is just 9.5 percent.

While that ranks above Halloween in tenth at 6.8 percent, it’s far below the other times of the year, which are in the colder months. iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said:

'In general, used car prices follow the average temperature, with both falling between November and March and bottoming out between December 31 and February 28.'

When Should You Buy a Used Car?

While Black Friday ranks as one of the worst days to buy a used car, several other holidays and months rank higher. Martin Luther King Jr. Day actually ranks first in the study, with a 65.5 percent chance of buyers finding a good deal, defined as a savings of at least $2,689 off the average used-car price of $26,889.

New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day comes second at 58.6 percent, just ahead of the entire month of January, at 55.6 percent. Even Christmas Eve offers shoppers a better chance at deals than Black Friday, ranking seventh on the list.

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The Best Time to Buy a Used Car:

MLK Day — 65.6%
New Year’s Eve / New Year’s Day — 58.6%
January — 55.6%
President’s Day — 47.0%
February — 36.2%
Veterans Day — 23.1%
Christmas Eve — 15.2%
December — 15.2 %
Thanksgiving / Black Friday — 9.5%
Halloween — 6.8%

The worst days to find deals are in spring and summer, with the Fourth of July and the month of June offering far fewer deals than any other time of year. Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and Mother’s Day are also terrible times to purchase a used car.

So if you're in the market for something used, maybe save your money for 2026.

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