Cars and Drivers

Best Time to Buy a Used Car? Black Friday

Paul Ausick

Published: November 18, 2016 8:35 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 5:39 pm

With retailers of all kinds competing for consumer dollars on Black Friday, it’s no particular surprise that U.S. auto dealers want to join the party. Record-level sales of new cars have left dealer lots stuffed with used cars, and the Black Friday weekend is the best time of year for you to get a good deal on a used car.

According to research from iSeeCars.com, Black Friday offers more deals on used cars than any other time of year — there are 33.1% more deals available on Black Friday than on an average day. In fact, Columbus Day through the end of the year offers nine of the 10 best times of the year to buy a car.

Here is the list based on the research from iSeeCars, along with the percentage of better than average deals for a used car:

1. Black Friday: 33.1%
2. Veterans Day: 32.5%
3. Thanksgiving: 30.6%
4. Columbus Day: 30.5%
5. Martin Luther King Jr. Day: 29.4%
6. Christmas Eve: 28.7%
7. Month of November: 26.9%
8. Month of December 23.5%
9. Christmas Day: 21.4%
10. New Year’s Eve: 21.3%

The timing of the deals tracks closely to the arrival of new model year vehicles that begin arriving at dealer showrooms in late August. New car buyers trade in their cars in larger numbers, boosting dealer inventory of new cars.

Phong Ly, CEO at iSeeCars, said:

The average used car costs $19,040, so even just a five percent discount on that means $952 for consumers to spend on something else. … [W]ith over three million cars expected to come off-lease this year, used car inventories will grow and make dealers even more anxious to move cars off their lots.

And what are the 10 best vehicles to buy on Black Friday? Here’s the list, along with the percentage of deals that are better than on an average day:

1. Hyundai Elantra: 230.6%
2. Hyundai Sonata: 158.9%
3. Ford F-150: 156.3%
4. Volkswagen Jetta: 115.6%
5. Chevy Silverado 1500: 115.4%
6. GMC Sierra 1500: 84.7%
7. Chevy Camaro: 74.8%
8. Honda CR-V: 69.8%
9. Chrysler Town & Country: 63.5%
10. Honda Accord: 62%

As Ly noted, saving just 5% on the purchase of a used car will put $952 in your pocket to use for other things, like holiday gifts. There’s no better time of year than now to shop for that new-to-you vehicle. Just sayin’.