Buying guide · prices through 2025
Used cars are usually cheapest in December, January and February, and most expensive in June, July and August. On average, prices in August run 4.4% above January: about $880 on a $20,000 car.
How far above or below its yearly average the typical used-car price is in each month, 2006–2025.
Average of each month's gap between the BLS used cars and trucks price index and the same index with seasonal swings removed. 2020 and 2021 are left out: the chip shortage pushed prices up all year and swamped the usual pattern.
Each row is one year. Blue months were cheaper than that year's average, red months dearer. Summer is red almost every year, and winter blue.
| Year | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | −2.0% | −2.8% | −2.0% | −1.1% | +0.3% | +2.1% | +2.4% | +2.0% | +1.2% | +0.5% | 0.0% | −0.8% |
| 2024 | −2.1% | −2.8% | −2.0% | −1.0% | +0.2% | +2.0% | +2.4% | +2.0% | +1.3% | +0.6% | 0.0% | −0.8% |
| 2023 | −2.4% | −2.4% | −0.9% | +0.4% | +0.4% | +2.2% | +3.6% | +4.0% | 0.0% | −1.0% | −1.7% | −2.2% |
| 2022 | −2.4% | −2.2% | −0.7% | +0.4% | +0.3% | +2.1% | +3.5% | +3.9% | 0.0% | −1.0% | −1.6% | −2.1% |
| 2021* | −2.4% | −2.2% | −0.7% | +0.4% | +0.3% | +2.1% | +3.5% | +3.9% | −0.1% | −1.0% | −1.6% | −2.2% |
| 2020* | −2.4% | −2.2% | −0.7% | +0.4% | +0.3% | +2.1% | +3.5% | +3.9% | −0.1% | −1.0% | −1.6% | −2.2% |
| 2019 | −2.4% | −2.1% | −0.5% | +0.4% | +0.2% | +1.9% | +3.4% | +3.9% | 0.0% | −0.9% | −1.6% | −2.1% |
| 2018 | −1.5% | −0.6% | +1.2% | +1.1% | 0.0% | +0.8% | +2.2% | +2.2% | −1.3% | −1.3% | −1.2% | −1.5% |
| 2017 | −1.0% | −0.6% | +0.1% | +1.5% | +1.6% | +1.7% | +1.9% | +1.8% | +1.6% | −1.4% | −2.4% | −1.5% |
| 2016 | −1.4% | 0.0% | +1.8% | +1.4% | +0.5% | +1.0% | +1.5% | +1.4% | −1.6% | −1.6% | −1.6% | −1.4% |
| 2015 | −2.4% | −2.6% | −0.4% | +0.9% | +0.9% | +1.0% | +1.4% | +1.8% | +0.7% | −0.4% | −1.1% | −1.0% |
| 2014 | −2.7% | −2.1% | −0.5% | +0.9% | +1.6% | +2.1% | +2.4% | +2.5% | +0.9% | −0.7% | −2.3% | −2.7% |
| 2013 | −3.0% | −2.1% | −0.1% | +1.1% | +1.8% | +2.0% | +2.4% | +2.5% | +0.9% | −0.5% | −2.1% | −2.8% |
| 2012 | −2.6% | −1.9% | −0.4% | +0.7% | +1.3% | +2.0% | +2.5% | +2.6% | +1.0% | −0.5% | −2.1% | −2.7% |
| 2011 | −2.7% | −2.2% | −1.1% | +0.3% | +1.3% | +2.2% | +2.8% | +3.0% | +1.3% | −0.3% | −1.9% | −2.6% |
| 2010 | −2.6% | −2.1% | −1.1% | −0.3% | +1.1% | +1.7% | +2.7% | +3.1% | +1.4% | −0.2% | −1.7% | −2.2% |
| 2009 | −1.4% | −1.3% | −0.9% | −0.5% | +0.1% | +0.9% | +1.8% | +2.4% | +1.4% | +0.2% | −1.1% | −1.4% |
| 2008 | −1.2% | −1.1% | −0.9% | −0.6% | −0.1% | +0.7% | +1.6% | +2.2% | +1.3% | +0.2% | −0.9% | −1.1% |
| 2007 | −0.7% | −0.7% | −0.6% | −0.5% | −0.1% | +0.4% | +0.9% | +1.4% | +0.8% | +0.2% | −0.7% | −0.7% |
| 2006 | −0.7% | −0.6% | −0.6% | −0.4% | −0.1% | +0.4% | +1.0% | +1.4% | +0.8% | +0.2% | −0.7% | −0.7% |
* Pandemic years, shown but left out of the averages.
Going by the government's used-car price index, January and February are usually the cheapest months, about 1.9% below the yearly average, followed by December. iSeeCars, which looked at over 40 million used-car sales, also found the most below-market deals in January.
Summer. Prices usually peak in August, about 2.5% above the yearly average, and iSeeCars found the fewest deals in May, June and July.
Tax refunds. Cox Automotive, which runs the Manheim wholesale index, says used-car sales traditionally peak just after tax refunds go out, a 'spring bounce' that lifts prices in March and April.
Some are. iSeeCars found the most deals on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, New Year's Day and Presidents' Day, and the fewest around July 4, Juneteenth, Father's Day and Memorial Day.
No. The seasonal swing is about 4% of the price. Picking a more reliable car, or one that holds its value, usually saves far more over the years you own it, so compare the cars first and then time the purchase.