Data study · CarWhere verified deals
Best Month to Buy a Car: What 2,728 Verified Deals Show
January was the best month to buy a new car in CarWhere's verified-deal data: buyers paid a median 6.8% below MSRP (278 deals), vs. 4.0% in October. The bigger lever was model year: outgoing-model-year cars sold for 7.6% off, against 5.5% for current models.
By CarWhere Research · Updated November 6, 2026 · Deals December 2025–November 6, 2026 · Download CSV · Press: [email protected]
What are the best months to buy a car?
The best months to buy a new car are January (6.8% off MSRP), followed by February and April (6.4% each), based on 2,728 verified new-car deals from December 2025–November 6, 2026. May was the weakest month (5.1%).
Year-end (December) came in at 5.5%, −0.4 pts vs. the rest of the year (5.9%).
June (51), August (81), October (74) and November (56) have fewer than 100 deals, so they are shown but not ranked; September (4 deals) falls below the 30-deal bar and is not ranked.
New cars, purchases only · Updated November 6, 2026
Best months to buy a new car, ranked
| Rank | Month | Median % off MSRP | Deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | 6.8% | 278 |
| T-2 | April | 6.4% | 563 |
| T-2 | February | 6.4% | 535 |
| 4 | December | 5.5% | 144 |
| 5 | July | 5.4% | 160 |
| 6 | March | 5.3% | 655 |
| 7 | May | 5.1% | 127 |
| — | June | 6.8% (small sample, not ranked) | 51 |
| — | August | 5.1% (small sample, not ranked) | 81 |
| — | October | 4.0% (small sample, not ranked) | 74 |
| — | November | 5.9% (small sample, not ranked) | 56 |
| — | September | Not ranked (under 30 deals) | 4 |
Key findings
- January had the deepest median discount: 6.8% below MSRP across 278 verified deals (about $2,500 off). October had the smallest: 4.0% (74 deals).
- Controlling for which models sold, the month-to-month spread shrinks to 1.3 points: January +0.8 pts vs. March −0.5 pts against each model's own typical discount.
- Model year mattered more than the calendar: 624 deals on outgoing-model-year cars closed at a median 7.6% off, vs. 5.5% on current-year cars (2,104 deals).
- December did not beat the rest of the year: 5.5% off MSRP (144 deals) vs. 5.9% for January–November.
- This is one year of data (December 2025–November 6, 2026), so each calendar month is a single observation; treat gaps under about one point as noise.
Deepest month
6.8%
January · 278 deals
Smallest month
4.0%
October · 74 deals
Outgoing model year
7.6%
vs. 5.5% current year
December vs. rest
−0.4 pts
5.5% vs. 5.9%
New-car discount by month
Median % off MSRP by the month buyers submitted their deal sheet, purchases only. A month is published at 30+ deals. The 90% range shows how much the median could move with a different sample of the same size. “Vs. same models” compares each deal with its own model's typical discount, so a month isn't flattered just because deep-discount models dominated it.
| Month | Data from | Deals | Median % off MSRP | 90% range | Median $ off | Vs. same models | Outgoing MY share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | January 2026 | 278 | 6.8% | 6.3–7.1% | $2,500 | +0.8 pts | 46.4% |
| February | February 2026 | 535 | 6.4% | 6.0–6.8% | $3,010 | ±0.0 pts | 20.7% |
| March | March 2026 | 655 | 5.3% | 5.0–5.6% | $2,640 | −0.5 pts | 18.3% |
| April | April 2026 | 563 | 6.4% | 6.0–6.6% | $3,200 | ±0.0 pts | 42.6% |
| May | May 2026 | 127 | 5.1% | 4.2–5.7% | $2,340 | −0.4 pts | 9.4% |
| June | June 2026 | 51 | 6.8% | 5.7–8.3% | $2,680 | +0.2 pts | 3.9% |
| July | July 2026 | 160 | 5.4% | 5.1–6.5% | $2,770 | ±0.0 pts | 5.0% |
| August | August 2026 | 81 | 5.1% | 4.2–6.0% | $2,490 | +0.6 pts | 0.0% |
| September | September 2026 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 0.0% |
| October | October 2026 | 74 | 4.0% | 3.8–5.0% | $2,000 | +0.5 pts | 0.0% |
| November | November 2026 (through November 6, 2026) | 56 | 5.9% | 4.7–7.4% | $3,080 | +0.2 pts | 0.0% |
| December | December 2025 | 144 | 5.5% | 5.0–6.2% | $3,000 | −0.4 pts | 1.4% |
No figure for September (4 deals): below the 30-deal bar.
By quarter and at year-end
| Period | Deals | Median % off MSRP | Vs. same models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Jan–Mar) | 1,468 | 6.0% | ±0.0 pts |
| Q2 (Apr–Jun) | 741 | 6.1% | ±0.0 pts |
| Q3 (Jul–Sep) | 245 | 5.4% | +0.3 pts |
| Q4 (Oct–Dec) | 274 | 5.1% | ±0.0 pts |
| December | 144 | 5.5% | −0.4 pts |
| January–November | 2,584 | 5.9% | ±0.0 pts |
The year-end bump many guides promise does not show up here: December deals came in at 5.5%, −0.4 pts vs. the rest of the year. One December is a small sample, so this is a finding to re-check, not a rule.
The bigger lever: outgoing model year
624 verified deals were on a car one model year older than the year it was bought (a 2025 bought in 2026, say). Those closed at a median 7.6% below MSRP, against 5.5% for current-year cars (2,104 deals). Against each model's own typical discount, the outgoing-year edge was +0.6 pts. That is why the months with the most outgoing-year stock in the table above (January 46.4%, April 42.6%) rank near the top. If you can live with last year's model, ask for it by name.
Best month by brand
Median % off MSRP for each brand-month with 30+ verified deals; a dash shows the deal count where volume is too thin. We name a brand's best month only when at least 4 of its months clear the bar.
| Brand | Deals | All months | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Best month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota | 571 | 4.7% | n11 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.1 | n11 | n7 | n29 | n22 | n2 | 3.8 | n12 | n25 | April |
| Honda | 351 | 6.0% | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 6.0 | n17 | n9 | n12 | n2 | · | n1 | n3 | n8 | January / February / April |
| BMW | 260 | 6.0% | n9 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | n7 | · | n24 | n1 | · | · | n6 | n21 | Not enough data |
| Volkswagen | 255 | 7.2% | 8.4 | n24 | 6.5 | 7.8 | n21 | n11 | n19 | 5.6 | · | n6 | n11 | n10 | January |
| Chevrolet | 222 | 6.0% | n15 | n25 | 5.3 | 6.7 | n5 | · | n6 | n2 | n1 | · | n1 | n18 | Not enough data |
| GMC | 161 | 7.0% | n10 | n21 | 6.6 | 7.7 | n10 | n5 | n4 | n1 | · | n1 | n3 | n6 | Not enough data |
| Ford | 153 | 7.2% | 7.4 | n14 | n16 | 6.7 | n7 | n6 | n9 | n1 | n1 | n1 | n3 | n21 | Not enough data |
| RAM | 139 | 9.8% | n1 | 9.9 | 10.5 | 7.0 | n5 | n5 | n9 | n4 | · | n6 | n1 | n6 | Not enough data |
| Mazda | 138 | 5.3% | n24 | 6.9 | n13 | n19 | n22 | n4 | n18 | n3 | · | n4 | · | n1 | Not enough data |
| Audi | 123 | 7.0% | n2 | 7.2 | 5.8 | n11 | · | n3 | n7 | · | · | · | · | n10 | Not enough data |
| Mercedes-Benz | 112 | 7.9% | · | 8.1 | 7.1 | n10 | n1 | · | n2 | · | · | · | · | n1 | Not enough data |
| Kia | 87 | 1.9% | · | n1 | 0.9 | n20 | n4 | · | n5 | n8 | · | n8 | n5 | · | Not enough data |
Best month by model
The highest-volume models in the data. No single model yet has 30+ verified deals in enough calendar months to name a best month honestly, so we show its overall discount and where its deals cluster instead of guessing.
| Model | Deals | Median % off MSRP | Busiest months (deals) | Best month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda Accord | 105 | 6.3% | Jan (43), Feb (26), Apr (18) | Not enough data |
| Toyota Land Cruiser | 93 | 2.8% | Mar (40), Apr (19), Feb (13) | Not enough data |
| Toyota Camry | 92 | 6.2% | Mar (37), Feb (19), Apr (16) | Not enough data |
| Kia Telluride | 64 | 1.2% | Mar (30), Apr (12), Aug (7) | Not enough data |
| BMW X1 | 62 | 6.5% | Feb (30), Mar (17), Apr (7) | Not enough data |
| Toyota Corolla | 58 | 5.0% | Mar (37), Apr (9), Feb (4) | Not enough data |
| Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 58 | 9.3% | Apr (38), Mar (11), Dec (5) | Not enough data |
For what buyers paid on one exact model, by state, use what people paid.
Deal volume by month
Every calendar month in this study is one observed month, so check the deal count before leaning on a difference.
| Month | Verified deals | Median % off MSRP |
|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 144 | 5.5% |
| January 2026 | 278 | 6.8% |
| February 2026 | 535 | 6.4% |
| March 2026 | 655 | 5.3% |
| April 2026 | 563 | 6.4% |
| May 2026 | 127 | 5.1% |
| June 2026 | 51 | 6.8% |
| July 2026 | 160 | 5.4% |
| August 2026 | 81 | 5.1% |
| September 2026 | 4 | — |
| October 2026 | 74 | 4.0% |
| November 2026 | 56 | 5.9% |
How this differs from our timing guide
This page is CarWhere's own deal data and nothing else: what verified buyers paid, month by month. For the full playbook (new vs. used timing, holidays, end-of-month tactics and what other research says), read the best time to buy a car. For this month's factory financing and lease offers, see 0% APR and lease deals this month; for the month-over-month discount trend, the New-Car Price Report.
Methodology and limitations
Source. Verified buyer-submitted deal sheets in CarWhere's database: moderated (approved) records only, deduplicated by VIN (or by dealer, price, MSRP and date when no VIN is present), with MSRP and selling price present. Purchases only: 9 leases were excluded because a lease shows a capitalized cost, not a sale price. New vehicles only (model year no older than the year before submission; 14 excluded). Discounts outside −20% to +40% of MSRP are treated as entry errors (0 excluded), and 16 deals whose model could not be matched exactly were left out. Only aggregates are published.
Measure. Discount = (MSRP − selling price) ÷ MSRP for each deal: the discount off MSRP before rebates, taxes, fees and trade-in, with no dealer add-ons counted. We report medians, which resist outliers. The 90% range is a bootstrap interval (2,000 resamples) for each month's median. “Vs. same models” is the median of each deal's discount minus its own model's median (5+ deals; otherwise its brand's, 10+).
Dates. The month is when the buyer submitted the deal sheet to CarWhere. Deal sheets carry no contract date, and submission can trail the purchase by days or weeks, so we do not publish a day-of-month or end-of-month figure.
Limitations. Approved deals in the database run from December 2025–November 6, 2026, so every calendar month is a single observation and a pooled multi-year view is not yet possible; this page will pool years as they accrue. Volume is uneven (March 2026: 655 deals; September 2026: 4), and a few brands dominate some months. Buyers who submit deals to CarWhere likely negotiate harder than average. Treat differences under about one point as noise.
How to cite or embed
Journalists, researchers and creators may republish these figures with a link to this page.
Suggested citation: CarWhere Research, “Best Month to Buy a Car: What 2,728 Verified Deals Show,” www.carwhere.com/research/studies/best-month-to-buy-a-car, updated November 6, 2026.
Quotable sentence
According to CarWhere's analysis of 2,728 verified new-car purchase deals (December 2025–November 6, 2026), January had the deepest median discount at 6.8% below MSRP, and outgoing-model-year cars sold for a median 7.6% off vs. 5.5% for current-year models.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://www.carwhere.com/research/studies/best-month-to-buy-a-car">CarWhere: Best Month to Buy a Car (verified-deal data)</a>
Data: CSV · Press: [email protected]
FAQ
What are the best months to buy a car?
The best months to buy a new car are January (6.8% off MSRP), followed by February and April (6.4% each), based on 2,728 verified new-car deals from December 2025–November 6, 2026. May was the weakest month (5.1%). Year-end (December) came in at 5.5%, −0.4 pts vs. the rest of the year (5.9%). June (51), August (81), October (74) and November (56) have fewer than 100 deals, so they are shown but not ranked; September (4 deals) falls below the 30-deal bar and is not ranked. That is for new cars. Used cars follow a different calendar (no factory incentives or model-year clearance), so the timing guide covers them separately.
What is the cheapest month to buy a car?
Measured by discount off MSRP, January was the cheapest month for a new car in CarWhere's verified deals: a median 6.8% below MSRP (278 deals). May was the most expensive at 5.1% off. The gap between months is a point or two; buying an outgoing model year (7.6% off vs. 5.5%) moved the price more than the calendar did.
What is the best month to buy a new car?
In CarWhere's verified deals, January: the median buyer paid 6.8% below MSRP (278 deals), the deepest of any month, and it stayed on top after adjusting for which models sold. October was the weakest at 4.0%. The spread between months is small, though; buying an outgoing model year (7.6% off vs. 5.5%) moved the price more than the month did.
Is December the best month to buy a car?
Not in our data. Verified buyers in December paid a median 5.5% below MSRP (144 deals) vs. 5.9% for January–November. Year-end incentives exist, but the deepest discounts in our deals came in January, when 46.4% of deals were on the outgoing model year.
Is it better to buy a car at the end of the month?
CarWhere's deal records carry the date a buyer submitted the deal sheet, not the contract date, so we can't measure a month-end effect honestly and don't publish one. What the data does show: discounts track the model-year changeover more than the calendar. The general timing guide covers month-end and holiday tactics.
Do outgoing model-year cars get bigger discounts?
Yes. 624 verified deals on a prior-model-year car (for example a 2025 bought in 2026) closed at a median 7.6% below MSRP vs. 5.5% for current-year cars. Part of that gap is which models were being cleared; against each model's own typical discount, outgoing-year deals still ran 0.6 points deeper.
What is the best month to buy a Toyota?
Among the 4 months with at least 30 verified Toyota deals, April had the deepest median discount (5.1%, 102 deals) and February the smallest (3.7%). Toyota discounts run thin: 4.7% median across 571 deals, vs. 5.9% for all brands.
What is the best month to buy a Toyota Camry?
Our data can't name one yet, and we won't guess. CarWhere has 92 verified new Camry deals (median 6.2% off MSRP), but only 1 calendar month (March, 37 deals) clears our 30-deal bar. The brand-level and outgoing-model-year patterns above are the better guide.
Where does this data come from?
From 2,728 verified buyer-submitted new-car purchase deal sheets in CarWhere's database (December 2025–November 6, 2026): moderated, deduplicated, leases excluded, entry errors dropped. Only aggregates are published, with the deal count on every row. The snapshot is refreshed as more months of data accrue.
First published November 6, 2026.