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LendingTree: This Is the Best Time to Buy a Car

The team at LendingTree analyzed data from more than 2 million LendingTree users as well as Edmunds to find the best time of the year to purchase a vehicle.

March 25, 2021
LendingTree: This Is the Best Time to Buy a Car

The team at LendingTree analyzed data from more than 2 million LendingTree users as well as Edmunds to find the best time of the year to purchase a vehicle. 

IMAGE: LendingTree.com

1 min to read


LENDING TREE – The team at LendingTree analyzed data from more than 2 million LendingTree users as well as Edmunds to find the best time of the year to purchase a vehicle. From the best rates to the best prices, a quick look at what we found: 

  • December car buyers receive the best APRs compared with any other month. In December, the average auto loan APR is 7.01%. The worst time to buy a car is in January when the average auto loan APR is 8.57%.

  • December is also the best month to get MSRP discounts, with discounts averaging 6.5% in December. The least optimal time of year for MSRP incentives is July through October.

  • March is the most popular month for car buying. In 41 states, March saw the biggest uptick in people looking to buy a car. Despite the best APRs coming in December, that month is the quietest for car buying. In 34 states, December had the lowest car-buying traffic.

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