Cold weather, hot seals: Why MLK Weekend is prime time to buy a car

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Are you in the market for a car?   

The Martin Luther King holiday weekend is one of the best times of the year to get a great auto deal. 

2025 was the best year for car sales since 2019. Why? Consumers wanted to buy before tariffs kicked in! But that rush inflated car prices. 

Now the time is right for car buyers as dealers need to clear old inventory to make room for new 2026 models. 

Karl Brauer of the automotive shopping website iSeeCars, says weather plays a key role in car price tags. 

“The best time of year to buy a car is basically when it’s cold. I like to say that the lower the ambient temperature, the lower the car prices are going to be, both for new and used. There’s just so many factors that come in play. The obvious one is the idea that you’re gonna walk around the dealer lot or go test drive a car when it’s all snowy and slushy and cold out, it’s not as much fun as when you do it in the summertime,” Brauer said. 

Brauer adds there are fewer buyers in showrooms on a cold weekend like this, so dealers are more anxious to move excess inventory with price deductions. iSeeCars says the three 2024 models with the most leftover inventory are the Dodge Hornet Hybrid, Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Alfa Romeo Tonale Hybrid. 

The 2025 models with most leftover inventory are the BMW I4, Lexus gx-550 and Subaru BRZ.