Why sell an old car in January?
A car you don't drive still costs money every month it sits: insurance, registration and the space it takes up. Selling it early in the year stops those costs, and a car that won't start only gets harder to deal with once it's buried in snow or has sat through another season.
Scrap prices follow the steel market rather than the calendar, so there's no reason to wait for a better month. The scrap price guide shows the figure Cash For Junk Cars 500 uses today.
What if you bought a new car over the holidays?
If you bought during the year-end sales and kept the old car, it doesn't have to go back to a dealer. A junk or non-running car usually brings little as a trade-in, and selling it on its own lets you see a separate offer for it.
Keep the insurance on the old car until it has been picked up and the title is signed over. Then cancel the policy and file your state's notice of sale if it has one. Each state title guide lists the steps.
Do people look to sell an old car in January?
Fewer than in most months: on Google Trends, US interest in "sell my car" averaged 67.0 in January, against a yearly average of 72.7.
The new year still brings a lift. In all five New Year's weeks in the data, interest rose from the week before, most recently from 61 to 73 in the week that included January 1, 2026.
Selling works the same way in every season, and the how it works page walks through each step.
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