These are the 10 best and 10 worst cities to buy a used car
Shopping for a used car these days is challenging enough, factoring in shifting available inventories, rising interest rates on loans, and prices near record high levels. But drivers looking to buy in West Palm Beach, Fla., will really have to bite the bullet: They’ll find the average price of a pre-owned vehicle there to be nearly 10 percent higher than the national average.
That’s among the results of a recent study from the automotive data website ISeeCars, which analyzed used car pricing of about 6.5 million vehicles in 50 major markets across the U.S.
While the average price in West Palm is $37,632, or 9.9 percent above the national average of $34,227, you could travel to Cleveland and save some money, where the average price is $31,458, or 8.1 percent ($2,769) below the national average.
Here are the 10 best and worst cities for used car shoppers:
The report also looked at deals for what iSeeCars says are the 25 best-selling used cars, and the range of pricing depending on where the purchase is made. The Ram 1500 had the largest price difference — $7,795 —measuring a high of $47,159 in Denver to a low of $39,364 in the Cleveland-Akron metro area.
The pricing disparities are also significant for models like the Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Tacoma and Ford F-150 depending on geography. Florida and Ohio metro regions often feature on the “least expensive” side of the ledger.
“Imagine a Ram 1500 buyer in Denver who doesn’t know about the $7,800 savings available on the same truck in Akron, Ohio,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “Even with a $300 plane ticket, plus two days spent driving 1,400 miles, a Denver shopper gets ‘paid’ $3,750 a day traveling to Ohio to buy that vehicle compared to someone who buys it locally in Denver.”
Check out iSeeCars’ full report for the chart of the 25 best-selling models, and more details on the study’s findings.
