The Worst City to Buy a Used Car

Used car prices have soared over the past two years. Supply chain problems caused a shortage of inventory. Demand for the limited inventory drove up prices. People turned to used cars as an alternative to pricey new ones. That affected inventory negatively, and used car prices rose as well. Used car prices vary significantly from state to state and city to city. Anchorage is the metropolitan area where used car prices are highest against the national average. (Click here for the cities where riding the bus is free.)

An analysis of Cars.com data and car advertising from state to state and city to city was used for price comparisons. Clunker Junker then looked at nationwide numbers. On a state basis, Alaska, Hawaii and New Mexico have America’s priciest used cars, the study showed. The premium in Alaska was 10.69% above the national number. The comparable figure for Hawaii was 7.76% and for New Mexico it was 7.27%.

At the far end of the spectrum, in Florida and Michigan, prices were 4.45% below the national figure. They were 4.34% below in New Jersey and 4.25% lower in New York.

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There was no pattern among the cities with prices above the national level. Anchorage’s premium was 9.84%. Just behind it, the number was 8.85% in El Paso and 8.09% in Wichita.

Anchorage may have the highest costs due to freight expenses for the 48 continental states. That relationship, however, is not entirely clear.

For used car buyers who want to find below-average used cars, the best metro is Jersey City, where the discount to the national number is 9.08%.

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