Better Used-Car Buys Found in the Big City, New Study Finds

According to a new study, used-car deals get better — hundreds of dollars better — as ya shopper heads toward the big city.

In all but two states studied in CarGurus’ latest survey, dealers within a 50-mile radius of a major city center offer better deals on their used-car inventory than those located farther outside that metropolitan center.

How much better? Some of the best city savings were found in New Orleans, at $770, Las Vegas at $641 and Atlanta at $606.

In California, New York and Texas — the states in the study with the highest populations — CarGurus reports finding prices at city dealerships at more than $500 less than at suburban dealerships.

Overall, CarGurus analysts reported an average price difference of $345 between used-car listing in cities and suburban/rural used-car listings within the same state.

“If you are looking for the best deal on a used car, head for the city,” said Langley Steinert, founder and chief executive officer of CarGurus. “Our data shows that dealers located in populated metro areas tend to price their inventory more competitively than dealers located farther outside the city. For suburban car shoppers looking for savings, it’s worth expanding your search to include city dealerships.”

Only two states studied bucked the city savings trend, CarGurus noted: In Indiana and Arkansas, suburban/rural dealerships offered consumers, on average, better deals on used cars than dealerships within those states’ major metro areas.

For this study, CarGurus applied its car valuation models to compare prices on millions of used-car listings offered at dealerships in and outside the top 50 U.S. metro areas.

“City dealerships” were defined as those located within a 50-mile radius of a major city center.

“Suburban/rural dealerships” were defined as those in the same state that were located beyond the 50-mile radius of the major city centers.

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