10 Cities With the Best Used-Car Deals
New car website iSeeCars.com recently released a list of the 10 U.S. cities that feature the best used-car deals around. The website analyzed some 30 million used-car classified ads listed on iSeeCars.com over the past 12 months, and by using algorithms was able to find vehicles that fell at least 5 percent below iSeeCars.com’s estimated market value. Interestingly, eight of the 10 cities fell on the East Coast.
“While East Coast shoppers enjoyed better used car deals, iSeeCars’ research determined that widening your car search could yield big savings no matter where you are located,” the website says. “’We learned that Washington DC had close to 4 times the number of deals as nearby Baltimore,’ said Phong Ly, CEO and founder of iSeeCars.com. ’Similarly, Dallas and Austin are only about a few hours away but there were three times as many underpriced cars in Dallas than Austin.’”
The study consisted of the aforementioned 30 million cars listed for sale, and iSeeCars focused exclusively on those priced $15,000 or less. “A used car is defined as a deal if the price is at least five percent below iSeeCars’ estimated market value,” the website explains. “‘Market value’ of a used car is determined using a proprietary algorithm that analyzes similar cars for sale nationwide — those with the same year, make, model, trim, options, mileage, and other factors. The [percentage] of deals is used to rank the cities — it is calculated as the number of deals in a given city divided by the total number of cars for sale in that market.”
Here are the top 10 places where buyers are likely to get the most bang for their buck in the used-car market.
10. San Francisco, California
Coming in at No. 10 is San Francisco, where 18 percent of used cars less than $15,000 are classified as good deals.
9. Los Angeles, California
Hot on San Francisco’s heels, Los Angeles comes in with a 19 percent rate of good deals from the 300,000 or so classifieds listed in the area.
8. Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta comes in at eighth place, with a small leap to a 22 percent rate of good deals, as per iSeeCars.com.
7. Houston, Texas
A full quarter of the used cars under $15,000 — 25 percent — were determined to fall into the good deal category in Houston, according to iSeeCars.com’s algorithms.
6. Chicago, Illinois
In sixth place, the Windy City managed a 26 percent rate of good deals on used cars, according to iSeeCars.com’s data.
5. Dallas, Texas
Spot No. 5 is awarded to Dallas and the 27 percent rate of used-car good deals that the city offers.
4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
If you’re buying a used car in Philadelphia, about 29 percent of the used car classifieds under $15,000 are determined to be a good deal.
3. Boston, Massachusetts
A nice, round 30 percent rate of used cars that iSeeCars.com deems to be good deals lands Boston with a solid third-place finish.
2. Washington, D.C.
The nation’s capital is apparently one of the best places to go used-car shopping, as it appears that 31 percent of the used-car market fall 5 percent below iSeeCars.com’s fair market value.
1. New York, New York
In first place for used-car deals under $15,000 is New York City and its impressive 38 percent rating of good deals. ISeeCars.com partially attributes the unusually high number to increased competition from surrounding areas; it has double the rate of good deals as ninth-place Los Angeles, despite having a comparable number of cars for sale.
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