Opting for a good used car over new is supposed to be a smart financial move. Before 2020 pandemic shutdowns led to inventory shortages of new cars, a used car would often save you big money—especially on high-depreciating models that often lost 30% to 40% of their value within the first three years.
But these days, cars are tougher to come by—new and used—and when supply is low and demand is high, driving a hard bargain isn’t so easy. Some people have ended up wildly overpaying for used cars—paying even more, in fact, than the price of a new version.
Most car search engines allow you to filter by search range, and widening your search for a car helps—you’ll find more inventory, more options, more models, maybe even the color you want, and most important you’ll probably find better deals. It might be worth it to travel 100 or 200 miles to get a car at a better price.
To find the best and worst cities to get a deal on a used car, auto search engine iSeeCars.com looked at the 50 most populous metro areas to determine the used cars that are priced the most above and below the national average, analyzing over 1.3 million 1- to 5-year-old used cars from the top best-selling models sold between January and April of 2022.
The average asking price of each model in each metro area was calculated, and the highest and lowest prices were compared to each other, as well as the nationwide average price. They excluded cities and models with very low inventory.
The popular Subaru Forester was cheapest in the area around Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis. The Forester cost the most, on average, in Columbus, Miss., with an average difference of $7,889, or 23.5%, between the two metros.
If you live in Fairbanks, Alaska, is it worth it to spend $1,000 on a 9-hour flight to San Antonio, Texas to save $10,738, or 32.4%, on that Nissan Rogue you've been eyeing? That's up to you.
Are you looking for a used Honda Civic? Search in Lincoln, Neb., where the price averages $23,375—that's $4,794 cheaper than the national average, a savings of 17%.
Here is where iSeeCars found the worst car deals around the country, followed by the five best cities to look for the models that offer the average best-bargains.
The Worst Used Car Deals
Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
- Vehicle: Toyota Tacoma
- Percent overpaid: 8.8%
- Amount overpaid: $3,347
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M.
- Vehicle: Jeep Wrangler
- Percent overpaid: 8.0%
- Amount overpaid: $2,902
Andriy Blokhin / Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Harrisburg-Lancaster-York, Pa.
- Vehicle: Nissan Rogue
- Percent overpaid: 6.9%
- Amount overpaid: $1,742
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
San Antonio, Texas
- Vehicle: Honda Civic (hatchback)
- Percent overpaid: 6.3%
- Amount overpaid: $1,783
The Worst Used Car Deals
Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
- Vehicle: Honda Civic (hatchback)
- Percent overpaid: 6.0%
- Amount overpaid: $1,678
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Salt Lake City
- Vehicle: Ford F-150
- Percent overpaid: 5.9%
- Amount overpaid: $2,497
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Denver
- Vehicle: Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Percent overpaid: 5.9%
- Amount overpaid: $2,176
The Worst Used Car Deals
Phoenix
- Vehicle: Jeep Wrangler
- Percent overpaid: 5.7%
- Amount overpaid: $2,079
The Worst Used Car Deals
St. Louis
- Vehicle: Ford Escape
- Percent overpaid: 5.4%
- Amount overpaid: $1,301
The Worst Used Car Deals
Oklahoma City
- Vehicle: Honda Civic (hatchback)
- Percent overpaid: 5.2%
- Amount overpaid: $1,475
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Houston
- Vehicle: Honda Civic (hatchback)
- Percent overpaid: 5.1%
- Amount overpaid: $1,442
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Las Vegas
- Vehicle: Jeep Wrangler
- Percent overpaid: 4.8%
- Amount overpaid: $1,727
littlenySTOCK/Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, Mich.
- Vehicle: Honda Pilot
- Percent overpaid: 4.7%
- Amount overpaid: $1,687
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Chicago
- Vehicle: Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Percent overpaid: 4.6%
- Amount overpaid: $1,688
4kclips / Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Birmingham, Ala.
- Vehicle: Honda Civic (hatchback)
- Percent overpaid: 4.6%
- Amount overpaid: $1,307
The Worst Used Car Deals
Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif.
- Vehicle: Jeep Wrangler
- Percent overpaid: 4.5%
- Amount overpaid: $1,621
The Worst Used Car Deals
Pittsburgh
- Vehicle: Ford Escape
- Percent overpaid: 4.5%
- Amount overpaid: $1,079
Photo: Steve Heap / Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Milwaukee
- Vehicle: Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Percent overpaid: 4.4%
- Amount overpaid: $1,635
The Worst Used Car Deals
Charlotte, N.C.
- Vehicle: Honda Civic (hatchback)
- Percent overpaid: 4.4%
- Amount overpaid: $1,237
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
- Vehicle: Honda Accord
- Percent overpaid: 4.4%
- Amount overpaid: $1,193
The Worst Used Car Deals
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
- Vehicle: Nissan Rogue
- Percent overpaid: 4.3%
- Amount overpaid: $1,099
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Indianapolis
- Vehicle: Hyundai Tucson
- Percent overpaid: 4.3%
- Amount overpaid: $1,088
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Nashville, Tenn.
- Vehicle: Toyota RAV4
- Percent overpaid: 4.1%
- Amount overpaid: $1,227
The Worst Used Car Deals
Kansas City, Mo.
- Vehicle: Honda CR-V
- Percent overpaid: 4.1%
- Amount overpaid: $1,218
The Worst Used Car Deals
Los Angeles
- Vehicle: Toyota Corolla
- Percent overpaid: 4.1%
- Amount overpaid: $896
Shutterstock
The Worst Used Car Deals
Austin, Texas
- Vehicle: Subaru Outback
- Percent overpaid: 4.0%
- Amount overpaid: $1,231
Rudy Mareel / Shutterstock
The Best Used Car Deals in America
These are the car models and cities where you'll likely find the best deal on a used vehicle.
The Nissan Rogue in San Antonio, Texas
- Percent below national average: -11.8%
- Amount of savings: $2,981
Nissan
The Best Used Car Deals in America
The Toyota Tacoma in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
- Percent below national average: -11.2%
- Amount of savings: $4,275
Toyota
The Best Used Car Deals in America
The Subaru Forester in Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, Mich.
- Percent below national average: -9.0%
- Amount of savings: $2,634
Subaru
The Best Used Car Deals in America
The Honda Civic hatchback in Pittsburgh
- Percent below national average: -7.2%
- Amount of savings: $2,029
Honda
The Best Used Car Deals in America
The Toyota Tacoma in Orlando-Daytona Beach, Fla.
- Percent below national average: -7.2%
- Amount of savings: $2,733
Check out iSeeCars.com for the full study on which vehicles have the largest price disparities between the cheapest and most expensive cities.
Toyota
