News

Actions

Florida is cheapest place to buy used cars in U.S., study says

Posted at 5:33 PM, Aug 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-10 17:33:19-04

What’s the first thing you think about when you are thinking about buying a car? Most people think about the money first. What can I really afford?

According to Autolist.com, Florida is the perfect state to buy used. The site offers car buyers advice on how to find the best deals across the country and it ranked Florida #1.

“There is a high concentration of independent used car dealers in Florida, which ups competition and drives down prices,” said Alex Klein of AutoList.com.

Klein says it’s basic supply and demand as used cars costs nearly $1,000 less in Florida, than any other state in the country. The city of Tampa, specifically, scored high marks on this.

“It also makes our top 10 list for cities over 250,000 in population,” said Klein.

The recent study showed that Hillsborough County is leading the way in Tampa Bay at #8.  Manatee, Pinellas and Polk Counties are close behind. All of them making the top 12 best counties in Florida to buy used.

The question still though… why is Florida the best? It boils down to exactly what’s on our license plates; the sunshine.

“Florida has pretty excellent weather all year round, versus a place like North Dakota during the winter. It’s much more challenging.  When you have good weather year round, people car shop year round,” said Klein.

Florida may be a great place to buy a used car, but it’s not that great when it comes to auto insurance premiums.  InsuranceQuotes.com revealing Florida is the sixth most expensive state for insurance premiums. Floridians are paying more than $1,500 a year on average.

Klein says that’s probably helping to lower the sticker prices on cars.

"Maybe dealers have heard over the course of time that there is high auto insurance and have had to lower their prices...relative to other parts of the nation," said Klein.

Source: Autolist.com