ST. GEORGE — A new nationwide study that collects data on more than 81 million vehicles over 4.6 billion data points has revealed that in Utah, both Washington and Iron counties are in the top 10 counties for the most affordable places to buy a used vehicle. The report also provides the top five most affordable vehicles in each county.
Released by the automotive buyer intelligence firm Autolist.com, the results of the study place Iron County as the fourth most affordable place to buy a used vehicle in the state and Washington County as the sixth most affordable.
Emery County ranked at the top of the list, with Tooele County at the bottom of the rankings of those counties with statistical significance – 18 of the 29 counties.
The report is based on a compilation of all the major automotive resource sites across the internet, such as Edmunds.com and Autobytel.com, said Alex Klein, the vice president of data science at Autolist.
“We actually don’t partner directly with dealers,” Klein said. “Instead we partner with other major sites … where people normally go to look for cars.”
This makes the Autolist data more neutral, Klein said, since they aren’t linked to specific dealers like other automotive resource sites.
“We’re able to put all these together in one place,” he said, “so we’re a level removed from all of them, which allows us to have this bigger consumer focus and not have to worry about appeasing a dealer population.”
The report states that Iron County averages approximately $59 below the state average for used vehicle costs, with Washington County approximately $201 above the state average.
While these overall rankings are great, Klein said, what consumers really want to know is how prices compare for specific models.
“For any given county, there are always going to be vehicles that are more affordable,” he said, “and I think that’s really what our study is getting at.”
Knowing the difference in pricing could be the “tipping point” in helping consumers make these decisions, not only between different vehicles but also where they might choose to buy.
“In every given area, there are opportunities for consumers to take advantage of the microgeographic differences,” Klein said.
This is where the 4.6 billion unique data points come into the picture, Klein said. Autolist looks at “every vehicle, every day, every time its price changes on the market” and figures that information into their analysis.
As of Tuesday, Klein sent St. George News the top 5 most affordable used vehicles in Iron and Washington counties.
Iron County:
- Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 – $1,748 below the state average.
- Ford Focus – $1,372 below the state average.
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – $1,129 below the state average.
- Ford F-150 – $483 below the state average.
- Chrysler Town and Country – $272 below the state average.
Washington County:
- Dodge Journey – $1,720 below the state average.
- Cadillac CTS – $1,708 below the state average.
- Chevrolet Equinox – $1,096 below the state average.
- Hyundai Santa Fe – $843 below the state average.
- Ford Escape – $769 below the state average.
Resources
- For affordability rankings and listings in Cedar City, click here.
- For affordability rankings and listings in St. George, click here.
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Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
The lowest for the “State”….knowing my car prices, and how to look car prices up, both new or used? I would never buy a car or truck in the state of Utah, they are all overpriced, it’s just as easy to go to Vegas, save thousands, and then pay the state sales tax of said vehicle when you register it…
I don’t think any body really cares where you bought your car
This ranks up there with some of the most useless articles I’ve ever seen. Tell us how we compare to SL and Utah counties and also Vegas. Paul D. Dail you really dropped the ball on this one
Just the kind of headline for an article written by a creative writer. Don’t state that Washington and Iron county are in the top 10 of the 29 Utah counties. Who would care about that. Wonder how much money was spent on a useless study. Now that’s a story.