“Today’s car buyer wants to spend as little time as possible at the car dealership,” said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “While online shopping has become commonplace in most consumer segments, car shoppers might be reluctant to purchase their vehicle online because it’s such a major purchase. However, they might not be aware that purchasing a used vehicle through an online dealer such as Carvana, Shift, or VROOM might amount to significant savings and they can still get peace of mind thanks to return policies and rigorous vehicle inspections.”
Some specific car models provide even greater savings when the car buying process is done through online dealers when compared to local brick-and-mortar ones.
| iSeeCars Top 10 Cars With the Most Savings at Online Dealerships | ||
| Rank | Car | Average Savings |
| 1 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 6.6% |
| 2 | Ford Edge | 6.4% |
| 3 | Toyota RAV4 | 5.7% |
| 4 | Ram Pickup 1500 | 5.5% |
| 5 | BMW 4 Series | 5.4% |
| 6 | Chevrolet Equinox | 5.2% |
| 7 | Honda CR-V | 4.9% |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 4.8% |
| 9 | Lincoln MKC | 4.8% |
| 10 | Jeep Cherokee | 4.4% |
The vehicle with the biggest savings on average when purchased through an online dealer is the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, with an average savings of 6.6 percent compared to its used car price at traditional local dealerships. “If you purchase a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 from an online dealer rather than a local dealer, you could save $1,958 off the average price of $30,002,” said Ly.
The vehicles that offer the most savings for car owners are a mix of six SUVs, two pickup trucks, and two luxury cars. Ly said, “Six of these vehicles with the greatest savings when purchased online were top selling vehicles in 2018.”
Of the six SUVs on the list, five are compact with the midsize Ford Edge as the only exception. “Compact SUVs are the fastest-growing vehicle segment in the U.S., which further illustrates that online dealers competitively price popular vehicles that are in high demand,” said Ly.
Along with providing better deals and the convenience of delivering a vehicle right to your door, online dealers rigorously inspect all their vehicles and offer free protection plans. These inspections are similar to what consumers would find with a certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle. “For example, Carvana offers a 150-point inspection and a limited warranty of 100 days/4,189 miles, Shift offers a similar inspection and a 30-day powertrain warranty, and Vroom offers a multi-point inspection with a 90 day/6,000 mile warranty and one year of roadside assistance.” said Ly. “If you aren’t satisfied with your vehicle, you have a five-to-seven day return window, which in addition to the protection plans and inspections helps ease anxiety about not being able to test drive the vehicle before buying. The one exception is Shift, which provides consumers in nine West Coast markets with the opportunity to test drive vehicles.” These online dealers also accept trade-ins and provide car loans to allow shoppers to complete all aspects of their transactions.
Because of the competitive pricing of online dealers, they tend to sell cars more quickly than traditional dealers do. “The average time on market for used cars sold by online dealers is 28.2 days, while traditional dealers spend 54.3 days to sell a comparable used car,” said Ly.
Another way online dealers differ from franchise dealers is that they do not sell new cars. “These online dealers are also advertised as having no-haggle pricing, so they price their cars competitively since there is no room to negotiate.”
| iSeeCars Top 10 Cars With the Most Savings at Local Dealerships | ||
| Rank | Vehicle | Average Savings |
| 1 | Chevrolet Sonic | 6.2% |
| 2 | Ford Fiesta | 5.4% |
| 3 | Volkswagen Jetta | 4.4% |
| 4 | Nissan LEAF | 4.4% |
| 5 | Hyundai Accent | 4.2% |
| 6 | Toyota Prius c | 3.3% |
| 7 | Nissan Versa | 3.1% |
| 8 | Buick LaCrosse | 3.1% |
| 9 | BMW X1 | 3.0% |
| 10 | Fiat 500 | 3.0% |
Small cars dominate the list of cars that provide the best price at traditional dealerships with subcompact and compact cars accounting for eight of the ten vehicles on the list. Included in the small cars are the Toyota Prius c hybrid and the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle.
The top two vehicles with the best used car savings from traditional dealers are the top-ranked Chevrolet Sonic with a savings of 6.2% and the second-ranked Ford Fiesta with a savings of 5.4%. “These vehicles are comparably priced, with an average used Chevrolet Sonic costing $10,512 and the Ford Fiesta at $10,335,” said Ly.
Another reason why some of the cars on this list are more likely to have greater discounts at local dealers may be because of their declining popularity. “Automakers have dropped small cars from their lineups due to their decreased demand,” said Ly. “The Ford Fiesta has been discontinued, and the Chevrolet Sonic is rumored to be discontinued in the near future.”
The lone mid-size sedan on the list, the Buick LaCrosse has also ceased production. “The Buick LaCrosse is a slow-selling used vehicle, and its discontinuation further shows that it’s not popular with consumers,” said Ly. “Dealers likely deeply discount these less popular and discontinued cars to move them off their lots.”
| Top 10 Metro Areas for Online Dealer Discounts | ||
| Rank | Metro Area | Average Savings |
| 1 | Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM | 3.1% |
| 2 | Seattle-Tacoma, WA | 2.3% |
| 3 | Memphis, TN | 2.0% |
| 4 | Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA | 1.9% |
| 5 | Denver, CO | 1.8% |
| 6 | Fresno-Visalia, CA | 1.6% |
| 7 | Portland, OR | 1.1% |
| 8 | Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville), NC | 1.1% |
| 9 | Nashville, TN | 1.1% |
| 10 | Indianapolis, IN | 0.9% |
| Top 10 Metro Areas for Brick-and-Mortar Dealer Discounts | ||
| Rank | Metro Area | Average Savings |
| 1 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | 5.8% |
| 2 | West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL | 4.4% |
| 3 | Tampa-St Petersburg (Sarasota), FL | 3.4% |
| 4 | Cleveland-Akron (Canton), OH | 3.1% |
| 5 | Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL | 2.9% |
| 6 | New York, NY | 2.2% |
| 7 | Phoenix, AZ | 2.1% |
| 8 | Hartford & New Haven, CT | 1.5% |
| 9 | Jacksonville, FL | 1.5% |
| 10 | Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX | 1.2% |
iSeeCars also analyzed the vehicles in each metro area to determine the car with the greatest savings when purchased from an online dealer or traditional brick-and-mortar dealer.
| Vehicles with Most Savings from Online and Local Dealers by Metro Area | ||||
| Online | Local Dealer | |||
| Metro Area | Vehicle | Savings from Online Dealer | Vehicle | Savings from Local Dealer |
| Atlanta, GA | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 5.6% | Volkswagen Jetta | 11.2% |
| Boston, MA-Manchester, NH | Ford Edge | 8.6% | Chevrolet Sonic | 9.8% |
| Charlotte, NC | Ford Mustang | 5.4% | Chevrolet Sonic | 6.4% |
| Chicago, IL | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 6.8% | Chevrolet Sonic | 10.7% |
| Cleveland-Akron (Canton), OH | BMW 4 Series | 6.6% | Chevrolet Sonic | 14.2% |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX | GMC Sierra 1500 | 6.5% | Volkswagen Jetta | 9.3% |
| Denver, CO | Chevrolet Equinox | 10.9% | Hyundai Accent | 4.0% |
| Detroit, MI | Audi Q7 | 7.7% | Chevrolet Sonic | 8.2% |
| Houston, TX | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 5.9% | Nissan LEAF | 8.4% |
| Los Angeles, CA | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 6.3% | Volkswagen Jetta | 8.8% |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Porsche Cayenne | 0.8% | Chevrolet Sonic | 16.5% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | Ford Edge | 8.8% | Chevrolet Sonic | 9.5% |
| New York, NY | Ram Pickup 1500 | 7.2% | Volkswagen Jetta | 12.9% |
| Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL | BMW 4 Series | 4.1% | Chevrolet Sonic | 11.1% |
| Philadelphia, PA | BMW 4 Series | 7.0% | Volkswagen Jetta | 8.3% |
| Phoenix, AZ | Kia Optima Hybrid | 4.1% | Volkswagen Jetta | 10.5% |
| Portland, OR | Ford Edge | 13.5% | Hyundai Accent | 6.9% |
| Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 10.1% | Nissan LEAF | 5.6% |
| Salt Lake City, UT | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 7.6% | Nissan Versa | 9.7% |
| San Diego, CA | Toyota Corolla | 7.6% | Volkswagen Jetta | 7.9% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA | Toyota RAV4 | 5.8% | GMC Sierra 1500 | 9.5% |
| Seattle-Tacoma, WA | Mazda CX-5 | 12.0% | Chevrolet Impala | 8.0% |
| St. Louis, MO | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 7.3% | Chevrolet Sonic | 7.2% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota), FL | BMW 4 Series | 4.9% | Chevrolet Sonic | 14.9% |
| Washington, DC | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 4.3% | Ford Fiesta | 11.2% |
“When purchasing a used car, consumers should always do their research to find the right car at the right price whether it’s from a local or online dealer,” said Ly. “Online dealers are relatively new to the marketplace, and it’s important for consumers to understand that they can save time and money by purchasing a vehicle online.”
Methodology
iSeeCars.com analyzed over 9.4 million used model year 2012-2018 cars sold in calendar year 2018 with 5000-80000 miles. The cars were identified as sold by either local brick-and-mortar used car dealerships or from online-only dealerships Carvana, VROOM, and Shift. The pricing of each car was mathematically modeled to account for differences in location, dealer type, and mileage. The reported data measure the effects of location and dealer type, controlling for mileage. Discontinued cars as of the 2019 model year, heavy-duty vehicles, and low-volume models were excluded from further analysis.
About iSeeCars.com
iSeeCars.com is a car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars VIN check report. iSeeCars.com has saved users over $190 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of cars and thousands of dealers. Based in the Boston area, iSeeCars.com was founded by TripAdvisor and SAP veterans determined to improve the car shopping experience for consumers.
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