Americans are willing to drive, on average, about eight hours from home to buy a new car. There is, however, no average American. The people of Vermont will go just a little over half that distance for a deal. Alaskans will nearly double it.
That’s the conclusion of a new survey.
It wasn’t conducted by a well-known academic think tank or consumer advocacy group. It’s the work of Quantrell Subaru in Lexington, Kentucky. But we highlight it because it raises an important point for car shoppers.
If we offered to pay you $3,000 to drive to a neighboring city and back, you’d take the deal, right? So why not make that drive to save yourself that money.
Our research shows that car shoppers are happiest when they complete as much of the purchase process as possible online. Shoppers like finding their financing online. They like finding their cars online. They like to spend as little time as possible in a car dealership.
Good new car deals are hard to come by this summer. The average final sale price for a new car is approaching an all-time high, and incentives are scarce.
But online shopping tools allow you to search inventory at dealerships nationwide. Incentives are often localized to a specific state or region, so you might find a better deal outside your home area.
The Numbers:
Quantrell Subaru surveyed 2,690 car shoppers online to find the distance car shoppers in each state said they would travel for a better deal.
State
Distance in Miles
Alabama
426
Alaska
722
Arizona
400
Arkansas
500
California
498
Colorado
470
Connecticut
344
Delaware
556
Florida
442
Georgia
378
Hawaii
679
Idaho
696
Illinois
389
Indiana
500
Iowa
417
Kansas
625
Kentucky
421
Louisiana
435
Maine
438
Maryland
473
Massachusetts
476
Michigan
380
Minnesota
493
Mississippi
534
Missouri
526
Montana
383
Nebraska
388
Nevada
410
New Hampshire
458
New Jersey
441
New Mexico
700
New York
470
North Carolina
439
North Dakota
513
Ohio
450
Oklahoma
477
Oregon
556
Pennsylvania
433
Rhode Island
500
South Carolina
431
South Dakota
462
Tennessee
457
Texas
520
Utah
446
Vermont
286
Virginia
454
Washington
569
West Virginia
359
Wisconsin
481
Wyoming
625