Should I sell my car in another state?

April 7, 2010 12:55 PM

I'm from Texas. I want to sell my car, but have heard that I may be able to sell it for slightly more ($1000-$2000 extra) in another part of the US. Is this something that is actually true? Or would it be more trouble than it's worth?

I live in Austin and have a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid that I am planning on selling. However, prior to selling it I am going to be in upstate New York all summer (with my car) and a friend of mine mentioned that I could probably get more money for my car outside of Texas. I'm willing to drive as far west as Chicago/Milwaukee and as far east as the ocean (and, obviously, as far south as back to Texas) in order to sell it for the most money (it really is worth an extra $1000 to me). Also, if this is a really dumb idea, please let me know before I try to attempt it.

posted by vakker to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)

Quite often used cars from "warm states" might fetch a slightly higher price in snow states because the body will be in better shape - no rust or other deterioration from road salt.
posted by Oriole Adams at 1:06 PM on April 7, 2010

It's certainly worth a shot. In addition to what Oriole Adams says, I bought my compact, fuel-efficient car in Texas because it saved me almost a quarter of the price compared to the same car in Seattle. (At the time, though, gas prices were only just starting to shoot up, so the price differential on my sensible car might not be the same now.)
posted by adiabat at 1:14 PM on April 7, 2010

Best answer: A cursory Craigslist check suggests that the price, overall, is similar in Northern vs. Southern cities. As a Northerner, I might be willing to pay some extra money for a car that hadn't been subjected to road salt and the sheer # of potholes that develop after winter, but I would also be skeptical of claims that the car was from the south and so I would try to negotiate downwards. Probably I would just end up buying the less-expensive car, since I'm going to be driving it around in the North anyway and it makes no sense to pay more money for a pretty body that I'm just going to destroy in the end.

My gut feeling is that you might be able to get slightly more money by selling the car in a more northern climate, but that this is going to be outweighed by the annoyance of people wanting to test-drive it, dealing with people in a faraway city, and any weird legal/tax issues that might come up with selling a car in a different state.
posted by kataclysm at 1:19 PM on April 7, 2010

cursory craigslist results searching for a 2007 honda civic hybrid:

chicago

cleveland

albany, ny

pittsburgh

austin
posted by kataclysm at 1:22 PM on April 7, 2010