502 Used Cars Are Genuinely New. Another 664 Just Say So.
Craigslist lets the seller choose the condition from a dropdown. Nobody checks it against the odometer. We did, across every listing we hold, and the word "new" turns out to mean almost nothing.
When a Model Year Goes Wrong, Owners Don't Cut the Price. They All Sell at Once.
A bad year for a model has to show up somewhere. It doesn't show up in the asking price — it shows up in how many of them are for sale at the same time.
Cars With the Best Rollover Rating Are Written Off Two and a Half Times More Often
A five-star rollover score sounds like the safest possible outcome. Cross-referenced with title status, those cars turn out to be the ones most likely to have been written off.
One in Five Subaru Crosstreks for Sale Has Been Written Off and Rebuilt
Branded titles cluster on specific models rather than spreading evenly. The four at the top of the list got there for four completely different reasons.
The Same Fifteen Cars Cost $14,078 in Seattle and $8,274 in Miami
Regional price differences usually get blamed on cost of living, which would put New York and Los Angeles at the top. A fixed basket of ordinary cars says otherwise.
Electric Cars Are the Youngest on the Market and Carry the Most Branded Titles
Damage history usually accumulates with age, so the newest cars should have the cleanest titles. Sorted by what's under the bonnet, the pattern inverts.
Georgia Has the Highest-Mileage Used Cars and Almost the Cleanest Titles
It's tempting to assume the states with the most worn-out cars also have the most written-off ones. Sorted side by side, the two measures barely relate to each other.
"Buy From a Private Seller" Is Impossible Advice in Half of America
The standard tip for saving money on a used car assumes private sellers exist near you. In several major markets they barely do, and the reason isn't what you'd guess.
When a Car Doesn't Sell, 73% of Sellers Just Post It Again at the Same Price
A car that didn't sell is telling you something about its price. I tracked what sellers do about it, and the most popular response is to do nothing at all.
Sellers Who Publish the VIN Ask 11% More — and Get It
You'd expect a seller who opens the car up to scrutiny to be the one making concessions. Matched like for like, they charge more than the sellers who don't.
A 2009 Car Costs More Than a 2010. The Recession Is Still Doing It.
Cars get cheaper as they get older. Except for one model year, where the car that's twelve months newer is the one that costs less — and the reason happened in 2009.
The Worse a Car's Title, the Less Likely the Seller Shows You the VIN
A missing VIN usually means a lazy listing. But sorted by title status, the pattern is too clean to be laziness — and the cars hiding it hardest are the expensive ones.