Just realized how much your state actually matters when buying a car. Like, prices and fees can swing thousands of dollars depending on where you live. I was looking into this because new cars are crazy expensive right now, and apparently some states have figured out how to keep costs down.

So I found this breakdown from a few years back that's still pretty relevant. Oregon ends up being the cheapest state to buy a used car if you want minimal overall costs, mainly because they have zero sales tax and dealer fees are super low. Montana's similar - no sales tax there either, though car prices run higher. New Hampshire's another one with no sales tax and decent used car pricing.

What's wild is that some states with higher car prices still rank well because they keep dealer fees reasonable or have low sales tax. Alaska's a good example - cars cost way more there, but the dealer fees are basically nothing, which balances things out. Meanwhile, states like North Carolina and New Mexico have higher sales taxes but still stay affordable because car prices and fees don't spike too much.

If you're actually shopping around for the cheapest state to buy a used car, the no-sales-tax states are definitely worth considering. Saves you a ton compared to places with 7-8% sales tax. The data's a bit dated now, but the principle still holds - where you buy matters almost as much as what you buy.