Ames has recently been labeled the seventh most affordable city to buy a car in the state of Iowa, according to AutoList.

On average, used cars in Ames are selling $36 below state market value, according to a study conducted by AutoList earlier this year. By compiling more than 3 billion data points to compare prices, AutoList discovered that consumers in Ames can find inexpensive, used cars not too far from home.

“Back a few months ago, we had a hypothesis that there might be granular differences in car prices, both on the city and county level,” said Alex Klein, vice president for Data Science for AutoList.

The company began collecting data. 

“We went back three years into our database and created an expected price algorithm to determine how much certain cars would cost and then looked at different cities and counties to see how much they deviated from their expected price,” Klein said.

For instance, Klein used this same algorithm to discover that certain cars such as the Chevrolet Equinox were being sold below market value by nearly $430.

“[Our study] shows that we were able to take the same data and tailor it to a particular make and model. And it just so turns out that certain cars like the Chevy Equinox is well below the state average by $428,” Klein said.

With the cost of used cars in Iowa ranging from high and low prices, is there a specific reason that Ames’ own prices seem to be relatively cheaper?

“There are certain factors we’ve noticed in our model that can help us predict whether a particular location will be above or below the state average. And the principal driving factor is ‘dealer density,’” Klein said.

Basically, the more car dealerships there are in a certain area, the more competition. Hence, the price of the car is driven down, which works out for a college town.

“I’ve been looking for a car since I got in an accident, and hearing that Ames does have some of the best prices gives me hope that I’m not being charged more than I should be paying,” said Keesha Gaines, sophomore in kinesiology.

Gaines has been looking for an affordable used car for the last two months and the trend occurring in the Ames’ car market is just the type to benefit the young and new-to-the-car-buying-market consumers like herself.

“We really understand the financial burden of going to college and we want this information to help,” Klein said. “Whether it’s students or individuals in the [Ames] surrounding area, we want them to be able to save money on their next car.”

He hopes the community will use their findings.

“Just having this info at their disposal creates more market transparency and will help people make more educated decisions (when buying a car), which in turn saves them more money,” Klein said.

Klein and his team at AutoList also plan to offer a scholarship for students that can help finance their education or purchase an affordable car.