Study reveals the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ cities to purchase a used car

New research by Moneybarn has revealed to consumers what it believes are the 'best' and 'worst' cities in the UK to purchase a used car.

Taking into account customer reviews and the average price to buy a high demand, commonly available used car (the Ford Fiesta), the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester came out as the best place for car buyers to buy a used car.

Three-quarters (75%) of reviews left for dealerships in the town were rated as excellent, with just 14% being rated as terrible.

It was also among the most affordable places when buying used, with a Ford Fiesta costing an average of £8,635.

Blackpool in Lancashire took second place - Moneybarn said car dealers in the city proved 'very popular' with customers, as it achieved 79% of excellent reviews, while 7% were rated as terrible. Although the cost to buy was slightly higher than in neighbouring Bolton, at £11,154.

Narrowly behind Blackpool was Canterbury in Kent, which also had a 79% excellent review rating, with just 12% of reviews being terrible. The average price of a used Ford Fiesta was £10,348.

Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, achieved the highest number of 'excellent' reviews, where local car dealerships hold a rate of 88.7%, while 4.8% of reviews in the area were rated as terrible.

In second place was Cannock in Staffordshire, achieving 80.3% of excellent reviews. Canterbury followed in third, with 78.9% of excellent reviews.

According to the research, Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire was considered the 'worst' reviewed place to purchase a used car, where over half (52.1%) of reviews left for dealerships were deemed to be ‘terrible’.

Keighley in West Yorkshire recieved 51.6% terrible reviews, followed by Poole in Dorset with 47.1% of reviews for car dealerships in the area being ‘terrible’.

'Cheapest' places to buy a used car

The average price of a used Ford Fiesta in Romford, London, stands at £5,894, followed by £7,193 in Newcastle upon Tyne and £7,397 in Derby.

Epsom in Surrey was the most expensive place to buy a used car, according to the research, with an average price of £14,417 for a Ford Fiesta - around two and a half times more expensive than in Romford.

Warwick was revealed as the second most expensive place to buy a used Ford Fiesta, with an average price of £14,132. Taking third place was Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, with an average price of £14,104.

Moneybarn said the 'best' and 'worst' reviewed towns and cities were calculated using reviews data from Car Dealer Reviews and it took the places which had the highest percentages of excellent and terrible reviews, respectively.

It also focused on towns and cities with reviews listed for 20 or more dealerships. 

For the cheapest and most expensive places to buy, it looked at the prices of listings on Parkers using the Ford Fiesta, looking at all ages, models and trims currently listed on the site, it said.