There has only been one time in my life where a family car has not been run into the ground. Every time that we’ve use them till they died, we have traded them in, or sold them to a scrap yard.
There was this one time, though, where my family decided to go down to one car. Getting rid of the second would not only eliminate monthly payments, but also garner a bit of profit.
At least, that was the plan. We were living in the South, but came up to Pittsburgh to try to sell it. The quotes we got were nothing short of disappointing. If we had sold it in our hometown, we would have still had a balance left on the loan.
Down South, cars were cheaper at the time. We resignedly brought two cars back, not sure what to do. If cars sold for cheaper, there’s no way they’d pay us more for our vehicle, right?
On a whim, we took it in one day when we had a little extra time. We were shocked. They were willing to offer us around $1,500 more than the Pittsburgh quote. Apparently, dealerships in the South at the time not only sold vehicles for less, but also bought them for more.
Other Geographic Pricing Differences
Cars aren’t the only thing I’ve noticed costs more or less depending on where I lived. Here are some other things that have varied state to state, or even municipality to municipality:
Food
When I lived in the South, everyone was slowly getting over the Atkins diet. When I breaded things, I used pine nuts instead of breadcrumbs or other carbs. They were affordable, and made meals healthier. I have never used pine nuts since. Everywhere else I have lived they cost $14+ a bag.
When I lived in Idaho, I could get really nice, fresh green peppers for 50 cents each. Here, they don’t look so healthy, and run me closer to $1/pop.
Now that I’m back in the Burgh, I’ve noticed that food prices are absolutely lower in the suburbs than here in the city. So much about food costs change depending on where you live or shop.
Taxes
This should be an obvious one, but getting used to different taxes can be a struggle when you move. For example, I come from Pennsylvania where we have no tax on clothes (except extravagances like prom dresses,) and food. Down South, they did. Every year there was one weekend of tax-free back-to-school shopping, and stores put on massive sales to cut savings even deeper.
While I like not being taxed at every point of sale, I do miss that glorious discount weekend.
Also, the state I lived in down there charged a tax annually for owning your car. It was a little weird, as up here we’re charged tax at point of sale. But the tax was so low annually that it was really a better deal.
Right now, we live in the city, where income tax is at 3%. Go a municipality or two over, and residents only pay between 1%-2% for living in the suburbs.
I’ve noticed a trend about PA: we may not have to pay sales tax on food and clothing, but our government definitely makes up for it in different areas.
Have you sold elsewhere to obtain a profit?
How about you? Have you ever shopped or sold elsewhere in order to save or make more money on a transaction? Whether it be on a car, food, or even income taxes?