Just spent some time digging into car prices across different states and it's wild how much the location matters. Like, I knew taxes varied but didn't realize you could literally save thousands just by buying in a different state.

So apparently based on 2023 data, the cheapest states to buy a car really come down to two things: sales tax and dealer fees. Oregon and Montana top the list because they have zero sales tax, which changes everything. Oregon's got the lowest dealer fees in the country too at like $353, so that's huge. New Hampshire and Delaware are similar—no sales tax either.

But here's what surprised me. Alaska ranks high for affordability even though cars there cost like 20% more than average. Why? Because dealer fees are dirt cheap—only $315. Meanwhile states like Wisconsin have higher dealer fees that kinda offset lower car prices.

I was looking at Virginia, Hawaii, and New Mexico too. They're not the absolute cheapest states to buy a car, but they're solid middle ground options. Prices are closer to national average and taxes aren't insane. North Carolina made the list too but has higher sales tax, so it depends what matters more to you.

The whole thing basically shows that if you're serious about getting a deal on a car purchase, you can't just look at the sticker price. You gotta factor in your state's sales tax rate and what dealers charge to process everything. The difference between buying in an expensive state versus one of the cheapest states to buy a car could genuinely be thousands of dollars. Kinda crazy nobody talks about this more when people are shopping around.