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Price Anomalies in the Used Car Market

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Summary

Using two different samples – one based on newspaper advertisements, the other Internet-based – we identify some price anomalies in the used car market in the Netherlands. First, prices of used cars depend on their age in calendar years rather than months. Second, there is some evidence that crossing 100,000 km induces a sudden additional price reduction. Third, a new license plate format, something with no intrinsic value whatsoever, increases a car’s price by about 4%. We discuss possible explanations for these results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Groningen, P.O.Box 800, 9700 AV, Groningen, the Netherlands

    Peter Kooreman & Marco A. Haan

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  1. Peter Kooreman
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  2. Marco A. Haan
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Correspondence to Peter Kooreman.

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Kooreman, P., Haan, M.A. Price Anomalies in the Used Car Market. De Economist 154, 41–62 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-006-6485-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-006-6485-z

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