Shopping for a new car? In Seattle, you might want to consider buying these models lightly used

It's well-known that when buying a car, a person is likely to save money by buying used.

On average, a car that is one year old costs 20.1% less than its new counterpart, according to a new study by automotive search engine iSeeCars.com. But some cars have a much slower depreciation rate, some as little as 5.2% over the first year. Others are much higher, being worth 43.4% less at one year old. In Seattle, it pays to buy a GMC Sierra 1500, where the price difference from a new to one-year-old car is -41.5%.

“While choosing a used car over a new car is typically associated with the greatest cost savings, sometimes the price difference isn’t that significant,” iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly said in the study. “There are factors that can affect price differences beyond the overall popularity of the vehicle such as redesigns, which were common among the vehicles that made both ends of the list.”

RELATED: Report: This is the most popular color car for Seattleites to drive

To get its list, iSeeCars examined sales from over 6 million new and used vehicles sold between August 2019 and January 2020. From that data, it was able to determine which cars were the best deals after one year, and which didn't cost much less in the same time period. Numbers were determined for the whole nation and for some metro areas, including Seattle.

This ranking can help car buyers determine whether or not they should look for a lightly used vehicle, or if it's better to just buy a new one.

“Instead of buying a car that’s already been driven for one year, consumers can buy the new version of select vehicles with a purchase price of just a few thousand dollars more to avoid the uncertainties that come with purchasing a used vehicle,” said Ly.  “When spread out over the length of the average car loan at 5.5 years, the slightly higher monthly payment can be offset by the car warranty and dealer incentives such as rebates.”

RELATED: Own one of these cars? Seattle drivers are most likely to keep them for 15 years or longer

To see the vehicles that depreciate the fastest and slowest in Seattle over one year, and to see how they compare to the national ranking, click through the slideshow above.