Used car prices are already on the way down and may fall further soon.
There’s good news for car shoppers this month. New car prices finished January a record 3.5% lower than a year ago. Used car prices fell even further, ending January 4% lower than 12 months earlier.
There may be further decreases ahead.
That news comes from Kelley Blue Book’s parent company, Cox Automotive, which also owns car auction giant Manheim — where car dealers go to buy used cars they later sell.
Manheim always sees a price drop at auctions this time of year, so the tool it uses to track them — the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index — adjusts to compensate. Adjusted for the normal seasonal fluctuation, the wholesale prices car dealers pay at auction for used cars fell by 0.9% in January.
Pickup trucks and compact and midsize cars saw their auction prices fall further than the industry average. SUVs and luxury cars also dropped but by a little less.
