Wholesale used car prices — the prices car dealers pay for the used cars they later sell — decreased by 4% in August. That’s the most significant drop we’ve seen since the COVID-19 pandemic first upset used and new car markets worldwide.
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index tracks the prices dealers pay for used cars at auction. It is a product of Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive.
Prices are still high. The index shows prices 8.4% higher than one year ago (adjusted for normal seasonal fluctuations).
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But overall used car sales were 9% slower in August than one year before. Combined with the decrease in wholesale prices, that may foretell an encouraging fall season for used car shoppers.
Prices may be coming down, but they’re coming down from a very high point. The average used car sold for $28,219 in July — an increase after several months of declines. August figures aren’t available yet, but we expect to have them soon.
Every market segment saw seasonally adjusted prices that were higher year over year in August, except for full-size cars. Compact cars had the largest increase at 15.9%, followed by vans and midsize cars, which all had seasonally adjusted year-over-year gains ahead of the overall industry. Compared to July, all eight major segments’ performance was down. Sports cars lost nearly 5%, while compact and midsize cars declined 3.5% and 3.0%, respectively. SUVs were down 4.3%, and vans were down 2.9%.
