When adjusted for normal seasonal fluctuations, the prices dealers pay for the used cars they later sell did not increase in the first two weeks of January. That’s news.
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index tracks the prices dealers pay at auction for used cars. As used car prices have soared over the last year, the index has soared. In the first two weeks of January, it stopped. Prices increased by 0.8%. But that right tracks with normal seasonal cycles in the used car market.
The news doesn’t mean prices are headed down. This January’s number is still 46% higher than it was one year ago.
But it isn’t going up. The nationwide supply of used cars available for sale has also stabilized, sitting at a normal level of 50 days’ supply.
The average buyer paid over $27,000 for a used car in November – the most recent month for which figures are available.
