Wholesale Used Car Prices Increased 1.0% in September; Down 3.9% Year-over-year

From Manheim Consulting today: Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices See Minimal Increase in August

Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 1.0% in September from August. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose to 214.3, down 3.9% from a year ago.

“September auction sales bolstered prices through the channel,” said Chris Frey, senior manager of Economic and Industry Insights for Cox Automotive. “While there was a bit of an acceleration from August, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves heading into the late fall and winter period. We are at a crossroads for wholesale, mainly from concerns about the UAW strike’s potentially slowing new retail sales and moving buyers into the used market. We don’t see that happening just yet, as it always takes time for changes to work through the market. Two very different outcomes are possible. One is to see higher prices from an extended strike on new production also showing up at wholesale and then used retail. The second leads to very little change – a strike resolution leading to price declines at relatively normal rates, or simply pausing, thus the wholesale and used retail markets are minimally affected. While we have some modest changes built into our MUVVI forecast, we think the market mainly reflects balance at this point, relative to what we have been seeing for much of the last three years. We typically see only slight upward trends in wholesale values in the fourth quarter, which is why are forecasting our Used Vehicle Value Index to finish down 2.2% for the year.”

The seasonal adjustment contributed to September’s increase. The non-adjusted price in September increased by 0.1% compared to August, moving the unadjusted average price down 5.4% year over year.
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This index from Manheim Consulting is based on all completed sales transactions at Manheim’s U.S. auctions.

The Manheim index suggests used car prices increased in September (seasonally adjusted) and were down 3.9% year-over-year (YoY).