New-vehicle incentives and rebates, as well as declining prices on used vehicles are a couple of factors pointing to steady auto sales as the summer months come to a close, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Dealers and manufacturers are offering incentives and rebates to sell remaining inventory at dealerships and to make room for new model year vehicles arriving this fall.
In the used-vehicle market, average retail-prices for used cars and light trucks up to five-years-old experienced the greatest monthly decline this year, dropping 3.8% in August. However, despite the projected declines of used-vehicle prices throughout the remainder of the year, prices are still at historically high levels, which make for strong trade-in values and increased equity in transactions
“The end of summer is typically a good time of the year to shop for new and used vehicles,” said Jonathan Banks, senior analyst at NADA’s Used Car Guide.
NADA is predicting used-vehicle prices on average will drop between 3% and 3.5% in September. In monetary terms, a used car worth $12,000 today will drop by more than $400 by the end of the third quarter. The upshot, acting now could get you a better deal.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
