The September U.S. used vehicle market saw depreciation climb and prices drop -3.6%, making the month’s performance the largest decline recorded in 2016 so far. As a result, NADA Used Car Guide’s seasonally adjusted used vehicle price index fell by -1% to 117.5, the lowest level since March 2011.
“Price movement down was led by mainstream small cars. Subcompact and compact car segment losses reached -4% each,” said Jonathan Banks, at NADA Used Car Guide. Luxury mid-size and compact utility losses were the largest of all luxury segments for the month – just under -4%.
In NADA Used Car Guide’s recently published monthly Guidelines report, analysts forecast prices of vehicles up to eight years in age will fall by around -3.5% during October compared to September. During October 2015 prices fell by an average of just under -3%. Analysts expect depreciation to slow toward the end of the year.
In November 2016, used vehicle prices are expected to fall by under -2%, followed by an even smaller sub-1% decline in December. The full-year forecast expects used vehicle prices to be down by an average of around -4% on an index-basis from 2015.
