Synopsis-
“Cox Automotive, an automotive data firm, has predicted that the prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions will only increase by 0.5% by the end of 2024 compared to December 2023.”
Prices of used vehicles are expected to level off this year, after pre-owned car and truck buyers experienced some relief in 2023 following a period of record prices.
Cox Automotive, an automotive data firm, has predicted that the prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions will only increase by 0.5% by the end of 2024 compared to December 2023. However, the prices will vary from month to month due to seasonal selling and other factors.
The small gain would be in contrast to the 7% reduction in 2023 and the approximately 15% drop in 2022 caused by the coronavirus pandemic-related price inflation. At that time, issues with the supply chain and parts caused car manufacturing to halt, resulting in record low availability of new automobiles.
Stability in Used Car Prices may Benefit Car Buyers
For prospective car purchasers, the stability is a benefit. Still, used car prices are greater now than they were prior to the pandemic. Consumer retail prices have historically decreased more slowly than wholesale prices, but they nevertheless track changes in wholesale pricing.
Jeremy Robb, Cox Automotive senior director of economic and industry insights, said, “2024 is looking to be less volatile than 2023, but we’ve been taught to expect the unexpected in the wholesale market.”
According to Cox, the average used car price listed is $26,091, which is 3.9% less than it was a year ago and 7.5% less than it was expected to be at the end of 2021—roughly $28,200. According to Cox, the average listing price for a used car in 2019 was less than $20,000.
