The average used car in America carried a list price of $26,533 in October. That’s 0.6% lower than September’s price and 3% lower than last October.
But the news isn’t all good for used car shoppers.
“Used-vehicle inventory volume is still considered to be limited,” said Chris Frey, Cox Automotive senior manager of Economic and Industry Insights. America’s car dealers ended the month with about 2.3 million used cars for sale. The nationwide supply of used vehicles “has been stuck in the 2.2 million to 2.3 million range for the past four months,” Frey says.
Cox Automotive is the parent company of Kelley Blue Book.
Related: Is Now the Time to Buy, Sell, or Trade-In A Car?
America’s car dealers started November with an average of 49 days’ worth of used cars for sale. Standard industry practice tells dealers to aim for about a 60-day supply.
New Car Market Likely Helping
Strangely, signals suggest prices may fall further in the short term even though inventory is holding steady. The wholesale prices dealers pay for used cars have been falling. Wholesale price trends usually become retail price trends in six to eight weeks.
That may reflect changes in the new car market. New car shoppers have had it relatively good in recent months, with prices falling, supplies growing, and even a major strike showing nearly no impact on prices.
Related: Why the Used Car Market Is So Bad, and Won’t Get Better Soon
When new car prices fall, shoppers with higher budgets stay in the new car market. When they rise, some bring their higher budgets to the used car side of the dealership instead.
Mixed Story Based on Brand, Car Type
The story isn’t great for every used car shopper, though.
As with new cars, and as has been the case for months, the lower the price segment, the tighter the inventory. There was just a 32-day supply of used vehicles priced under $10,000, with days’ supply increasing with every higher price segment to the over-$35,000 category with the highest days’ supply of 58.
Dealerships from some brands also have deeper supplies than others.
Once again, Honda, Mazda, and Toyota were the non-luxury brands with the lowest inventory of used vehicles through September. Honda had 39 days’ supply, while Mazda and Toyota both had 40 days’ supply. Most other mainstream brands — both luxury and non-luxury — had used-vehicle days’ supply under 50.
