It has been reported in the UK that there has been an uplift in used car prices of 6% for August – the second month running that used car prices have improved and 10 months that average used car prices have risen. Used car sales continue to do well and it seems that confidence is returning to the market. Despite summer months usually being sluggish, August set a new record for used car values.
In the US the recently ended Cash For Clunkers rebate offered by the Government has taken a lot of older used cars off the road leaving less used cars around. This too has had the affect of increasing used car prices as dealers and auctions compete for less vehicles. Adesa expects used car prices to continue to climb for the rest of 2009. In the longer term it is expected the rental car and fleet sales could result in more trade-ins and therefore higher used car investories.
Consumer traffic at dealerships is down as the industry copes with the knock-on effects of the Cash For Clunkers scheme. Edmunds is however expecting new car sales to pick up next month.
