Used-Car Retail Prices have given up only 36% of their price spike so far.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Used vehicle prices at auctions fell another 0.5% in December from November, seasonally adjusted; and by 2.0%, not seasonally adjusted, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index today. Manheim is the largest auto auction house in the US and a unit of Cox Automotive. Its auction venues sell about 5 million vehicles a year. The index is adjusted for changes in mix and mileage.
The index price, at $18,110, has dropped by $4,792, or by 20.9%, from the peak in May 2022. During the incomprehensibly crazy run-up of prices from February 2020 through May 2022, the index had soared by $8,842, or by 63%, to $22,902.
As of December, $4,792 or 53% of the $8,842 price spike has now vanished – a historic plunge, after a historically insane price spike.