Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 2.2% in October from September. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index declined to 200.0 and is now down 10.6% from a year ago. The non-adjusted price change in October was a decline of 2.1% compared to September, moving the unadjusted average price down 9.3% year over year.
In October, Manheim Market Report (MMR) values saw smaller-than-normal declines that were relatively stable over the month, culminating in a 2.2% total decline in the Three-Year-Old Index over the last four weeks. Over the month of October, daily MMR Retention, which is the average difference in price relative to current MMR, averaged 98.2%, meaning market prices were below MMR values. The average daily sales conversion rate increased to 51.8%, which was above normal for the time of year. For example, the sales conversion rate averaged 49.3% in October 2019. The higher conversion rate indicated that the month saw sellers with more bargaining power than what is typically seen for this time of year.
All eight major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that were lower year over year in October. Compact cars had the smallest decline, at 6.1%, followed by vans and pickups, at 6.4% and 8.4%, respectively. Sports cars’ prices were just above the industry, while the remaining four segments’ prices were lower. Compared to September, six of eight major segments’ performances were down. Sports cars lost the most at 3.2%, followed by luxury cars at 2.7%. Four other segments lost between 2.4% and 0.8%. Full-size cars were up 4.5%, and vans were flat at 0.0%.