Used Car Prices Heading South

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Did we tell you a month ago to sell your used car now if you want to get the most mullah out of your clunker? We (or rather NADA) called the peak correctly. Used car prices are heading south.

Said Jonathan Banks, senior analyst with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Used Car Guide:

“The trend of rising prices for used cars will reverse course in June because of declining gasoline prices combined with a normal seasonal slowdown in consumer demand for used cars.”

Model Year

Make/Model

Jan.

May

Jan.-May


(% Chg.)

June

June vs. May


($ Chg.)

June vs. May


(% Chg.)

2009

Toyota Camry

$11,510

$13,235

15%

$12,560

$675

– 5%

2009

Honda Civic

$10,987

$12,187

11%

$11,587

$600

– 5%

2011

Toyota Prius

$18,875

$21,225

12%

$20,325

$900

– 4%

2010

Hyundai Elantra

$10,742

$12,167

13%

$11,667

$500

– 4%

2011

Nissan Versa

$10,527

$11,702

11%

$11,252

$450

– 4%

2009

Dodge Caliber

$8,132

$9,157

13%

$8,807

$350

– 4%

2011

Ford Fusion

$14,237

$15,662

10%

$15,112

$550

– 4%

2009

Chevrolet Cobalt

$7,465

$8,565

15%

$8,265

$300

– 4%

Nada figures that used-car values will decline by about 2 percent, while truck values will fall by about 1 percent. Prices for used compact and midsize cars will fall by an average of 2.4 percent, Nada predicts.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Hidrotule2001 Hidrotule2001 on May 31, 2012

    I imagine that it will still be a while before we see normalized used car prices (if Steve's experience at recent auctions is anything to go by).

  • Twotone Twotone on May 31, 2012

    Everything eventually needs an economic correction whether it's used cars, real estate or facebook stock.

    • See 5 previous
    • Daveainchina Daveainchina on May 31, 2012

      You haven't been to China yet. They somehow are managing to avoid the rather serious housing bubble correction here. Should've happened a while ago, but magically it doesn't experience a correction. I fear that when it does, it will be more of a crash than a correction. This system is way out of balance, and definitely unsustainable.

  • Gardiner Westbound Gardiner Westbound on May 31, 2012

    Decent three or four year old, one-owner cars are scarce in Ontario and the sellers are looking for crazy, stupid amounts for them.

    • See 1 previous
    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on May 31, 2012

      @bikegoesbaa In my state, they're getting asking price because New Mexico is one of the states that issues drivers licenses to illegal aliens, and all those illegals need wheels to get around to the other parts of the country. And NADA is overlooking the individual sales that do not involve dealers (which they represent). Dealers may have seen an increase in trade-ins but that is probably driven by the new-car sales, including the meteoric rise in sales at Toyota, Chrysler, et al.

  • Daveainchina Daveainchina on May 31, 2012

    Wait, how can you get a DL as an illegal alien? I thought since 9/11 all the many forms of ID requited to get a DL would prevent that. I thought this was required by the Federal government because many of the people during 9/11 had obtained ID and shouldn't have been able to get it. Are they just faking birth certificates etc? something doesn't make sense, either New Mexico is violating the Federal standards or NM doesn't do a very good job of checking the ID required to get a DL.

    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on May 31, 2012

      It's easy. An illegal alien from anywhere, not just Mexico, goes up to the DMV window, requests a DL, pays the money, gets their picture taken and their DL issued on the spot. No hassles. No questions asked. New Mexico is an overwhelmingly Democrat state and the Democrats put this into law a long time ago. Who knows what they were thinking? The current Republican Hispanic Governor has tried to repeal this law but will never be successful. A NM DL is the launching pad for illegals traveling legally on America's roads in uninsured cars. If your insurance company has forced you to buy Uninsured Motorist insurance, in essence paying the premiums for those driving without insurance, this is at the core of it all. My Uninsured/Under-insured Motorist premiums are like paying double for the coverages on my cars and truck.

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