MONROE, OHIO – Slightly rising dealer inventories combined with the relative stability of used-car prices pushed the GetAuto.com Used-Vehicle Index lower in February. The GetAuto.com Used Vehicle Index (UVI), which employs information gathered on automotive dealers’ lots by Dealer Specialties, was created to help both buys and sellers make an intelligent choice in the used-car transaction.

Last month, the UVI stood at 98.99 – indicating favorable conditions existed for the used-car buyer. An index score above 100 signals that the purchasing environment is less desirable for the buyer – a sign that consumers may want to spend more time researching their used-car, consider buying a new car, or verifty the book value of a car online. In February, the UVI moved in favor of the used-car buyer, to 98.23.

“We are noticing a slight, yet statistically significant increase in overall dealer inventories this month,” said Andy Warner, data partner manager for Dealer Specialties. “This coupled with flat pricing, was enough to drive the UVI down.”

The GetAuto.com Used Vehicle Index supplies consumers and dealers with knowledge about the current used-car market than the typical automotive index. Using proprietary indicators, the index gauges national trends in the used-vehicle industry, while informing Dealer Specialties’ customers about overall market conditions.

“The relatively mild winter has allowed dealer to turn their used cars a little faster now than in the past,” said Glen Garvin, Dealer Specialties’ East Coast manager. “Though we’re not really seeing the expected upward tick on the sticker price because they’re replenishing their inventories just as quickly.”

The UVI, updated monthly, is based on GetAuto’s changing inventory of more than 500,000 vehicles. Indicators contributing to the GetAuto.com UVI include relative age of dealers’ inventories, amount of time vehicles remain on dealers’ lots, used-car prices with respect to inflation, vehicle mileage, and quantity of used vehicles per dealer.

GetAuto.com began tracking the UVI in January 2005. So far, just one month (February 2005) has delivered an index above 100, when the UVI crept upward to 100.06.