Used Cars Resume Price Declines in May After Strong Spring

Five used-car segments have resumed price declines after a strong Spring buying season, which is typically strong when shoppers purchase used vehicles with tax rebate money.

by Staff

May 28, 2013

Used Cars Resume Price Declines in May After Strong Spring — Ricky Beggs, Sr. VP for Black Book.

2 min to read

Black Book’s recent analysis of used-car prices shows that prices in five segments have started declining after a strong spring buying season. Since the beginning of May, some segment trends have reversed, though.

Key trends Black Book noted include a decline of 2.07% for the Entry Mid-Size Car segment after flat prices in April (with only a drop of 0.06%). Example vehicles in this segment include the Chrysler 200, the Ford Fusion, the Volkswagen Jetta, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Buick Regal, and the Chrysler Sebring.

The Entry-Level Cars segment has seen a drop of 1.66% in May, after a 0.71% increase during April. Vehicles in this segment include the Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Aveo, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, and Toyota Yaris.

The Compact Cars segment has seen a drop of 1.05% after increasing 0.55% in April. Vehicles in this segment include the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cobalt, Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, and Toyota Matrix.

“Several of the car segments have seen a noticeable drop in prices following the spring buying season due to a variety of factors that are economy- and demand-driven,” said Ricky Beggs, SVP and editorial director at Black Book. “With the buying season over, shoppers have turned to service vehicles like trucks, which are in demand from economy-driven construction projects.”

Here are the top-five segments that have dropped the most in May compared with April prices:

Segment	May	April
Entry Mid-Size Car	-2.07%	-0.06%
Full-Size Car	-1.70%	-0.28%
Entry-Level Car	-1.66%	0.71%
Upper Mid-Size Car	-1.22%	0.03%
Compact Car	-1.05%	0.55%