Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 3.0% in September from August. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index declined to 204.5 and is now down 0.1% from a year ago. The non-adjusted price change in September was a decline of 2.1% compared to August, moving the unadjusted average price down 2.3% year over year.
In September, Manheim Market Report (MMR) values saw larger-than-normal declines that were consistent over the month, culminating in a 2.5% total decline in the Three-Year-Old Index over the last four weeks. Over the month of September, daily MMR Retention, which is the average difference in price relative to current MMR, averaged 98.4%, meaning market prices were below MMR values. The average daily sales conversion rate decreased slightly to 49.2%, which was below normal for the time of year. For example, the sales conversion rate averaged 52.1% in September 2019. The lower conversion rate indicated that the month saw buyers with more bargaining power for the time of year.
Only three of eight major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that were higher year over year in September. Compact cars had the largest increase, at 5.9%, followed by vans and pickups, both of which increased by 0.8%. The remaining five segments’ prices were well below the industry, with midsize cars only minimally lower. Compared to August, all eight major segments’ performances were down. Full-size cars lost more than 14%. Pickups and compact cars declined the least, at 1.4% and 2.6%, respectively. The remaining five segments (vans, SUVs, midsize, luxury, and sports cars) lost between 3.1% and 5.2%.