Used Car Prices Set To Rise Again, But These Models Already Sell For More Than New Ones

As 2023 dawned it seemed the used-vehicle market was finally settling back down to some degree of normalcy after a pandemic’s worth of events fell into place like the components in a Rube Goldberg invention to drive up prices precipitously. Used-car prices that climbed by a whopping 45% from June 2020 to June 2021 fell by 8.8% over the 12-month period ending this past December, which seemed like good news for shoppers.

Unfortunately, experts caution that the roller coaster ride is expected to continue with regard to pre-owned vehicle prices. The just-released Manheim Used Vehicle Index suggests that prices of pre-owned models should again be trending upward in the months ahead. That’s because wholesale prices have jumped by 8.6% in the first quarter of 2023. As a result, Cox Automotive has revised its 2023 forecast for the used-car market as showing a 1.6% average price increase by the end of the year, instead of its original prediction of a 4.0% decrease.