The pre-tariff car sales rush has driven used vehicle pricing to its highest level since late 2023, as buyers scramble to grab new and used cars ahead of expected price increases. Cox Automotive’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index showed an increase of 4.9 percent, growing faster and for a longer period than the traditional “spring bounce.”
Cox Automotive’s senior director of economic and industry insights said,” The ‘spring bounce’ normally ends the second week of April, but this year, wholesale appreciation trends continued for the entire month and were much stronger than we typically observe. We expected to see strong price appreciation in response to the tariffs, and that’s exactly what came.”
Tariffs on imported vehicles and parts don’t directly affect used car pricing, but they touch several other parts of the market that do. The tariffs will increasingly impact new car pricing, availability, and buyer demand, which could push more people to the used market, causing a general price increase.
The average used vehicle price rose by 2 percent to more than $25,000, and new cars remained expensive, averaging $48,000. While those numbers are still higher than the pre-pandemic prices, they are as drastic or volatile as the pricing changes in the years since. That said, Cox said earlier this year that used pricing had slowly begun to stabilize in 2024 before tariff disruptions.
[Images: Woodsnorthphotos, Eric Glenn, Simone Hogan via Shutterstock]
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