Black Book: Vehicle Depreciation Dropped to 13.2% in 2017
The average price of a used vehicle for model years 2012–’16 depreciated in value by 2.9%. Cars overall dropped by 3.0% and trucks decreased by 2.8% in value during December.
Used subcompact luxury CUVs such as the Audi Q3 suffered a 19.2% year-over-year value decrease in December, leading all categories in Black Book’s latest rankings. Photo courtesy Audi AG
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — According to Black Book data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2012–’16 depreciated in value by 2.9%. Cars overall dropped by 3.0% and trucks decreased by 2.8% in value during December. All vehicles averaged a 12-month depreciation of 13.2% during 2017, compared to a depreciation of 17.3% in 2016.
The largest average depreciation for December was in the subcompact luxury crossover segment, which fell by 4.8%. Vehicles in this segment finished December with an average price of $14,952, a 19.2% decrease from the $18,496 price tag these units enjoyed just a year ago.
Prestige luxury cars saw the largest decrease in value from year-ago levels. This category dropped 23.4% since December of 2016, when its average price was $41,452. This group currently averages $31,745.
Two vehicle segments tied for the lowest depreciation during December: Small pickups and full-size vans decreased in value by just 1.7%.
“Vehicle values ended the year with an easing of depreciation during the month of December,” said Anil Goyal, Black Book’s senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics. “Between a stronger-than-expected spring selling season that lasted into early summer and the two hurricanes during the fall that required a healthy dose of vehicle replacement activity, we saw lower overall depreciation this year compared with 2016.”
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