Car Depreciation Accelerates in August, Black Book Reports
Only two car segments ranked in the Top 12 for strongest monthly retention, the firm reported this week. It added that depreciation for all car segments topped rates recorded during the last three years for the month of August.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The average price of a used vehicle for model years 2011-2015 depreciated 2.4% during August, noticeably more than July’s 1.5% decline, according to Black Book.
The decline is also notably more than what was recorded the last three years during the month of August — even higher than August 2014’s 1.9% depreciation rate. Cars overall recorded the highest depreciation, with prices falling 3.1% compared to 1.9% in July. Truck segment showed depreciation of 1.8% for the month, with all vehicles currently averaging a 12-month depreciation change of 16.2%.
Depreciation for near-luxury cars, including the Acura ILX, Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Cadillac ATS, and Lexus IS250, was the highest at 3.7%. Vehicles in this segment finished the month with an average price of $18,112, a 19.5% decline from year-ago levels ($22,501).
Full-size pickups, including the Chevy Silverado, Dodge Ram, Ford F150, and GMC Sierra, recorded the highest retention, with prices depreciating only 0.6%. Vehicles in this segment finished the month with an average price of $24,372, a 10.2% decline from a year ago ($27,152).
Four other vehicle segments saw depreciation of 3% or greater in August. Those segments were the sub-compact car (3.5%); sporty cars (3.4%); luxury cars (3.3%); and compact cars (3.3%).
The top six segments with the weakest retention during August were all cars. And while prestige luxury cars recorded the strongest retention among all car segments, its 2.2% depreciation rate made it just the eighth best-performing segment overall for the month. In fact, just two car segments ranked in the Top 12 among retention for the month (premium sporty car depreciated 2.7%).
“As fall approaches, depreciation trends continue to accelerate as we head toward the last few months of the year,” said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black book. “We can expect to see lower retention in cars across all segments as the year continues, and we’ll continue to monitor truck levels to see if they also see weaker retention overall.”
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