Depreciation On Pace to Reach 14% by Year-End, Black Book Reports
The vehicle-pricing firm reported today that the pace of depreciation in September remained relatively unchanged from August. It expects average depreciation to approach pre-recession levels by year-end.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The average price of a used vehicle for model years 2010-2014, according to Black Book, declined 1.5% in September, relatively unchanged from the 1.6% decline in August.
Cars declined 2.3%, while trucks declined just 1% during the month. According to the firm, average depreciation should approach pre-recession levels (between 15% and 18%) by year-end at 14%.
By vehicle segment, compact cars, including the Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus, led the way with the highest depreciation in September at 3.7%. Vehicles in this segment finished September with an average segment price of $8,923, a 16.9% drop from a year ago ($10,739).
Full-Size SUVs, including the Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, Dodge Durango and Ford Expedition, and Full-Size Passenger Vans led all segments with the lowest depreciation in September at 0.5% each. Vehicles in this segment finished the month with an average price of $26,512, a 3.7% drop from year-ago levels ($27,530).
Compact Pickups recorded the lowest 12-month moving depreciation average at just-2.9%, a lower price drop than what compact cars have experienced in just the last 30 days.
Premium sporty cars led all car segments with the lowest depreciation in September at 1.2%. Vehicles in this segment include the Audi R8, BMW 6 Series, Cadillac XLR, Dodge Viper, and the Mercedes-Benz CL Class. They finished the month with an average segment price of $43,253, a 14.2% decline from a year ago ($50,387).
“Overall, vehicle depreciation continues to hold up well, especially as we near the part of the year where heavier price drops are typically expected,” said Anil Goyal, vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black Book. “It’s very telling of the disparity between cars and trucks to see that we have some truck segments showing lower annual depreciation than what cars are seeing on a monthly level.”
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