BANDON, Ore. — The end of the government shutdown on Oct. 16 sent shoppers back into dealership showrooms, causing a late surge in used-vehicle sales for October, CNW Research reported last week.  

Total used-vehicle sales climbed 3.63 percent from a year ago, which, thanks to the shutdown, was “somewhat weaker” than expected, the research firm said.

Franchised dealers made headway in both sales (up 2.71 percent) and transaction price (up 8.1 percent from a year ago, much of those gains coming on the back of strong CPO sales. The story was different from independents, however.

According to CNW, independents saw their share of used sales decline 3.12 percent form a year ago. They also realized 1.45 percent slip in transaction prices.

Private party sales were up more than 10 percent vs. a year ago, with the segment’s share of used sales increasing to nearly 25 percent.

“All channels, however, suffered a loss in the volume of shoppers,” the firm stated in its report. “In all, the number of shoppers to those who actually purchased a vehicle fell 10.9 percent to 2.6.”

The number of shoppers visiting franchised dealers dropped nearly 13.7 percent, while independents realized a 16 percent decrease in their shopper count. Shoppers in the private party channel fell 19.5 percent.

As for vehicle segments, trucks regained their share of used sales across all channels, climbing 9.26 percent. Cars fell 1.5 percent.

“Shoppers are going farther afield to find the used car they want, with nearly a quarter saying they purchased a vehicle outside of their local market area,” CNW stated, adding that shoppers were simply looking for the best finance deals.