J.D. Power: Used-car market showing ‘great strength'; prices on steady increase

The used-vehicle market continues to show "great strength" as buyers and dealers alike turn to used vehicles as new ones remain in short supply, J.D. Power said in a market update this week.

Through September of this year, the J.D. Power Used Vehicle Price Index was up 35 percent over the same nine-month period of 2020. Last month, the index was 11.2 points higher than in August, showing that used-vehicle prices continue to buck traditional seasonality.

Prices typically begin to cool in the summer and fall, and indeed, in late June and July of this year prices declined for seven straight weeks. But they began to rise again, increasing gradually each week in August and September, J.D. Power said.

Prices have been strong across all used segments, especially nonpremium small and compact cars, J.D. Power said. Large-pickup prices are increasing but at a slowing rate as inventory on the new side of the market improves .

New-vehicle production is seen as key to bringing used prices back to normal seasonality. Still, used-vehicle values are not expected to see significant declines any time soon.

"Used prices are expected to remain very strong for the foreseeable future, with fluctuations up and down as the new market continues to work towards recovery," J.D. Power said.