NADA: 5 Factors That Will Keep Used Vehicle Trade-in Values High in 2013

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst with the NADA Used Car Guide, highlighted several factors that will keep used-vehicle prices at historically high levels this year.

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"Car buyers will find 2013 another excellent year to trade-in their current vehicles for either new or previously owned cars or trucks," Banks said today in remarks at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention and Expo in Orlando.

Banks outlined five key factors that will result in high used-vehicle prices in 2013:

• Fed policy and a highly competitive lending environment will continue to see credit standards loosen and availability grow.
• The recovery in housing and construction will pick up steam, benefitting both the economy and employment. This will help stoke demand for traditional used-car and -truck shoppers. 
• Employment will continue to improve, especially toward the latter half of the year once the outcomes of the government sequester and debt ceiling extension are better known.
• With a predicted increase of 8%, the supply of units up to three years in age will grow for the first time since 2006, but even with the increase, volume will still be 25% below where it was in the three years leading up to 2009.
• While it's expected that the recovery in new-vehicle sales will siphon off a portion of used-vehicle demand, there remains pent-up demand for those consumers who traditionally purchase only used vehicles. "As job growth continues to progressively improve, used-vehicle intenders will gradually replace their current vehicles with newer, pre-owned ones, thereby helping to compensate for the loss of new-vehicle substitute demand," Banks said.

Taken as a collective, NADA predicts the price of units up to eight years in age will average $14,375 this year, down 0.8% from 2012's figure of $14,500.

Compared to last year, NADA expects that prices will be softer in the first half of the year as consumers and businesses react to the expiration of the 2% payroll tax holiday and political activity surrounding the deferred federal budget sequester and the debt ceiling extension.

"Excluding last December's inflated showing from Hurricane Sandy, used prices in the second half of the year should essentially match what was observed in 2012," Banks said.

Last year, both the new- and used automotive markets made several notable achievements. New-vehicle sales accelerated by more than 13% in 2012, which was 500,000 more than the year's initial consensus forecast and also the largest annual increase recorded since 1984.

"Undoubtedly, the new-vehicle sales performance in 2012 was helped along by higher used trade-in prices," Banks added.

By NADA's estimation, used-vehicle prices for units up to eight years in age rose by 1.2% in 2012, thereby extending a three-year run of appreciation with prices increasing by a staggering 32% since bottoming out in 2008.

The NADA convention runs Feb. 8-11 at the Orange County Convention Center. For up-to-minute news coverage, visit www.nadafrontpage.com/NADA2013.xml.

The NADA Story

The NADA story began in 1917 when 30 auto dealers traveled to the nation's capital to convince Congress not to impose a luxury tax on the automobile. They successfully argued that the automobile is a necessity of American life, not a luxury. From that experience was born the National Automobile Dealers Association. Today, NADA represents nearly 16,000 new-car and -truck dealers, with 32,500 franchises, both domestic and international. For more information, visit www.nada.org. Follow NADA on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE National Automobile Dealers Association