You may not have as much sticker shock seeing used car prices as year or two ago

CHARLOTTE — New numbers out show used car prices dropping steadily each month.

According to Cox Automotive’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, the prices have been lower than the same time the year before for 22 months in a row. Most recently, 8.9% lower.

More specifically:

Pickup trucks: down 8.3%.

SUVs: down 9.3%.

Sedans: down 11%.

EVs: down 16.6%.

Analysts say the main reason is that supply chain issues during the pandemic meant fewer new cars, driving up the price of used ones. But not anymore.

Yet, Nick Delguidice says not so fast.

“I don’t really necessarily agree that [the price] of used cars has come down,” he told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. He works at Credit Doctor, a dealership on Albemarle Road.

“The interest rates are crazy so that’s what’s happening. People can’t get financed on cars,” he said.

According to national news reports, those rates hit 15-year highs at the end of last year and have come down a bit this year but were still close to 12% on used cars just a few months ago.

When used car prices drop, it’s good for buying and bad for selling. But how bad? The auto analysts at Edmunds said almost “one in four” drivers who bought a new car using a trade-in recently owed more on the trade-in than it was worth. That’s the most car buyers with what are called “upside down loans” since early 2021.

Shopping for a used car? Action 9 suggests doing four things:

- Test drive it first.

- Have a mechanic you trust check it out.

- Ask the dealer for a Carfax or similar auto history report.

- Check the VIN online for any open recalls.

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