Dealers Ready for the Tax Season by Stocking Up on Cars Near the $10,000 Price Point
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (February 10, 2015) – According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2009-2013 entered 2015 with mild depreciation at -1.2% during January, little changed from the -1.0% in December. Domestic cars performed best on the month at -0.6%; import cars registered -1.2%; domestic trucks changed -1.6%; and import trucks changed -1.0%. Average pre-recession annual depreciation was continually recorded between -15% and -18%, and Black Book expects 2015 depreciation near -14.5%.
Passenger minivans saw the largest depreciation during January at -2.2%. Vehicles in this segment include the Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest and Toyota Sienna. Vehicles in this segment finished the month with an average price of $14,639, a -11.6% change during the last twelve months ($16,551).
Full-size SUVs finished with the second-highest monthly depreciation at -2.0%. Vehicles in this segment include the Nissan Armada, Jeep Commander, Dodge Durango, Ford Expedition, Chevrolet Suburban and Chevrolet Tahoe. Vehicles in this segment finished the month with an average price of $22,255, a -9.6% change during the last twelve months ($24,610).
Full-size cars finished the month with the strongest retention, increasing 0.1% in January. Vehicles in this segment include the Chrysler 300, Toyota Avalon, Chevrolet Impala, Nissan Maxima, and Ford Taurus. The average segment price at the end of January was $11,659, a -12.4% change from the last twelve months ($13,314).
Cars represented the top three best-performing segments in January (Entry-Level Cars and Compact Cars at -0.5%). Full-size Cargo Vans represented trucks with the lowest depreciation in January at -0.5%, followed by Compact SUVs at -0.6%. Trucks in this segment include the Jeep Wrangler and Nissan Xterra. The average segment price at the end of January was $19,233, a -4.5% change from the last twelve months ($20,135).
“With the tax season right around the corner, it’s very telling that the top three vehicle segments were represented by cars often in the crosshairs of the tax rebate buyer,” said Ricky Beggs, Editorial Director at Black Book. “With the economy continuing to improve, it will be interesting to see if other segments at a slightly higher price point become as popular this year with the average tax buyer.”
Here is the complete breakdown of Black Book-recorded January value changes of used vehicles (2009-2013):
| Bodystyle | Seg | Veh Type | 2/1/14 | 1/1/15 | M Chg | 2/1/15 | 12M Chg |
| [$] | [$] | [%] | [$] | [%] | |||
| All Vehicles | $21,551 | $19,319 | -1.2% | $19,087 | -11.4% | ||
| Domestic | $13,907 | $11,976 | -0.6% | $11,907 | -14.4% | ||
| Dom. Trk | $20,421 | $18,970 | -1.6% | $18,674 | -8.6% | ||
| Import | $22,059 | $19,307 | -1.2% | $19,067 | -13.6% | ||
| Imp. Trk | $24,753 | $22,468 | -1.0% | $22,243 | -10.1% | ||
| Mini Van Wagon (Pass) | MVW | Trk | $16,551 | $14,968 | -2.2% | $14,639 | -11.6% |
| Full-Size SUV | FSU | Trk | $24,610 | $22,706 | -2.0% | $22,255 | -9.6% |
| Luxury Level Car | LLC | $24,122 | $20,574 | -1.9% | $20,192 | -16.3% | |
| Mid-Size Pickup | MPT | Trk | $17,581 | $16,707 | -1.7% | $16,421 | -6.6% |
| Entry Mid-Size Car | EMC | $13,345 | $11,727 | -1.7% | $11,534 | -13.6% | |
| Mini Van Cargo | MVC | Trk | $11,450 | $10,133 | -1.6% | $9,967 | -13.0% |
| Near Luxury Car | NLC | $21,046 | $18,558 | -1.6% | $18,268 | -13.2% | |
| Mid-Size CUV | MXU | Trk | $22,522 | $20,027 | -1.5% | $19,732 | -12.4% |
| Prestige Luxury Car | PLC | $43,157 | $36,228 | -1.5% | $35,696 | -17.3% | |
| Full-Size Vans Wagon (Pass) | FVW | Trk | $18,821 | $19,740 | -1.4% | $19,468 | 3.4% |
| Full-Size CUV | FXU | Trk | $24,570 | $21,459 | -1.3% | $21,181 | -13.8% |
| Mid-Size SUV | MSU | Trk | $20,999 | $19,417 | -1.2% | $19,179 | -8.7% |
| Full-Size Pickup | FPT | Trk | $26,992 | $25,612 | -1.2% | $25,309 | -6.2% |
| Upper Mid-Size Car | UMC | $12,743 | $11,078 | -1.1% | $10,959 | -14.0% | |
| Sporty Car | ESC | $20,855 | $18,573 | -1.0% | $18,387 | -11.8% | |
| Luxury SUV | LSU | Trk | $40,397 | $35,793 | -1.0% | $35,443 | -12.3% |
| Premium Sporty Car | PSC | $53,731 | $47,473 | -0.9% | $47,062 | -12.4% | |
| Compact CUV | CXU | Trk | $14,673 | $13,077 | -0.7% | $12,982 | -11.5% |
| Compact Pickup | CPT | Trk | $16,401 | $15,610 | -0.7% | $15,501 | -5.5% |
| Compact SUV | CSU | Trk | $20,135 | $19,358 | -0.6% | $19,233 | -4.5% |
| Full-Size Van Cargo | FVC | Trk | $20,827 | $20,324 | -0.5% | $20,220 | -2.9% |
| Compact Car | SCC | $10,734 | $9,315 | -0.5% | $9,269 | -13.7% | |
| Entry Level Car | ELC | $8,794 | $7,823 | -0.5% | $7,784 | -11.5% | |
| Full-Size Car | FSC | $13,314 | $11,652 | 0.1% | $11,659 | -12.4% |
About Black Book
Black Book® is best known in the automotive industry for providing timely, independent and accurate vehicle pricing information, and is available to industry-qualified users through online subscription products, mobile applications and licensing agreements. A leading provider since 1955, Black Book has continuously evolved to ensure that it achieves its goal of delivering mission-critical information to its customers, along with the insight necessary to successfully buy, sell, and lend. Black Book data is published daily by National Auto Research, a division of Hearst Business media, and the company maintains offices in Georgia, Florida, and Maryland. For more information, please visit BlackBookAuto.com or call 800.554.1026.
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