A Ford Mustang is seen in a car dealership used in Montebello, California, on May 5, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty images
Detroit – The prices of used vehicles last month decreased since their recent maximum in April, since consumers who may have needed a vehicle, but feared price increases due to dough tariffs to buy a car or truck, according to a price barometer prior to view.
Manheim of Cox Automotive used the vehicle value index, which tracks the prices of used vehicles sold at its wholesale auctions of the United States, decreased 1.5% from April to May, but remained 4% higher than a year earlier. The April level was the highest since October 2023.
“The wholesale appreciation trends were remarkably strong in April, but the market gave some strength in May, although the values remain well above last year's levels,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of economic and industrial ideas in Cox Automotive.
Retail prices for consumers traditionally follow changes in wholesale prices, but have not fallen as fast as wholesale prices in recent years.
Although President Donald Trump's rates of 25% in the new imported vehicles and many pieces do not directly affect used car sales, changes in new vehicle prices, production and demand affect the used car market, which is how most Americans buy a vehicle.
The demand has remained relatively strong as the inventory levels for used vehicles, 2.2 million, remain low compared to historical levels. That occurs when consumers have kept their vehicles for longer than the industry treats less production in recent years in the pandemic of Coronavirus and the global shortage of the supply chain.
Cox reports that retail trade used vehicle sales in May fell 3% compared to April but more year after year at 4%.
Cox said previously that he was seeing that the prices of used vehicles continue to stabilize after swinging wildly for several years before starting to calm down in 2024.
