Average used vehicle prices have fallen noticeably from a year ago, new car prices have stabilized, and further price relief could be on the way still. However, predicting whether you should get into the vehicle market now or wait for an even better deal is a difficult game to play. “We don’t want to speculate because the market is the market,” said Baris Akyurek, vice-president of insights and intelligence at .
But he points out there could be more good news for price-conscious car buyers in the near term. According to the AutoTrader , used car prices dropped 1.1 per cent on a month-over-month basis and 8.
3 per cent on a year-over-year basis to an average of $36,342, while new car prices increased by 0.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis to $66,807. Akyurek noted there were further price decreases in July, which are not mentioned in the quarterly price index report, with average used car prices dropping 0.
7 per cent month-over-month and virtually no change in the average new car prices. “In the short term, we believe these trends (will) continue, but on the other hand, because interest rates have started to come down, we expect to see an uptick in demand,” he said, adding that the second half of the year may see hotter demand for vehicles. “How will that play into prices? We don’t want to speculate but we believe this might continue for a little further and then it’s normalized.
” One thing is certain, prices aren’t expected to return to pre-pandemic leve.