US Used Car Prices Down in September

2025-10-07 13:13 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

The US Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index declined 0.2% month-over-month in September 2025, following a flat reading in August and marking the third consecutive month of subdued price movements.

Prices declined for the luxury segment (-0.3%), pickups (-0.5%), SUVs (-0.9%) and compact cars (-2%) but edged up 0.2% for mid-sized sedans.

Meanwhile, EV values rose by 0.8% month-over-month, while non-EVs declined by 1%.

Year-on-year, prices of used cars increased 2%, after a 1.7% gain in August.

The luxury segment continued to show the strongest annual gains (2.3%), supported by trends in the EV market.

SUV prices increased 0.7%, while truck values edged down 0.3%.

Mid-size sedans slipped 0.6%, and compact cars fell 6.5%.

“As we close the books on Q3, we’ve continued to see wholesale values remain elevated against normal depreciation trends, even with declines in September and right as tax incentives on EVs come to an end,” said Jeremy Robb, deputy chief economist for Cox Automotive.



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US Used Car Prices Fall in July
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a widely followed measure of wholesale used-vehicle prices in the US market, decreased 1.4% month-over-month in July 2026, the first decline in three months, after edging up 0.1% in June. EV prices decreased 2.1% and non-EV were down 1.1%. Year-on-year, used-vehicle prices increased 1.3%, the smallest annual gain so far this year, led by rises in EVs (10.5%) and compact cars (4.1%). Prices also increased slightly for non-EVs (0.4%) and luxury (0.8%). In contrast, decreases were seen for pickups (-2.3%), SUVs (-1.7%) and midsize cars (-1.4%). “Wholesale values kept normalizing through July, continuing the pattern since the spring bounce peaked in March", according to Jonathan Gregory, Senior Director, Cox Automotive. "Gas prices reversed course and moved higher again as July went on, after briefly easing in June. That’s kept demand for used EVs firm even as the broader market cools", he added.
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Used Car Prices in the US Slow in June
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a widely followed measure of wholesale used-vehicle prices in the US market, edged up 0.1% month-over-month in June 2026, following a 0.3% rise in May. Prices for EVs rose 1.7% while non-EVs increased 0.2%. Year-on-year, prices went up 2.1%, below 3.6% in May, mostly due to a base effect. Compared with a year earlier, prices increased for compact cars (4.8%), luxury (1.4%) and midsize cars (0.1%) while a decline was recorded for SUVs (-0.8%) and Pickups (-0.3%). EVs cost went up 12% while non-EVs rose 1.7%. "The story of the first half is a strong tax-refund season that pushed values to levels we haven’t seen in a few years, peaking in March before normalizing, leaving the index about 1% off that March high. The bigger picture remains one of balance", according to Jonathan Gregory, Senior Director, Cox Automotive.
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The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a widely followed measure of wholesale used-vehicle prices in the US market, increased 0.3% month-over-month to 212.6 in May 2026, following a 1.6% drop in April which was the first fall in six months. "Wholesale value trends continue to normalize from a strong start to the year, as we start to move into summer months and consumers continue to contend with higher gas prices. The Manheim Index overall remains higher against last year, yet it wasn’t as strong as we normally see within the month. As values were much higher in February and March, they just started to normalize. But the big picture shows good balance in supply and demand", according to Jeremy Robb, Chief Economist, Cox Automotive. EV prices increased 3.5% while prices for Non-EVs were flat. Year-on-year, prices for used vehicles went up 3.6%, led by continued EV strength and recent growth in compact cars.
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