GAINESVILLE, Ga. -

The wholesale market hit a five-week high for daily value adjustments last week and experienced the greatest overall decline in more than a month, according to Black Book managing editor Ricky Beggs.

In fact, since mid-February, there have only been two other weeks that have exceeded the $29 decline shown last week, Beggs said in the latest “Beggs on the Used Vehicle Market” video report.

“Of all the adjusted vehicles, the overall change of -$29 is the largest overall decline since the -$33 for the week ending May 6, and the -$97 for the week ending Feb. 18, 2011, just prior to this fantastic run of strength in the market,” Beggs noted.

“Said another way, with the exception of one week in early May, this week marked the largest overall decline in vehicle values in more than three months,” he added.

Overall, there were 1,793 vehicles each day whose values were adjusted. Cars, once again, climbed on average, while truck values dipped, according to Beggs.

Specifically, cars were up $33 and trucks fell $18. This drop-off mirrors what has been typical the past five weeks in the truck market, Beggs said, while the past week marks the 14th uptick in a row for car values.

Within the group of 10 car segments, nine moved up in value, with the full-size car segment (down $10) being the only one to fall.

The most robust gain was found in the prestige luxury car segment (up $60), with the entry sporty cars (up $56) in second and the premium sporty cars (up $55) in third.

This marked the fourth time in five weeks that the gain in entry sporty cars has surpassed $50, he shared.

On the truck side of the market, seven of the 14 increased in value. Interestingly enough, if full-size SUVs — which fell $153 — were taken out of the equation, the average change in the remaining 13 segments would be a considerably more moderate decline of $7.

“The trucks, which have declined in value for the last five weeks, would normally be considered pretty solid in retention, except for the relative strength of the cars,” Beggs noted

Full-size crossovers showed the second-highest drop ($61) and the luxury SUVs were in third with a $59 decline.

Compact crossovers (up $42) led increases followed by the midsize pickups (up $38).

Offering some overall commentary on the wholesale market, Beggs said that for the third straight week, the market saw a great deal of “no-sales.”

He also pointed out that many auctions were seeing conversion rates in the 50-percent ballpark. That’s a major drop, considering that in late March and early April some sales were hitting the 80-percent mark, according to Beggs.

He went on to say: “Most auctions had solid attendance with the dealers searching for the right vehicle. When the right unit presented itself, the final bid price was a solid book reflective price but not overly extravagant.”

Beggs noted that apparently there wasn’t enough attention or high enough bids generated for “middle-of-the-road” units or sales of these vehicles to happen.
“Seasonal considerations, including a slightly slower retail market and continued dealer concerns about stocking units at the current strong values are all factors lowering the conversion rates,” he added.

“Even though gas prices have fallen considerably over the past few weeks, model interest or bidding levels has not changed for either the smaller, fuel-efficient models nor the larger more versatile models in the market,” Beggs noted.