BANDON, Ore. — The opportunity for subprime and deep
subprime customers to secure financing helped the June used-vehicle sales total
to climb well above CNW Research's initial expectations.

CNW found June sales were up from both May and the year-ago
period, but president Art Spinella didn't expect the figure to be this
strong.

Spinella explained that a "late-month surge in used-car
shoppers and buyers in the franchised and private-party channels put the
used-car market well above the mid-month projections."

Total used sales for June came in at 4.49 million, per CNW
data. This is up from 4.39 million used sales in May and 4.38 million during
the same period last year.

Spinella indicated the number of subprime buyers "skyrocketed"
by nearly 35.6 percent to 1,018,845 individuals. Last June, 751,143 used-vehicle
buyers fell into the subprime credit tier.

In the deep subprime market (buyers with FICO scores below
550), CNW data showed a 41.26-percent increase in June compared to last year.

Of those used vehicles financed, CNW noticed there was a
20.6-percent decline in the number of buyers who had a pre-approved auto loan
when making the acquisition in June.

However, more pre-owned vehicles are being financed with the
number reaching 3 million this June versus 2.79 million last year.

Despite that dip pre-approved financing, Spinella computed
that he June sales results bring the year-to-date total to 20.14 million used
sales, up from 19.39 million used sales during the same period of 2012.

And it seems both franchised and independent dealers got
their share of the pie, with both groups seeing year-over-year sales increases.

Franchised used sales came in at 1.74 million, which made up
38.79 percent of the total sales. It also marked a 3.35-percent rise in sales
versus June of 2012.

Independent dealers followed closely behind with 1.53
million used sales, which made up 34.09 percent of the total. Used sales for
independents were up 3.82 percent from the same period of last year.

In direct correlation with increasing sales, Spinella shared
that June saw a 3.8-percent increase in the number of used-vehicle shoppers
versus the same period of 2012.

That said, the story differs for franchised and independent
dealers.

While franchised dealers saw an increase of used-vehicle
shoppers of 3.77 percent, independent dealerships experienced a significant 26.81-percent
slide in used-vehicle shoppers in June.

And it seems used-car buyers are in a bit of a hurry to
secure their next new ride, as the typical used-car buyer searched for a
vehicle for 3.9 weeks before acquisition, down 10.64 percent from last year's
4.4 weeks, Spinella shared.

Though used sales are up, the total value of used cars sold
slipped 3.2 percent in June to $40.2 billion.

"This is compared to last year's $41.5 billion because of
lower transaction prices," Spinella said.

Specifically, transaction prices for independent, franchised
and private-party sales were down 5.5 percent to an average of $8,055.

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