BANDON, Ore. — As the industry appeared to regroup after
last month's federal government shutdown threw a wrench into the mix, CNW
Research reported that October's used-vehicle retail sales total rose above
some analysts' projections.

CNW said October's tally came in at 3.152 million units,
representing a combination of sales at franchised and independent dealerships
as well as private-party transactions. President Art Spinella indicated the
figure also represented 3.63 percent lift above the used-vehicle sales
performance during October of last year.

Spinella described the sales total as "somewhat weaker than
it should have been but ahead of projections.

"Used-car sales in October surged at the end of the month,
rebounding from a partial government shutdown that caused some shoppers to put
off their purchase decisions," he continued. "The end of the shutdown early in
the month resulted in shoppers returning in steady numbers."

CNW discovered franchised dealers made headway in both used
sales (up 2.71 percent) and transaction prices (up 8.1 percent).

"Most of the gain was on the back of CPO units," Spinella
said.

Meanwhile, CNW noted the October fortunes weren't as
favorable for independent stores. Spinella said independent dealers saw their
share decline 3.12 percent and transaction prices slip 1.45 percent compared to
the same month last year.

What trumped the performance of both franchised and
independent stores was the activity generated through private-party sales. CNW
determined these sales jumped more than 10 percent versus a year ago with share
increasing to nearly 25 percent.

Based on transaction prices, CNW calculated the industry
sold $29.9 billion worth of used vehicles, up 8.21 percent year-over-year.

"All channels, however, suffered a loss in the volume of
shoppers. In all, the number of shoppers to those who actually purchased a vehicle
fell 10.9 percent to 2.6 percent," said Spinella, who broke down the drop-offs
this way:

—Franchised dealerships: down nearly 13.7 percent

—Independent dealerships: down 16 percent

—Private party: down 19.5 percent

In other used-vehicle metrics from the month that CNW
shared, the firm found that trucks regained share of used sales across all
channels, climbing 9.26 percent while cars fell 1.5 percent.

Spinella also touched on a couple other interesting trends
CNW spotted in October.

"Shoppers are going farther afield to find the used car they
want with nearly a quarter saying they purchased a vehicle outside of their
local marketing area," he said. "In many cases these shoppers were looking for
best financing dealers and finding them with a 12.7 percent increase in the
number who actually financed their used-vehicle acquisition.

"The Internet in all forms from mobile to tablet to desktop
generated a massive increase in generating floor traffic," Spinella went on to
say. "More than 3.2 million consumers used the Internet to shop for a used car
or truck, up 129.4 percent increase from a year ago's 1.4 million.

Finally, CNW noticed that pre-approved loans edge up
slightly in October, ticking 1.01 percent higher versus the same month last
year.

Continue the conversation with SubPrime Auto Finance News on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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