Used-vehicle sales slow down in October

There was softness yet again in the retail used-car market last month, as sales and turn times slowed.

Cox Automotive estimates there was a 10% drop in total used-vehicle from October 2020. It calculated the total used-vehicle SAAR at approximately 35.9 million units for October, compared to 39.9 million a year ago and steady with September’s total used-car SAAR.

Looking at the retail used-car SAAR (which only includes sales from dealerships), Cox estimated the October rate at 19.6 million units. While consistent with September’s retail used-car SAAR, that’s off from 21.1 million in October 2020.

Used cars — and new cars, for that matter — were also selling slower last month.

In a recent analysis, iSeeCars.com examined more than 200,000 new- and used-car sale in October. The used cars it analyzed were from the 2016 through 2020 model years.

The average turn time for used cars in the study was 44.7 days, compared to 32.8 days in September. For new cars, the turn-time was 31.7 days, up from 24.6 in September.

“The demand for new and used cars has slowed in October, which is likely the result of increased inventory over September and because elevated car prices may have deterred consumers from buying a car until prices stabilize,”  iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said in the analysis. “Production halts and restricted inventory continue to beset the auto industry, but we did see an incremental improvement this past month.”