GAINESVILLE, Ga. -

With the deadline to file federal income taxes looming, Ricky Beggs shared what he and the rest of Black Book’s editors are hearing about how this year’s refund season has unfolded.

Beggs began his latest edition of “Beggs on the Used Car Market,” by saying, “spring has sprung.

“I was not only thinking about how great the weather has been over most of the country, but the enthusiasm from the consumer side as new and used car sales have blossomed,” he continued.

“We are now past the prime tax season and from our observations on the lanes, along with comments from several auctioneers, the push for the extra dollar is not as strong as it was a couple of weeks ago,” Beggs offered.

Black Book indicated this trend was also prevalent when only 59 percent of the adjustments this past week represented increases in value.

“This is the first time in the last five weeks where the positive adjustments fell under the 60-percent level, a sign of a less aggressive market, but still a strong and stable market,” Beggs surmised.

Looking at vehicle segments, Black Book determined overall car prices ticked higher for fourth consecutive week while truck prices moved up for the fifth week in a row. Editors watched half of the car segments gain in price while prices within eight of the 14 truck segments ticked up.

The leading price increases were identical last week as Beggs pointed out compact SUVs and entry midsize cars both moved $41 higher. He added entry midsize cars actually have gone up for six straight weeks.

With gas prices still high, Black Book mentioned compact cars increased by $25 this past week, marking the eighth consecutive week prices for these units moved higher.

“The bottom line is the market continues the positive trend, while it is at a slightly lesser level,” Beggs emphasized.

“Gas prices at the pump, which continue to be a primary topic around the water cooler, climbed another 2 cents to $3.94 per gallon national average,” he explained. “Even as the price inches closer to the $4 level, this week 57 percent of the truck segments had a positive change in values. This is another sign of the interest and need for trucks and utilities, along with a very manageable volume of these used units in the market.”

Beggs wrapped up his latest analysis with, “We are anxious to see how the market reacts this week and report the results with our daily adjustments, available on your desktop or mobile handheld device with fresh values every morning. 

“We hope you have a great week and look forward to seeing you on the auction lanes,” he concluded.

Beggs’ video can be viewed below.