BANDON, Ore. — Based on the first 15 days of the month, CNW
Research is projecting that August will be a "solid" month for used-vehicle
sales.

The combination of retail metal turning at franchised and
independent dealerships as well as private-party transactions should push this
month's total at least 3 percent higher versus year ago levels.

According to CNW's August Retail Automotive Summary, should
the firm's projection come to fruition, this month's used-sales figure would
climb to 3.98 million, up from 3.87 million the industry posted during the same
month last year.

"For the first time this year, all channels appear in
lockstep in terms of the year-over-year gains and pretty much match the
full-year to date increases versus 2012 through August," CNW president Art
Spinella said.

If August pans out as CNW forecasts, it would leave the
year-to-date total for used sales at 28.7 million units, a 3.1-percent uptick
from the same span last year.

CNW is expecting that franchised stores will turn 1.52
million used vehicles this month, bringing the yearly total to nearly 10.6
million. Spinella is confident in that projection because of "an influx of
trade-ins and quick turnaround on the lot."

Spinella added that he thinks sales at independent lots will
be up about 3.3 percent to 1.37 million sales this month while private-party
transactions will rise 2.8 percent to 1.1 million.

Pent-Up Demand Rises

CNW mentioned preliminary data suggest that 96,000 potential
used-vehicle buyers "are waiting in the wings," according to Spinella, and they
are ready to make an acquisition sometime later this year.

"And that's just the August figure which is up more than 13
percent compared to last year," he said. "Most heartening for used-car sellers
is that the average delay in making the leap is down to 2.19 months from last
year's 2.9 months. That's a 25-percent decrease and the largest year-over-year
decline of 2013."

More Commentary on Potential Purchases

Of those who have postponed a used-vehicle purchase, CNW
indicated 94.7 percent of them say they still plan to make that purchase
sometime in the coming six months.

Spinella offered reasons for the postponement

"Top of the list, the current car or truck still has life in
its old bones and the owner wants to accumulate a bit more money to make an
acquisition of a newer or slightly more upscale model," he said.

"As an aside: Men are postponing at a higher rate than
women. About 59 percent of all those who have put off a used purchase are male
with 41 percent female. Men represent about 52 percent of all used-vehicle
acquisitions," Spinella went on to say.

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