Black Book Says Overall Used-Car Depreciation Just -0.1% During April

Black Book recently released a new analysis of vehicle depreciation rates, noting that April generally is the end of the spring buying season for used cars and that this was the case last month.

by Staff

May 16, 2013

3 min to read

Black Book recently released a new analysis of vehicle depreciation rates, noting that April generally is the end of the spring buying season for used cars and that this was the case last month.

The company said used cars overall depreciated -0.1 percent on the month. Domestic cars increased 0.2 percent; import cars dropped -0.2 percent; domestic trucks were up 0.1 percent; and import trucks were down -0.2 percent, according to the company.

Black Book noted that vehicles in its Entry-Level Cars category saw the biggest gains, up 1.5 percent in value. Vehicles in the category include the Chevrolet Aveo, the Honda Fit, the Kia Rio, the Nissan Versa, and the Toyota Yaris. The average segment value at the April was $7,792.

Minivans saw the largest gain in the truck segments during April, up 2.7 percent for the month. These vehicles include the Dodge Caravan, Ford Transit Connect, and the Chevrolet Uplander. The average segment value at the end of April was $9,927.

The Full-Size Crossovers and Luxury SUV categories depreciated the most in Black Book’s truck segments, both falling 0.7 percent during April. Crossovers in this category include the GMC Acadia, the Buick Enclave, the Ford Flex, and the Chevrolet Traverse. SUVs include the Cadillac Escalade, Toyota Land Cruiser, Lincoln Navigator, and the BMW X5.

The Prestige Luxury Car category saw the most depreciation, according to Black Book, with the overall category falling 1.1 percent in value. Vehicles in this segment include the BMW 7 Series, the Audi A8, the Lexus GS430, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the Jaguar XJ. The average segment value at the end of April was $32,938.

The chart below shows a breakdown of value changes of used vehicles:

Bodystyle	5/1/2012	4/1/2013	1M Chg	5/1/2013	12M Chg	12M Chg
All Vehicles	$20,669	$17,979	-0.10%	$17,956	($2,712)	-13.10%
Domestic	$14,592	$12,403	0.20%	$12,424	($2,168)	-14.90%
Domestic Truck	$17,467	$15,999	0.10%	$16,011	($1,455)	-8.30%
Import	$22,595	$19,265	-0.20%	$19,222	($3,373)	-14.90%
Import Truck	$23,811	$20,611	-0.20%	$20,564	($3,246)	-13.60%
Compact Pickup	$16,176	$15,144	0.20%	$15,174	($1,003)	-6.20%
Compact SUV	$16,848	$15,370	1.40%	$15,580	($1,268)	-7.50%
Compact CUV	$15,572	$13,534	0.40%	$13,584	($1,988)	-12.80%
Entry Level Car	$9,476	$7,676	1.50%	$7,792	($1,684)	-17.80%
Entry Mid-Size Car	$12,235	$10,046	-0.20%	$10,031	($2,204)	-18.00%
Sporty Car	$21,936	$19,172	-0.10%	$19,153	($2,783)	-12.70%
Full-Size Pickup	$23,221	$21,975	0.30%	$22,036	($1,185)	-5.10%
Full-Size Car	$15,005	$12,869	0.00%	$12,874	($2,131)	-14.20%
Full-Size SUV	$21,626	$19,577	-0.50%	$19,470	($2,155)	-10.00%
Full-Size Van Cargo	$13,253	$12,020	0.30%	$12,054	($1,199)	-9.00%
Full-Size Vans Wagon (Pass)	$14,169	$12,729	0.30%	$12,765	($1,404)	-9.90%
Full-Size CUV	$24,559	$20,904	-0.70%	$20,753	($3,806)	-15.50%
Luxury Level Car	$24,331	$21,159	-0.20%	$21,109	($3,221)	-13.20%
Luxury SUV	$38,107	$33,149	-0.70%	$32,930	($5,177)	-13.60%
Mid-Size Pickup	$16,779	$15,602	0.50%	$15,678	($1,101)	-6.60%
Mid-Size SUV	$19,055	$17,250	-0.10%	$17,237	($1,818)	-9.50%
Mini Van Cargo	$11,044	$9,663	2.70%	$9,927	($1,117)	-10.10%
Mini Van Wagon (Pass)	$15,820	$13,389	-0.30%	$13,351	($2,468)	-15.60%
Mid-Size CUV	$21,378	$18,250	-0.30%	$18,197	($3,181)	-14.90%
Near Luxury Car	$18,239	$15,460	-0.10%	$15,443	($2,796)	-15.30%
Prestige Luxury Car	$39,638	$33,313	-1.10%	$32,938	($6,700)	-16.90%
Premium Sporty Car	$50,360	$43,240	-0.60%	$42,996	($7,365)	-14.60%
Compact Car	$11,057	$9,015	1.10%	$9,110	($1,947)	-17.60%
Upper Mid-Size Car	$13,269	$11,008	0.40%	$11,052	($2,217)	-16.70%