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We are currently in the midst of the worst used-vehicle market in the past 25 years. Year-over-year prices declined every month in 2008; however, wholesale prices did improve the first 10 days of January. Despite this, many fleets now find that the depreciation rates established 24-36 months ago are insufficient for today's resale market. In many cases, resale values of fleet vehicles are significantly below the remaining book value. Here's a forecast for what lies ahead in the wholesale market.
Read More →October was an extremely difficult month to remarket vehicles in the wholesale market as resale prices took a precipitous drop. Wholesale pricing, based on mixed mileage and seasonally adjusted, declined a record 6 percent in October. The lack of credit to both dealers and retail buyers has been the key catalyst contributing to the downturn in the wholesale market. The market forecast is gloomy until the credit gridlock is resolved.
Read More →When resale prices soften, there is a pendulum-like resurgence in marketing used vehicles to employees. On the other hand, when the resale market is strong, fleets are complacent about employee sales (waiting for buyers come to them) and do not aggressively market the program to new buyers. The national average of vehicles sold to employees is 23 percent. However, by aggressively marketing employee sales, many fleets could sell as much as 50 percent of their vehicles in-house.
Read More →Car-rental transactions are down in a stagnant travel environment, and used rental risk-car prices are also down. In the past, car-rental companies used the gains on used-car sales to offset reduced revenues from rental operations.
Read More →Probably the most lively session at the AFLA Fall Meeting in Chicago this year was the Confessions of Car Wholesalers, a panel discussion of the wholesale car business followed by a testy question and answer session moderated by Pierce Walsh of Warren Buick.
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