Earlier this year, car shoppers were seeing that 2011 model-year used vehicles were only four percentage points more affordable than new vehicles, according to Blue Book Market Report. That’s been changing since May, with used vehicle values seeing a larger decline rate than new vehicles.
At first, the gap appeared wide, with 12 percentage points between 2011 used vehicles and 2012 new vehicles, attributed to typical used-car depreciation and increasing mileage of 2011 model year vehicles. With a closer look, and as 2012 used model year vehicles started appearing at auctions, Kelley Blue Book saw a tighter spread between new and used vehicle transaction values, at eight percentage points. The gap would likely be wider if you compare all-new 2013 models that aren’t as heavily discounted as their 2012 versions. While the gap between used and new has widened, KBB thinks pricing should remain close enough to continue what’s been seen before – consideration for a new vehicle rather than a late-model used vehicle.
