Used vehicles keep getting more expensive

The price for a used vehicle continued to rise in March but the pace at which it’s increasing seems to have slowed.

Canadian Black Book released its monthly index for March recently. The index sits at a new record high of 165 — that means the index is 65 points above the baseline of 100 and used vehicles values are 65 per cent higher than the baseline set in January 2005.

The baseline sat just about even in the summer of 2020 and has skyrocketed since with a noticeable spike in the fall of 2021. Year-over-year the index is up 39.1% compared to 118.6 points in March of 2021.

“Although value retention growth is beginning to slow down, it is still increasing, and vehicles are worth substantially more than they ever have been,” said James Hancock, director of OEM strategy and analytics at Canadian Black Book. “What’s more impressive is that values today are 64.2% higher than the low point during the pandemic when the Index sat at 100.5points.”

For March 2022, the full-size van was the segment with the highest monthly increase at 8.72 per cent It has gained 81.11 per cent since March 2021. The full-size pickup segment saw the next highest monthly value gains of 2.34 per cent, while luxury cars were followed with 2.16 per cent growth.

However, 12 segments saw decreases. The full-size car segment dropped 4 per cent and compact vans fell 2.3 per cent, leading the way. Still, these segments are up overall year-over-year.

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