Used Car Prices Surge to 3-Year High

0:00It's April 8th. This is Tampa Bay News today, powered by AI. Used car prices for buyers are hitting the highest levels in almost three years, straight out the Mannheim report. Holesale values jump 6.2% from last year, landing at 215.3% on their index, the top since summer 20. 23. That's a 1.4% rise just in March, way above normal. Dealers saw this coming early in the year, fueled by bigger tax refunds hitting folks pockets, demand stayed hot, with sales conversion rates climbing to 68.2%, 4.6% over the three-year March average, and up from February 62.7. Economists at Cox Automotive say, buyer competition is fierce with tight inventory, keeping prices firm. No big drag yet for Middle East tensions, the market's showing real grid. Even used electric vehicles are bucking trends, holding steady with values up alongside the spring bump. Police EVs are flooding auctions, giving buyers cheaper options than new ones.

1:04Looking ahead, expect prices to hold through summer as more tax returns roll in, those sales might dip 1% overall this year with a softer. Second half, the data screams economic bounce back.