Wholesale used-car prices rose 2 percent in October from a year earlier, Cox Automotive reported on November 6, while the cheapest cars on dealers’ lots are getting harder to find.
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, the industry’s benchmark for what dealers pay at auction, finished October at 206.8 — up 2 percent from October 2025 and up 0.5 percent from September, after adjusting for mix, mileage and seasonality. The monthly increase beat the long-term average October rise of 0.3 percent. Unadjusted wholesale prices were up 0.3 percent year over year but down 2.3 percent against September.
EVs Hold Up as Trucks Slide
The market split sharply by segment. Wholesale used electric vehicle values stand 6.6 percent above a year ago, even after easing 0.9 percent from September, while light-duty truck values are down 4.3 percent from a year ago on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Prices for three-year-old vehicles, a closely watched cohort, fell 2.8 percent in October.
Cox Automotive chief economist Jeremy Robb said depreciation trends at Manheim were generally in line with long-term averages, with the index holding 2 percent higher “against depressed values last October” — a reminder that part of the year-over-year gain reflects an easy comparison with a weak October 2025, not a surge in demand.
What Shoppers Will Pay
Wholesale prices are a leading indicator for retail prices, since auction costs typically filter through to showroom stickers within weeks — and retail is already expensive. The average used listing price was $27,235 in September, according to Cox Automotive, the highest monthly average since December 2022 and up nearly 6 percent from a year earlier.
Budget buyers face the tightest squeeze: cars priced under $15,000 had only 34 days of supply in September, against 49 days for the used market overall. Wholesale supply stood at 28.1 days at the end of October, while retail supply stood at just under 50 days, close to the long-term average. Cox has also cut its outlook, and now expects the Manheim index to end 2026 up only about 0.2 percent year over year, down from the 2 percent it forecast in July. The next full Manheim release is scheduled for December 7. The cost of owning a car is climbing on every front — see our report on record car payments hitting $787 a month — while Tesla’s Cybercab went on sale at $29,990 this week.
