Used Car Prices Are Falling, Unless You Want an EV
Wholesale used-vehicle prices fell in September when they usually rise. Diesels and big trucks are piling up at auction, while used EVs set sales records.
Used vehicles got cheaper at auction in September, a month when prices normally tick up. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, the industry's main gauge of wholesale prices, fell 1.1% from August to 205.9 and now sits 0.6% below where it was a year ago, according to Cox Automotive's September report.
The average hides a split. Wholesale values for electric vehicles rose 4.3% from a year earlier, while everything else fell 1.6%. For shoppers, that changes the math laid out in our used EV buying guide: the bargains are shifting from electric cars toward trucks.
Fuel prices are doing the sorting
"The high cost of fuel is beginning to show up in the Manheim data," said Jeremy Robb, chief economist at Cox Automotive.
Diesel shows it most clearly. With diesel at record prices, the supply of diesel vehicles at auction climbed to 39 days, 27% more than a year ago. Diesels are only about 3% of wholesale inventory, but the weakness extends to large pickups and SUVs in general, where Cox reports falling demand and values. Anyone weighing a diesel heavy-duty truck against a gas one now has a second reason to run the numbers: resale.
Used EVs are moving the other way. They made up a record 4.9% of Manheim transactions in the third quarter, up from 3.9% in the second. Retail sales of used EVs reached about 124,000, also a record and up 11.4% from a year earlier.
What it means if you are shopping
Wholesale prices are what dealers pay at auction, not what is on the window sticker. But they set the direction for lot prices, and the direction has changed. Cox cut its year-end forecast for the index to a gain of about 0.2%, down from the 2% it expected in July.
More supply is coming. Vehicles returning from leases are rising from about 190,000 a month in the first half of 2026 to about 220,000 a month in the second half. EVs were about 10% of that flow early this year and are expected to approach 19% by summer 2027, which should eventually ease the pressure on used EV prices.
Older, cheaper vehicles are holding their value better than the market as a whole. If you are flexible on timing, our guide to the best time to buy a car covers how the calendar affects the deal. Cox publishes its next reading on November 6.
