Used car prices fall in Q3, while demand for fuel-efficient vehicles grows

DETROIT — Used vehicle prices are forecast to fall more than previously expected this year, as high gas prices and broader inflationary costs hit Americans' pocketbooks. Cox Automotive on Tuesday lowered its forecast for the company's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index from an increase of 2% to an uptick of 0.2%. The lower forecast follows a 0.6% decline for the index in September, which marked the first time since early last year when the monthly index hasn't been higher than a year earlier. The historical average for the Manheim index is about a 2.3% year-over-year gain, but last year it was only up 0.4% after a historical run-up in prices during the coronavirus pandemic earlier in the decade. Non-adjusted wholesale used-vehicle prices fell 1.