We’ve all heard about how used car prices have been going. I thought I’d see if SlopeCharts had anything to say about this, and sure enough, it did. Here is, straight from the federal government, the index for all used car prices since way back in the 1950s. They actually had their own bear market, ending around the depths of the financial crisis, and for the past year, prices have done a total bottle rocket.
Here are the retail sales from used car dealers, showing the volume flow. See what a beautiful, cyclic, seasonal pattern it followed for decades? The whole channel shifted lower, picture-perfect, during the GFC, and then the FREAK SHOW over the past 15 months is here on full display.
There’s just one thing left to say.
