Caution is the word on the used-vehicle side. Though demand was healthy through the 2023 spring selling season, gone is the level it was at in 2021.

Cox Automotive's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index rose 1.5% in March from February.

Last year, sales of certified vehicles fell 9.4 percent to 2.49 million, according to figures from the Automotive News Research & Data Center. It was the lowest annual volume since 2014, when 2.34 million certified sales were recorded.

Wholesale used-vehicle prices ticked up in December to cap off a year in which there were several consecutive monthly declines.

Cox Automotive reported prices were 0.1 percent lower in September than the same time last year when the index stood at 204.8. It's the first time since May 2020 wholesale values declined year-over-year.

Cox Automotive said wholesale prices declined 4 percent compared with July.

Illinois said it suspended sales again because Carvana was not transferring titles within 20 days of sale nor issuing Illinois temporary registrations to Illinois buyers.

The company retailed a total of 240,950 used vehicles in the quarter ending May 31, down 11 percent from the same time last year. Comparable store used-vehicle sales also fell 12.7 percent.

The used-vehicle consignment company, in announcing the move this week, blamed vehicle sourcing snafus and said it needed to preserve cash.

The average U.S. vehicle age rose to 12.2 years in 2022 — a nearly 2 percent increase from 2021, S&P Global Mobility said.