Plunging Values of Used Vehicles Foil Rebound in New-Auto Sales

(Bloomberg) — Doug Fox, owner of a Michigan Acura dealership, watched a deal evaporate last month when the 2006 pickup that a shopper planned to trade was appraised at $6,000 less than he owed.

Falling used-car prices have erased about 6 million potential buyers from the U.S. new-car market as they struggle with loan balances exceeding the value of their old vehicles, researchers at J.D. Power & Associates estimate.


…Prices paid for used autos, particularly large pickups and sport-utility vehicles, plunged in mid-2008 when U.S. gasoline surpassed $4 a gallon. The average used vehicle fetched 15 percent less at year