BANDON, Ore. -

While the number of used cars sold in August fell from both July and year-ago levels, the total value of these cars did not, according to CNW Research.

In fact, there was a 7.3-percent year-over-year rise in the total value of used-car sales in August, the firm said, pinpointing the figure at nearly $41 billion.

CNW president Art Spinella pointed to “somewhat higher asking prices and the ability to get customers to pay closer to that asking price,” as the factor behind the spike, and the proof is in average transaction prices.

Those beat figures from last August by 14.6 percent, as they hit roughly $10,740 per car, CNW said.

If only there were more shoppers, though. There were 8.5 million people looking for a used car this August, down from 10.8 million shoppers in August 2013, according to CNW.

“The total number of used-car shoppers in August was off more than 20 percent, which explains the lower sales,” Spinella noted.

Specifically, there were 3.82 million used vehicles sold last month, which compares to 4.08 million used sales in August 2013. This latest monthly sales total is down significantly from the nearly 4.5 million used sales in July.
 
Interestingly enough, more people (5.1 percent more on a share basis, CNW says) stayed within their own marketing area to shop and buy.

This, despite the increasing use of the Web, which Spinella  says “continues to be the growing source of motivation to shop for a used car.”