CARY, N.C. -

Certified pre-owned vehicles sales reached a seventh straight record year by the slimmest of margins.

According to Autodata Corp., there was an estimated 2,645,718 CPO vehicles sold in 2017, compared to 2,642,986 sold in 2016.

That’s a gain of just 0.1 percent, but it was enough to bump certified sales to their best year on record.

The year closed with 221,126 sales in December, which was down 4.8 percent year-over-year.

Dealers moved 624,602 CPO units in the fourth quarter, which was off 2.7 percent year-over-year, according to Autodata.

Despite the slowdown at the close of the year, the firm said 12 CPO programs had best-ever years: BMW, Cadillac, Fiat/Chrysler, Honda, Infiniti, Land Rover, Maserati, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche and Subaru.

Domestic brands combined to move 907,447 certified vehicles for the year, beating the 2016 total by 0.9 percent.

Asian brands were down 1.1 percent with 1.29 million CPO vehicles sold. European brands upped their sales by 1.9 percent, selling 449,775 units.

On the new-car side, there appears to be some momentum building, according to commentary from Comerica Bank.

"Vehicle sales surged in September after the hurricanes damaged vehicles from Texas to Florida," said Robert Dye, chief economist at Comerica Bank, in a news release. "We expected sales to fall off from the September surge quicker than they have. Strong consumer confidence, buoyed by sustained economic momentum and tax reform, may be extending the rally in auto sales."