Tight wholesale inventories have forced dealers to look far and wide for used vehicles. Now based on information CNW Research uncovered in relation to April’s used-sales performance, buyers are going farther away from home to find the model they want.

As April used sales inched up 0.7 percent higher compared to a year ago, CNW discovered a 22-percent rise in the number of used vehicles acquired outside of the buyer’s DMA (marketing area).

“Shoppers are crossing out of their neighborhood in larger numbers to make a used-vehicle purchase,” CNW president Art Spinella said. “Price and availability of a particular make and model were the two primary reasons.”

That factor likely played a role in how last month’s final used-sales total settled. CNW determined the figure came in a 3.81 million, up from 3.79 million recorded last April.

While sales lifted a bit in April, CNW noticed that the total value of used vehicles sold last month slipped 5.8 percent to $34.1 billion. That amount is down compared to last April’s figure of $36.2 billion “because of lower transaction prices,” according to Spinella.

Spinella pointed out transaction prices across all three channels — at franchised and independent dealers as well as private parties — decreased 6.46 percent to $8,928 from $9,545. The dip excludes aftermarket products, taxes and fees.

CNW also provided a possible preview of how April’s certified pre-owned sales performance might be. With inventories of one to five year old vehicles improving slightly, Spinella indicated April sales of those units rose compared to last year. He also offered a breakdown by age:

—1 year old: Up 0.47 percent
—2 years old: Up 5.31 percent
—3 years old: Up 5.96 percent
—4 years old: Up 6.44 percent
—5 years old: Up 1.22 percent

Spinella wrapped up his early analysis of April’s used sales performance by returning to a discussion about consumers potentially buying these models.

CNW indicated there was a 12-percent increase in the number of used-vehicle shoppers in April versus a year earlier. A breakdown of that overall jump fell this way:

—Franchised dealerships’ shoppers: Up 8.83 percent
—Independent dealerships’ shoppers: Up 6.54 percent
—Private Party shoppers: Up 21.98 percent

The firm discovered the typical used-vehicle buyer searched for a vehicle for 4.3 weeks before acquisition, down 13.4 percent from last year’s level of 4.9 weeks.

Finally, CNW touched on the financing of used vehicles in April.

Analysts found that there was a 10.2-percent increase in the number of used vehicles that were financed compared to last year, up to 2.57 million from 2.33 million.

CNW also indicated the number of subprime used-vehicle buyers skyrocketed by nearly 36 percent to 934,130 purchasers. That figure is much higher than what the industry recorded in April of last year when a total of 686,928 buyers fell into subprime.

Lastly, in the deep subprime market (buyers with FICO scores 550), CNW spotted a 51.47-percent increase in April compared to a year ago.

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