Though used sales in October have slowed a bit due to the government shutdown earlier this month, Edmunds.com announced Thursday it is predicting October sales will “keep pace.”

The site is predicting an estimated 3.06 million used cars will be sold in October, for a SAAR of 35.6 million (compared to 3.02 million — or a SAAR of 36.3 million — used car sales in September)

According to CNW research, industry-wide used sales (franchised and independent dealer figures plus private-party sales) are expected to climb 1.5 percent and reach 3.09 million units this month, a pace Art Spinella, president of CNW Research called “tepid”.

“The tepid used-car sales data for October can be partially blamed on the government slowdown. How so? Nearly a half million federally owned vehicles were slated for sale which was postponed until the government re-opened,” said Spinella.

“That put a crimp in the overall used-car market which relied, instead, on a healthy 18-percent gain in private-party sales,” he added.

Though overall sales projections do not show a significant drop from September, Edmunds said “a longer shutdown could have left an ugly mark on what has been otherwise a glowing year for the automotive industry.”

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