LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -

Spring trends in the lanes haven’t played out quite like they normally do, according to Black Book, and depreciation patterns in March continued to show differences when compared to 2014 as demand for larger vehicles dominated tax season.

According to Black Book, wholesale prices for model years 2009-2013 fell by an average of 0.7 percent in March, a slightly smaller drop than movement seen in February.

Domestic cars saw prices rise by 0.9 percent; import cars and import trucks both dropped by 0.9 percent; and domestic trucks dropped by 0.3 percent.

“Both car and truck values held up high throughout November and December of 2014. This early buying took the steam out of the usual spring time seasonality increase and resulted in more stable prices over the last few months,” said Anil Goyal, vice president of automotive valuation and analytics. “The data also show that slightly larger cars were in more demand this tax season, perhaps as a result of low gas prices and improved overall strength in the broader economy.”

For example, the upper-midsize cars and full-size cars saw price increases last month of 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

And three truck segments also saw prices rise: full-size cargo vans (0.9 percent), compact CUVs (1.1 percent, and full-size passenger vans (1.5 percent).

Interestingly, the entry-level cars, normally hot items for tax season, only saw a 0.1 percent increase.  

Luxury SUVs saw one of the biggest price drop this past month, with prices dropping by 1.5 percent. Vehicles in this segment, such as the Lincoln Navigator, ended the month with an average price of $34,597, which is 13 percent lower than rates since in March 2014.

Cargo minivans also finished the month with depreciation of 1.5 percent.

But one van segment, in particular, bucked industry trends. The full-size passenger vans saw the biggest price increase in March, with prices rising by 1.5 percent to finish the month with an average price of $19,468 — up 3.3 percent year-over-year.

The car segment with the largest depreciation for March was the premium sporty cars with a decline of 1.2 percent to finish the year off with an average of $46,147.