LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -

Black Book editors could have broken out a thesaurus on Tuesday when releasing their Used Vehicle Retention Index for July. Upon looking for the right adjective to summarize the latest reading, they could have picked among steady, stable, firm, fixed, unchanged or unwavering.

The reason why is the July index reading came in the same as it was in June, resting at 113.0. Black Book’s index has now moved slightly positive or remained unchanged during three of the last four months.

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published wholesale average value on 2- to 6-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically-equipped MSRP.

Editors noticed full-size cars, full-size pickups, luxury cars, and near-luxury cars all saw noticeable gains in their respective segment Indexes during July. Black Book added that pickups remain popular because of the price of gas and overall supply in the market, while each of these car segments offer decent value currently, resulting from several months of sharp valuation declines over the last few years.

“What we’re experiencing over the last few months are signs of a resilient used-vehicle market, where the bottom is not dropping out as some had expected this year,” said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black Book.

“We’re paying close attention to several car segments, in particular, compact car and midsize car, which continue to weaken as demand remains soft and used supplies build,” Goyal continued. “In addition, the overall economy and credit availability conditions will influence the retention strength moving forward.”

The index dates back to January 2005 when Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. During 2008, the index dropped by 14.1 percent while during 2016, the index fell by just 6.4 percent.

During 2011, the index rose strongly from 113.3 to 123.0 by the end of the year as the economy picked up steam and used-vehicle values rose higher. It continued to remain relatively stable, rising slightly until May of 2014 when it hit a peak of 128.1.

To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, go to this website.