There was a moderate decline in wholesale vehicle sales last month, with “more selective” buyers, says JD Power, but numbers through two months of 2026 are still beating year-ago figures by 1.5%.

JD Power said in its latest Used Market Report that there were 519,846 wholesale sales last month, which is down 2.2% from January and 0.3% slower than February 2025.

The month-over-month decline “aligned with more selective buying at auction,” with the year-over-year decrease being “consistent with typical early-year patterns,” said Kelly Raymond, senior director of market intelligence for JD Power Valuation Services, who authored the report.

But sales remain ahead of 2025 numbers by 15,755 units.

Average wholesale prices in February came in at $15,827, up 0.7% from January and beating year-ago figures by 3.4%.

These reflect a steady market and “stable wholesale conditions,” along with disciplined dealers.

“Wholesale behavior reflects continued discipline rather than disruption,” Raymond said in the report.

In the executive summary section of the report, Raymond notes that: “Dealer execution remains disciplined, supported by a healthy retail-to-wholesale spread with stable list-to-transaction pricing behavior.”

Average retail used car prices ($28,721) were down 1.3% from January and were flat with February 2025.

JD Power suggests this underscores, “stability rather than demand weakness” and that the overall used-car retail pricing is in line with typical behavior.

Meantime, average used-car retail list prices were at $28,268 last month.

“The gap between list and transaction prices remains narrow, indicating continued pricing discipline,” Raymond said. “Transaction prices continue to track closely with asking prices; this behavior is consistent with typical early-year pricing patterns following the year-end sales push.”

While days to turn was basically flat with January at 49, it was up 4.0% year-over-year.

This “elevated” turn time is driven by higher prices and pressures on affordability, JD Power said.

“Elevated turn underscores a cost-management dynamic, as dealers balance pricing discipline with inventory age,” Raymond said.

Still, used cars are selling like hotcakes.

“Used retail sales remain very solid, indicating continued buyer participation despite affordability pressures,” Raymond said. “Recent volume trends are consistent with typical early-year patterns following the year-end sales push. As seasonal supply begins to rebuild, retail activity is starting to lift into the spring selling period.”