CLEVELAND -

Results from the July dealer survey orchestrated by KeyBanc Capital Markets showed how much used-vehicle and F&I momentum stores had going into this past weekend’s Labor Day holiday sales stretch.

All 100 percent of participating dealers said July sales were higher than the same month a year earlier.

A total of 86 percent of responding dealers expected their July sales totals to land up to 5 percent higher than the same month in 2012. The remaining 14 percent thought July figures would end up improving by 10 percent or more.

The survey revealed that dealers not only are upbeat about their used-sales prospects in terms of volume, but gross profit, too. KeyBanc reported that 86 percent of dealers surveyed thought their gross profit per used vehicle sold in July would be $50 or more higher than a year earlier.

“Strong new vehicle sales in recent months are driving an increased supply of attractively priced inventory through trade-ins, allowing dealers to price sales competitively and drive volume while preserving profitability,” KeyBanc said.

“The outlook remains positive and our survey results chart indicates a consistently increasing environment,” analysts continued.

The upbeat assessments continued when dealers discussed their action in the F&I office. The majority of KeyBanc’s dealer survey respondents — 72 percent to be exact — reported a year-over-year increase of more than $50 in F&I gross profit per unit in July. The remaining 28 percent reported relatively flat to declining year-over-year results.

“The outlook remains positive as product penetration rates and credit availability continue to improve, albeit at a slower pace, and our survey results chart indicates a consistently increasing F&I per unit trend,” KeyBanc analysts said.

KeyBanc wrapped up the used-vehicle commentary within its most recent dealer survey by mentioning used-vehicle pricing continues to normalize, “but at a very moderate pace.”

Analysts based this evaluation on the fact that used-vehicle prices dipped approximately 1 percent in July versus June.

“Given a number of model changeovers coming in the next couple of months, used-vehicle prices are likely to undergo sharper declines, as much as 3 percent over the next two to three months,” analysts said.

“Pricing in the large pickup truck segment remains strong and remained unchanged in July, while compact cars, luxury cars, and midsize vans posted the deepest declines in the range of 1.6 percent to 1.8 percent,” they continued.

“Year to date, used-vehicle prices remain relatively flat with 2012 and we expect this trend to continue for the full-year,” KeyBanc analysts went on to say.

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