“In like a lion, out like a lamb” is supposed to describe March, or at least its weather.

But in the wholesale vehicle market, that saying applied to February.

Whether from literal winter storms or figurative economic/political ones, the month began with some used-car price “volatility” that smoothed out as February ended.

And at the month’s conclusion, the market even showed signs of spring.

“February began with significant uncertainty regarding the potential tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, but an extension to March provided some relief,” said Laura Wehunt, Black Book’s vice president of data and analytics, in analysis around the company’s latest Used Vehicle Retention Index.

“Auction activity in February was robust, with a conversion rate averaging 59% and most segments experiencing less than typical depreciation for this time of year,” Wehunt said. “As the month ended, the first indications of spring appeared, with a few segments showing early springtime increases in values.”

Likewise, over at Cox Automotive, senior director of economic and industry insights Jeremy Robb said in analysis around the company’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, “With gray days and winter storms, it’s not uncommon to see some volatility in wholesale trends relative to long-term run rates in February, and that’s what we experienced over the course of the last four weeks.

“Tax refund season drives the ‘spring bounce’ in wholesale markets, and it looks to have started off a bit slower this year, before ramping up at the end of February. The retail supply of used units is tighter than it was at this time last year, and tax refunds are motivating consumers to purchase used units, resulting in stronger dealer demand at Manheim in the last week of the month.”

Overall, the Manheim index came in at 204.1, down from 205.6 in January and up 0.1% year-over-year, when adjusting for mix, mileage and seasonality.

Unadjusted, the index was up 1.4% from January and 0.8% from February 2024.

Looking at weekly Manheim Market Report values, Cox said there was “some volatility” throughout the month, but prices grew progressively stronger in the final two weeks, closing with a 0.2% hike the last week.

“Over the last four weeks, the Three-Year-Old Index increased an aggregate of 0.5%,” Cox said in the analysis. “Those same four weeks delivered an average increase of 0.2% between 2014 and 2019, indicating valuation trends were stronger than we usually experience at this time of year.”

At Black Book, its Used Vehicle Retention Index came in at 146.4 for the month, up 0.1% from January and down 2.7% year-over-year.

Conversion rates appeared strong: As Wehunt noted, Black Book observed an average rate of 59%. Cox said the average daily sales conversion rate was 60.4.%. up 2.1 percentage points month-over-month.

The last three Februarys, the conversion rate has reached an average of 57.3%, Cox said.