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Kelley Blue Book

Why the used car market could get worse for buyers. What will reverse the pattern?

Things are not good for used car shoppers, but it’s been great for auto parts stores

You may need to hang on to that old car a little longer.

istock

America’s car market operates in a giant cycle. No one planned it. But an interruption in one part of the cycle affects all the other parts. Waves that rock the new car market ripple through the used car market years later.

Americans have spent most of the past two years dealing with record-high new car prices. The average price paid for a new car recently fell below sticker price for the first time in nearly two years. Even that good news can be misleading because sticker prices themselves are near all-time highs.

Why?...