The analysis was conducted by Power Information Network (PIN), a tracking system developed by J.D. Power and Associates to provide point-of-sale transaction data to dealers. Today, PIN serves more than 7,500 franchise dealerships throughout North America and includes more than 250 key observations for each vehicle transaction—such as price, cost, profit, finance and lease measures.

 

The odometer readings for trades coming in from new- and used-vehicle sales are lower than they were a year ago, suggesting that owners are cutting back on their driving distances due to higher operating expenses. 

 

On the other hand, the percentage of trades from new-vehicle purchases for which the loan payoff amount on the trade exceeds the actual cash value of the trade has risen nearly 2 percentage points. 

 

Finally, the last parameter to see more than 1 percent of change is the percentage of same franchise used-vehicle sales, which has bumped downward. This indicates that new-vehicle dealerships are beginning to become more comfortable with selling off-make vehicles.