Used-car retail SAAR at highest rate since February

The used-car market got a bit stronger in October.

Total used-car sales climbed approximately 1.4% from October 2018, according to Cox Automotive, which estimated the seasonally adjusted annualized rate for used-car sales at 39.6 million for the month.

That beats the year-ago reading of 38.1 million, but is down from 39.8 million in September.

However, what Cox Automotive dubs the used retail SAAR reached its highest level since February.

The used retail SAAR, which only considers sales from franchised and independent dealers, came in at an estimated 20.6 million units for October.

That beats the year-ago level of 19.8 million.

The August and September readings were both at 20 million.

The last time the used retail SAAR was as high at it was last month was in February, which in came in at 21.5 million after reaching 22.4 million in January.