Total used-vehicle sales in February were down less than 1% from one year ago, according to Cox Automotive estimates released March 17.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate, or SAAR, was 37 million in February, which is down from January’s revised 38.7 million and down slightly from February 2021’s pace of 37.3 million level.

“Used-vehicle inventory has improved since last summer’s supply drought, but product availability remains well below pre-COVID levels,” according to Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive. “And, the mix of products includes more newer vehicles, and thus fewer affordable options to choose from.”

Retail used-vehicle sales — the volume of vehicles sold via a dealership, thus removing private party sales — were unchanged year over year. The February used retail SAAR estimate was 19.5 million down from 20.4 million in January.