Recession sends used car prices sky high

[phantom power]

As the recession wears on, used car prices are hitting sky-high levels.

How high? So high that at Gerald Jones Honda in Augusta, Ga., owner Andy Jones paid $6,000 at auction for a 2004 Buick Century with 70,000 miles that he fixed to sell for $8,500 -- more than three times what a car like that would have been worth before the recession hit, Automotive News reports.

Some dealers have stopped buying cars at auction because prices have become so outrageous. Why so high:

More motorists are hanging on to their clunkers because they can't afford a new car. Fewer new car sales means fewer late-model trade-ins, the mainstay of auto dealers. Rental car agencies are hanging on to their cars longer as well.

Tom Webb, chief economist at Manheim, tells the News that this year won't be much better. New car sales are still down,though not by as much as lasts year

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/09/recession-sends-used-car-prices-sky-high/1

[zipplewrath]

1. Cash for clunkers

The cash for clunkers took out a few vehicles too that otherwise would have ended up on the used market. They were the ones we LEAST wanted on the use market however.

[Skink]

2. Yet new car prices don't seem to ever come down.

[madrchsod]

3. car dealers will have to start buying cars off of craigslist.......

lots of good cars at a decent price.

[divideandconquer]

5. Dealers have done that for awhile

Got to watch crooks selling out of their back yards.

[divideandconquer]

4. This was an intended effect of "cash for clunkers"

High used car prices make it easier to trade on new ones and make new cars a better value when compared to used cars. Cash for clunkers will easily pay for itself by getting older less safe gas guzzlers off the road.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. We have 2 dealers in town here.

Chevy and Ford.

Very few used cars on the lot.
Plenty of new ones.
Ford lot has many new pickups ( common here in this rural area)

We have a couple of "fly by night" used car places, the kind that appeal to people with no credit
but who can make 100.00 month payments till they die, these places usually have 10-30 newer
used cars.

Mr. d and I both have '93 vehicles, still running fine, we don't drive a lot now,fortunately.
I would hate to have a car payment...ugggh.

[phantom power]

7. You can pay for a lot of upkeep on an older car for a fraction of payments on a new one

We've got a 96 corolla, and I figure even if we spend $2000 a year to keep it running, that's less than half what we'd spend a year on a car payment.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. 'Zactly.

so far in 5 years I have had put 1,000 in combined repairs and tires.
also, much much cheaper insurance, no need for collision/comp coverage,
and being retired in a small town, we get discounts for low mileage,
plus I do not think I use 100.00 of gas a year. I fill up every 3-4 months. 20.00.

the rolling stone is gathering moss after all these years....LOL.

[Adsos Letter]

9. The last three used cars we purchased were from Enterprise rent-a-car

two for us, and one for youngest daughter....late model imports, well maintained, looked great, still run great.

I'll never buy new again.