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Cars last a lot longer than they did years ago, so a vehicle with a few years still has more years left.
A 5 year old car in the 1970's was an old car-depending on the vehicle, worth maybe 1/4 or less of its original price. Don't see that as much today.
I agree. I wondered about the higher priced last year shopping for a car. In 1989 I bought a 1983 Olds Ciera with 70k for $3200. It didn't last long. I got sick of fixing it. Last year, I got a 2007 Accord with 67k for $9000. I was appalled at the price.But Camrys and Altimas were priced the same. The Honda and the Olds had similar miles, same age,and had a good appearance(good paint, no rust). I couldn't figure it out.
Then I realized how much life is left in these newer pre owned cars, plus all the added safety and technological features, and inflation. And it made sense.
Obama's Cash for Clunkers deal removed a large amount of viable used vehicles from the roads. When these vehicles were traded in for the deal, the dealer/salvage yard had specific instructions on how to completely destroy the engine regardless of running condition. Salvage yards lost money from this. Used car lots lost out on selling perfectly good running vehicles to those for whom this was the best they could afford. The lingering effect was to drive up the price of used cars.
I agree.
But then again, the vehicles on many used car lots come from auto auctions. If the lot owner paid too much for it, he has to over price it to try to get his money back. I know where there are several here in town that seem to fit that scenario. They are priced well above the KBB value, and they have been sitting on the lot for months!
One of them is a 1999 Dodge 1500, fully loaded. They have reduced the price by $4000, and they are still asking $15999 for it. IIRC, it is worth $4000 to $5000 if it is low miles and in perfect condition.
they may have that one on the lot for a LONG time!
I really don't know. I think a lot of people still believe in the "Always Buy Used" rule without actually analyzing the price difference (or lack of.) Example:
The recession happened. Instead of 16million new cars being bought each year, the number dropped down to around 11 million.
Less new cars bought means less used cars entering the market - more people holding on to what they have and not trading in to the latest and greatest. That means higher prices on late model used.
C4C was just a small ripple several years ago and has very little if anything to do with what is going on right not.
It has a lot to do with the economy tanking in 2008. A lot of people lost their "credit worthiness" so most people now cannot afford to buy a new car, and the banks are not eager to loan for a NEW car, so people look for good used cars and the banks and the dealers saw them coming so used cars are priced high.
IF the economy were to ever roar back, not likely when the Republicans are calling all of the shots, then people fully employed and making good money, the demand for used cars would drop because people would be confident enough to buy NEW cars and banks more willing to lend for NEW cars, and no one would be looking at "used" cars, so the price for "used" cars would be a lot lower than what it is now.
Cars simply cost more today. And in some cases they just don't devalue thwt quick. Some cars are popular and simply f'ing Lise value. Look at Jeep Wranglers. 04-05 models are still 60-80% of new prices. And they aren't that great if a vehicke but it's popular. Same with say 7.3 diesel Fords. Hell brand new a 99 F250 was about 26-28,000k. And they are still selling for about 50-70% or more of original sticker
Some cars you can't give away others you gotta beat them back with a stick.
CFC may of initially had some impact on used car sales but new cars are just that expensive. People can't affird new do they get used. Demand drives up prices
As far as the CFC issue goes, I found the same thing to be true in 1997 when I was again trying to find a low-mileage, efficient econobox with a reputation for reliability, and that was 12 years before CFC. Once again, I found that used cars in that category cost as much or more than new ones, so I gave up and bought a new one.
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