WTF is Wrong with the Used Car Market

"protodad" (protodad) 03/13/2014 at 22:14 • Filed to: Used Cars, KBB

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I haven't posted to Oppo for quite a while. Mostly because I'm lazy, but more so because I wasn't an author.

So here goes. WTF is wrong with the Used Car Market. I know that C4C really took a number on the sub $1k beaters that used to be readily available for anyone who needed cheap transportation. The transaction usually went like this.

Me: Thats a sweet Lincoln Mk5 with an interior that smells like urine and smoke. How about $500?

Redneck: Sure, but I get to keep the spare tire.

Me: Right...

So this brings me back to my problem. I've been searching for a decent car in the $4k-$5k range. You know the drill, stick, decent power to weight, a litany of required things that my wife is getting sick of me reciting. In that price range I was looking at the usual FWD crowd (civic si, integra, RSX, etc.). I'm not a ricer by any means but I have owned enough Honda/Acuras to know that they are safe, reliable and fun if the right boxes are checked. KBB and Edmunds tell me the following:

1999-2000 Civic Si: $3300

2000 Acura Integra GSR: $3400

2002 Acura RSX Type S: $5200

Thats all well and good. I can definitely work within those prices. However, this isn't the case on craigslist. Craigslist finds me the following:

1999-2000 Civic Si (salvage, cheap engine swap, 250k miles): $4500

2000 Acura Integra GSR (stanced, salvage): $6000

2002 Acura RSX Type S (reasonable miles, rims): $12000

WTF!

And this isn't some random set of listings I found, this is true for just about every "enthusiast" car on the market, WRX, Miata, M3, etc. I don't know what the problem is. I don't expect KBB to perfectly predict pricing, but I expect people to be somewhat reasonable when setting up an ad for a used car. I don't want to pay 50% of the original value for a car that is 15 years old.

So whats the problem Oppo? Did I miss the used car train in the last few years, or are you finding that used cars are obscenely expensive compared to what you feel they are worth?

Makoyouidiot > protodad 03/13/2014 at 22:19

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I've decided that enthusiasts just overprice their cars so they can justify to the significant other keeping them. "See baby everyone is lowballing me, I'm just gonna keep my car."

The Transporter > protodad 03/13/2014 at 22:50

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I've seen that phenomenon with all used cars in general, not just enthusiast cars. I think it's the same reason why gasoline is so expensive. The market was artificially inflated and people just got so used to paying the higher prices that the market never re-adjusted, despite normal laws of economics. Eventually inflation will normalize the market, but it's going to take a long time.

syaieya > protodad 03/13/2014 at 22:54

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My thought is that tax return time is kinda a rough one to buy a car. Everyone has money and so the market is kinda flooded. And because no one really needs the extra cash, the reason to sell a car is often diminished on the private seller side of things.

Doesn't mean I won't keep looking.

Rico > protodad 03/13/2014 at 23:17

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Besides C4C the economy as a whole over the last decade has tanked and people are just trying to get as much money as possible. 10 years ago a car that usually sold for $4k would easily be double now.

It really is quite troubling, sometimes I look at a car that should be $8k max and 7-8 years old going for $15k (like a 2007 Honda Accord V6) and think man I can just save another $7k and get a way more recent model, with less miles, more features and better resale.

JasonStern911 > protodad 03/14/2014 at 00:04

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a lot of it is also regional. I remember asking what cars I should be looking for to convince my girl to get, and all of them were way outside the local craigslist price range. but when I looked in southern California, sure enough, all of the cars were 20% lower than in Reno. stealerships try to pull the same crap, which is why many of the smart people I know wind up buying new cars in NorCal or Oregon.

protodad > Makoyouidiot 03/14/2014 at 13:33

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You might be right. At least 1 guy had one $1k over everyone else and salvage with a FIRM price. It had been up for over a month.

protodad > Rico 03/14/2014 at 13:37

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Ouch, I hadn't looked at the accords recently but I know I looked a few years ago and a 2005-2006 were well under $10k.

Resale is an interesting thought. It seems like a gamble depending on the car. People want 40% of the original value for a 12 year old car but I can't get 30% for a 5 year old crossover (the hottest market segment).

protodad > JasonStern911 03/14/2014 at 13:39

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Odd, I am in Southern California and I am reaching all the way to Vegas and SF to find cars at a reasonable price. I can agree that NorCal or Oregon would definitely be a much cheaper option.

Dealerships are the worst and should know better. If anyone should be using KBB it should be them (considering I know they used it against whoever traded in the car).

protodad > syaieya 03/14/2014 at 13:40

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Thats a good point, I forgot about tax returns. However, I don't think most people are getting returns much more than $1000. Why some cars are marked up $5000 I have no idea.

protodad > The Transporter 03/14/2014 at 13:41

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I also figured there might be artificial price points for whatever reason. Looking broadly at quality cars on CL it seems all of them are clustered around $3000, $6500, or $10000.

JasonStern911 > protodad 03/15/2014 at 00:32

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a lot of it probably depends on what you are looking at getting. like, here there is a magical luxury tax on anything all-wheel drive that isn't an "Audi S4/A6. Runs great. Thousands in receipts. Doesn't pass emissions. Needs some work. Could just be the gas cap."