Where did all the eight to ten year old Golfs for $2,500 go?

[Kar98]

It's what I've been driving since, ever, and there's not a one to be found

[BRealistic]

I was going to post a stack of crushed cars picture... but I feel your pain.
The cash 4 clunkers, lack of new cars sales and stronger demand for used US cars overseas over the last few years has really put a strain on the used inventory.
Add in high fuel price concerns- and anything remotely decent that get good fuel economy (or appears to) will be priced high and sought after.

[dubjager]

It is pretty crazy. On the other hand, there are R32s with asking prices in the high teens... crazy for me at least!

[BRealistic]

It is pretty crazy. On the other hand, there are R32s with asking prices in the high teens... crazy for me at least!

Wow- affordable luxury GT car.
Me like.

[GolfVIDriver]

If you can afford a new car, buying used is a really poor decision right now.

[dubjager]

Wow- affordable luxury GT car.
Me like.

What is the world coming to?!

[Iroczgirl]

If you can afford a new car, buying used is a really poor decision right now.

It's a real bummer

[Fettes Brot]

I was looking at 2002-2004 Golf TDI's in my area recently. Most were listed for $10k+

[Numbersix]

It's a real bummer

Why? It is what it is. There are still reasonable deals to be found...just not quite as cheap as 10 years ago.

[Señor Peligro]

They went to the MKIV forum to die a slow, painful, hopelessly tacky death

[Foxtrot]

It's not just Golfs. Used car prices in general are through the roof.. They spiked with the whole cash for clunkers thing.. and then spiked again when gas prices jumped and people started off loading their SUVs.

It's made me nuts.. I've been looking for a good deal on a wagon for months now and had no luck. Kind of wishing I had kept my Suzuki Sidekick that I sold last Fall.

[SSLByron]

Used prices are starting to slip. If you can wait until September or October, there were be far more reasonable deals to be had.

Assuming gas prices don't climb again, that is.

[kimilein]

Probably to Africa or something. Same thing in Germany. Most used cars that wouldn't have passed the TÜV inspection are just bought up for cheap and shipped out to Africa. Their cash-for-clunkers program cut a big chunk out of the supply, maybe the Africans started looking elsewhere.

[TJSwoboda]

If you can afford a new car, buying used is a really poor decision right now.

^^This...

It's not just Golfs. Used car prices in general are through the roof.. They spiked with the whole cash for clunkers thing.. and then spiked again when gas prices jumped and people started off loading their SUVs.

It's made me nuts.. I've been looking for a good deal on a wagon for months now and had no luck. Kind of wishing I had kept my Suzuki Sidekick that I sold last Fall.

...And this.^^ It's the main reason I leased the first new car I've ever had, at the not-quite-youthful age of 36. Hopefully used prices will crash by the time my lease is up in 2 1/2 years, and then I can do something dumb again.

[jettagli1991]

Yesterday's $500 car seems to be $1200+ now, and your $1200 car is $2800. I've known several people that traded in 10+ year old cars that needed work, and got really high trade-in values for them. I've been looking for a daily for $4k-ish and everything is overpriced. They do pop up on Craigs, but someone will snag them in a heartbeat. On the upside, my POS Jeep is still worth what I paid 3 years ago, even in worse condition.

[VR6 GLX Man]

let me see if I can find one in my area then I'll post it.

[VR6 GLX Man]

ok nothing thats 8 to 10 years old, guess your right, the closest is around the 3k price.

[dunhamjr]

cash for clunkers?

also. the used car market is way elevate. every single time i look at ANYTHING used on CL, i am amazed at the price that older used cars still command regardless of their crap ass condition, branded titles, etc.

[Smigelski]

I was going to post a stack of crushed cars picture... but I feel your pain.
The cash 4 clunkers, lack of new cars sales and stronger demand for used US cars overseas over the last few years has really put a strain on the used inventory.
Add in high fuel price concerns- and anything remotely decent that get good fuel economy (or appears to) will be priced high and sought after.

I agree with everything but Cash for Clunkers. To be eligible for the program, the vehicle had to get less than 18mpg. So there were zero compact cars traded in with the program.

[dunhamjr]

I was looking at 2002-2004 Golf TDI's in my area recently. Most were listed for $10k+

if you want a cheap TDI, you basically HAVE to resign yourself to a New Beetle or MAYBE an auto Jetta sedan.

most everything Golf, Jetta Wagon or Passat, especially with a manual, is priced way up there.

[dunhamjr]

I agree with everything but Cash for Clunkers. To be eligible for the program, the vehicle had to get less than 18mpg. So there were zero compact cars traded in with the program.

true.
but fewer cheap ass used cars on the market, means that the prices of the existing used car inventory can be increased.

supply was lowered, demand stayed the same or increased. therefore prices went up.

[gti_matt]

if you want a cheap TDI, you basically HAVE to resign yourself to a New Beetle or MAYBE an auto Jetta sedan.

most everything Golf, Jetta Wagon or Passat, especially with a manual, is priced way up there.

Yup. TDIs in the US hold their value immensely no matter what and have little to do with the economy in general.

[WD-40]

Yesterday's $500 car seems to be $1200+ now, and your $1200 car is $2800.

The rise in scrap metal prices has contributed as well.

It's nearly impossible to find a sub-$500 beater anymore because almost any car is worth $500 as scrap. There are people driving around with trailers offering $250 to $400 on-the-spot to haul away cars, running or not, just to drag them to the local scrap yard for a quick profit.


I listed a beater Subaru on Craigslist last winter for $750, and had three dozen replies within 20 minutes of posting it... all willing to show up cash-in-hand within 30 minutes, no haggling, ready to buy, if I was willing to go down to $400. And I posted it at 2 AM.

[dunhamjr]

Yup. TDIs in the US hold their value immensely no matter what and have little to do with the economy in general.

UNTIL someone totals your car, with no fault on your side... then you have to fight hand over fist just to get near 'replacement value' out of the insurance company.

[200HP4dr]

If you think that's bad, you should check out Wrangler prices...

Chris

[dunhamjr]

I listed a beater Subaru on Craigslist last winter for $750, and had three dozen replies within 20 minutes of posting it... all willing to show up cash-in-hand within 30 minutes, no haggling, ready to buy, if I was willing to go down to $400. And I posted it at 2 AM.

which is why i love CL.

i posted some 10+ yr old toss out furniture on CL.
within a couple of hours a bed, 4 chairs, 2 love seats, 3 desks... all gone.

people acted like i was handing out pot brownies... just loving that they could find the stuff for free.

the last bit of it disappeared from the yard at 1230am, saw the guy strapping the last couch to the roof of his 2 door coupe.

[Mr Roo]

My buddy goes to auctions and says the as gas prices go up, used cars that get decent mileage basically dissapear. If you have a decent car in that 1k to 5k range, it get snapped up quickly and usually at a premium. IMO, I also think people just dont dump cars like that anymore. Easy to work on, easy to get parts for, decent quality, and good gas. This may also be the reason that an Advance Auto or the like is popping up on every corner every 2 miles or so.

[.LSinLV.]

I agree with everything but Cash for Clunkers. To be eligible for the program, the vehicle had to get less than 18mpg. So there were zero compact cars traded in with the program.

the MKIV GTI with a VR6 was rated at 16/22, so it would meet that criteria.

[rawk]

I scored a great deal on 2000 GTi vr6 a few months ago for 1500, very happy withit but definitely not the norm... It's pretty amazing how much used values have gone up

[VR6 GLX Man]

My buddy goes to auctions and says the as gas prices go up, used cars that get decent mileage basically dissapear. If you have a decent car in that 1k to 5k range, it get snapped up quickly and usually at a premium. IMO, I also think people just dont dump cars like that anymore. Easy to work on, easy to get parts for, decent quality, and good gas. This may also be the reason that an Advance Auto or the like is popping up on every corner every 2 miles or so.

This was the reasoning I had for getting my old jetta. I also notice people in my area have a few old 4 bangers like myslef for the great mileage they get. One guy down the road still drives a ford festiva. I live in the far outskirts of town by the way.

[Mr Roo]

Also, lets be honest. New car prices are out of hand. A go cart on new lot will cost you 20k. There are a lot of people walking around with 500 to 1000 in their pockets looking for something to drive. These cars on CL dont last a minute.

[GolfVIDriver]

...And this.^^ It's the main reason I leased the first new car I've ever had, at the not-quite-youthful age of 36. Hopefully used prices will crash by the time my lease is up in 2 1/2 years, and then I can do something dumb again.

You can still do something dumb, you just need to find the right act of lunacy. (See sig).

[Smigelski]

the MKIV GTI with a VR6 was rated at 16/22, so it would meet that criteria.

Don't forget that the cars had to be worth less than $4k to even bother (or have a stupid owner). It looks like there were 12 Jettas traded in (all Mk3s), and no Golfs.

But I guess there were a couple of Ford Aspires traded in under C4C. I don't know how they managed that, considering they were rated 33 mpg combined. So I guess my 'zero' compacts cars statement is false, but there weren't enough of them traded in to make a dent in the car market.

I'll buy the argument that having less cars in total on the market will raise all the used car prices. But only so many people wanting a cheap Explorer (or similar) and not finding one will turn their attention to a Golf (or similar).


Source: http://jalopnik.com/5369762/the-full...nkers-trade+in

There were a few small cars that made it to the crusher as part of this list. But it's not a significant number.
Interesting: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/24/s...served-better/

[VegasJetta]

If you think that's bad, you should check out Wrangler prices...

Chris

This isn't a joke, either. My friend just for an 04 Wrangler for $16k. I want one, so I started looking around here. Under $2500? Rusted, worthless pile of scrap that will need $5000 worth of metal work to put back on the road.

[WD-40]

If you can afford a new car, buying used is a really poor decision right now.

The best way to come out ahead on a used car is if you can find one that was reasonably well maintained, but in need of semi-major repairs which would be too costly to fix at a shop, but which you are capable of doing yourself. This limits the demand and the buyer pool, and takes the car down to effectively the high end of the scrap value pricing (that $500-750 range), but if the car is "clean", the sellers will fend off the low-bidding scrap buyers at least for a little while.