FORT WAYNE – Consumers hunting for affordable used cars might find them on the endangered list.
Sales staff at Fort Wayne-area pre-owned auto lots say a poor economy, higher demand and last year’s Cash for Clunkers program have bargain seekers coming up short.
And according to automotive data researcher Edmunds.com, the estimated price of a three-year-old vehicle was up 10.3 percent last month compared with July 2009. That amounts to about $19,200.
Brian Straley has taken notice.
“We typically buy from local dealers, but they’re not getting as many trades because they’re not selling cars,” the owner of Straley’s Fort Wayne Auto Sales said.
“When we go to the auctions, the SUVs, trucks and vehicles with third rows have gone up $800 to $2,500.”
Ivan Drury, an analyst for Edmunds.com, said the used car supply isn’t likely to beef up or experience a price drop. Several factors have “stripped away the used car supply,” such as the Cash for Clunkers effort, he said.
Federal data last fall showed that most northeast Indiana residents traded in trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans during the Cash for Clunkers program that ended last August. The program rewarded purchases of more fuel-efficient transportation.
Consumers buying passenger cars received a $3,500 rebate if their new vehicle got at least 4 mpg higher than the trade-in, $4,500 for a 10 mpg difference or better.
For light trucks, the $3,500 rebate required buying a new vehicle that got at least 2 mpg higher than the trade-in or at least 4 mpg higher for a $4,500 rebate.
In Fort Wayne, there were more than 1,000 transactions through the program with 83 percent of people turning in trucks, sports utility vehicles and vans, based on government figures.
The initiative, however, required that the old vehicles be destroyed, which helped shrink the used car pool.
“That got rid of a lot of them,” said John Flannery, general manager of Rose City Auto Sales in Fort Wayne.
“Between the construction going on at Lima Road and the economy, it’s been tough for us.”
And even tougher for the consumer, Drury said.
“People are going to have a hard time finding that cheap $5,000 vehicle,” he said.
