So i was recently tboned by this old lady that wasnt watching for on coming cars before entering the intersection and totaled my 92 civic eg. It wasnt much but I had that car for about 6 years and it served me well. I paid $200 for that car and about $400 (not including oil changes) in maintenance during those 6 years and over 100k miles. At that time of purchase I lived in nyc, deals are everywhere everyday there. I just recently moved here to orlando and my lifes been going down hill ever since and then this happens.

So now im in the market for a good used car and first thing I notice is how expensive these cars are. For example on craigslist you will see a whole bunch of civics and integra thats way over priced. I saw 95 civic auto with 220k miles for $2500! The actual cash value for that car is $800! Thats what insurance will pay if the car is totaled. I go and check some of these high overpriced cars that says "no mechanical problems" and find things like lower ball joints are busted, exhaust leaks, tie rod end play, cracked rear bumpers, torn seats, a/c compressor making noise, steering rack noise, rear mail seal leaking, torn axle booth, oil burning etc. i can go on and on and dont let me get started on the paint.

So im just wondering, is this normal for living in florida? That most of us make less than $30k and have to deal with over priced used cars? In nyc people want to sell cars fast so most cars are below ACV so is this something that I have to get used to or is craiglist just full of scammers?

 

As gas prices go up, people fix up their cars instead of selling them off.

Ins co.s "total" a car if the repair cost is more than the book value.
Book value of a car is irrelevant.
Replacement cost is the real value of a car. What will it cost you to replace it?

The price of anything is what a person is willing to pay.
A famous car will always sell for more than a non-famous one of the same kind.

Some of the NYC cars have been salt dipped, and you better sell it fast, and sell it below book
value, before the cancer shows and visually, it REALLY drops below book value.

"no mechanical problems" means buyer beware, and not everyone is as honest as you.

 

Why?

 

You can also thank the "Cash for Clunkers" program the government ran a few years ago that sucked up a huge portion of what would have been the cheap used car market.

 

You might be right.