Where Have All The Used Cars Gone?

Now that the Cash For Clunkers (C4C) Program is in full swing, the next obvious concern is for the used car market. With thousands of old, but not completely used up, cars being brought in to be destroyed for the C4C effort, what happens to this segment of the used car market when C4C is over?

Many think that the inexpensive used car market ($1,000 - $5,000) cars will be at even more of a premium. This in effect drives up the prices for the customers that truly need a car and cannot afford to pay premium prices for lesser adequate transportation.

Dealerships are going to have to find a marketing strategy to get customers to continue to trade in their inexpensive cars despite not being able to give them up to $4,500 for these cars. Used Cars Cincinnati, one of the cities premiere used car websites, thinks that there will be less and less of these lower priced used cars available. With the lack of inventory, comes higher prices to the consumer.

Nobody knows for certain how this will play out, but inconsistency in the automotive marketplace is a pretty sure thing.