JonBoy

sahtt already said it.

vader1

I go back and forth about selling my S which is a 2001. So it is over ten years old, has 35k on the odometer and a roots sc kit. I kind of figured $13k? Lots of people were telling me $17-18k. Hell if I could get that in an easy transaction............ but I am leaning towards just keeping it because it is paid for, low miles and fun.

Besides the other cars I am interested are used models of the Elise and Porsche Caymans. They have not gone down much either so the extra I get for my car just goes in someone elses pocket when I buy theirs. Corvettes seem to depreciate and get pretty affordable, but my wife hates em and I am not thrilled by them either.

On a side note, The market could really use another option in the $30-40k market for sports cars. It is pretty much just the 370Z and maybe the Mustang and thats about it. I like em, don't love em,. Hoping Toyota or Honda decide to get back into it. I guess I left out the WRX/STi and EVO but those cars have interiors similar to cars I had in high school. I want something nicer than that if at my age if I am going to sell the S.

LFK

The used market for WRX is significantly higher than S2000 I don't know why, but that's how it is. Wider appeal? Subaru brand name? At the end of the day, demand.

In a few years, I will need another car (I just transitioned fully into S2000, got CX-5 for wife). WRX hatch is on my radar, I hope I can get a used one. But at the current price trends, I will just buy new.

That being said, there are other cars (IS/TL) that are better to buy used than the WRX/Evo. They get beat on quite frequently.

aklucsarits

The used car market overall is very tight due to 1) very low new auto sales from 2008-2011 and 2) cash for clunkers.

Sportier vehicles generally hold their value better than boring family cars or luxury vehicles. And esepcially during the rescession sporty vehicles did not sell well compared to blander vehicles. So there are generally fewer sporty used cars available to buy and more people chasing them.

I bought a Evo IX SE new in 2006 and it's pretty much still worth what I paid for it new. Plus it's still got another 3.5 years of factory powertrain warranty on it. My '00 S2000 is worth several thousand more today than it was 5 or 6 years ago.

If you really want to be shocked about used vehicle prices, try shopping for a used pickup truck. Even an awful beater truck is hard to find for under $6,000. Cash for Clunkers is mostly to blame for that market, I suspect.

I'm still kicking myself for not buying a one owner 2004 40th Anniversary 911 with 25k mi for $37,000 in early 2009 in the depths of the recession. You'd be lucky to find one with higher mileage for less than $50,000 in todays market.

Andrew

Saki GT

Cash for Clunkers took under 700k cars off the road - not that big an impact, but inflation is making everything more expensive. Between 2008 and 2011 there were something like 13 million fewer new cars sold than in time before, and that is where you see the limited supply in used cars. 1-3 year old cars are more expensive, and that cascades to older cars.

S2020

get an AMG or M car. Those car depreciate pretty fast.
10 years ago a 2001 M5 would be twice as much as Vader's car. Now it's the same price.

Presto123

Evolutions and STIs have always held their value pretty well. There just isn't that much for sale on the used market.

Used car prices are up across the board though as I remember a few years ago seeing clean AP1s for 9-11k. Now any S you would actually want to own is at least 12-13k.

SlowTeg

Yep, it's amazing how used car prices have risen substantially, and now for non-luxury cars it makes more sense buying new. It's amazing how that dynamic has changed. It's a combination of evertyhing like sahtt said, and of course inflation. The Fed printing money, government running large deficits is very inflationary, and you see prices of everything rising. Look at food prices now vs. a few years ago.

All you can do these days is bite the bullet and accept the higher prices.