Used Vehicle Watch - Entry level cars, bikes, and other vehicles.

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Judge Dredd

Judge Dredd

Senior Layout Artist
True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
If you've tried to buy an entry level vehicle, but it a used car or a small motor bike, you might have noticed prices have skyrocketed. Usable cars for under £1000 are rare, used bikes sell for close to their new price, and some vehicles are appreciating in value.

Trying to find affordable transport has become difficult, at least in the UK. I think this is the case in Canada as well. So what's going on?

The short answer is I don't really know since I only noticed this in the past 6 months or so.
From the various YouTubers I found looking up the matter, there seems to be a supply problem. COVID and inflation played a part, sure, and those who don't like the government can point the finger at green energy and emissions policy, but it mostly comes down to the lack of new entry level vehicles.

Normies these days are interested in big American style SUVs, and luxury cars like BMW and Porsche. These cars also have bigger margins than "stack em high, sell em cheap" economy cars. These days new "cheap" cars start at £16,000. Bikes fare better at a few grand + gear, though most see bikes as a summer toy instead of a practical mode of transport. Finally, you have EVs. It's not usual to see kids and delivery men zipping around on scooters even if they are technically illegal. Electric bikes are also an occasional sight, at least where I live.


"Just haggle bro" is the proposed boomer solution to this problem, but it not likely to work. We're in a sellers market, and trying to haggle for more than pocket change off the price will just get you shown the door. Why would someone sell a car for under £2000 when they can wait a day and get £5000 for it? It reminds a lot of the GPU market from a year ago.


I don't know how normal all of this is. I'm not someone who buys cars as I've not had the need for one until recently. But given a car guy in the family has grumbled about the topic, and the various YT videos about it, I assume this is a real problem.
(Link for tor users)


A few threads that might be of interest. I'd link but tor isn't playing nice with links.
Car Thread
Let's recommend a Car/Truck for Null
Electric Scooters, E-Bikes, Mobility Scooters, and other EVs
 
I've been in the market for something for a while now, while I was looking around today pretty much every vehicle that was close enough to what I wanted to get my consideration the dealer had a bit about "Save time and money with our no haggle pricing" or something along those lines somewhere in the description.

My own vehicle, at least last year, managed to be worth about what I paid for it back in 2009 somehow. I'm sure it's creeping back down into the reasonable range but that blew my mind. It's not like I bought some collectible in-demand thing and kept it in a climate controlled warehouse, it's just a mass production commodity vehicle, though I guess one thing it has going for it is that similar vehicles are just about impossible to build and sell due to EPA regulations at this point so the ones that exist are all there will ever be barring regulatory reversal (possible, since the regulations are stupid and counterproductive but you know how that goes), but there's tons of them so idk

I'm in the US as you might can guess by me mentioning the EPA but it's about the same here, prices are probably close to double relative to 2018 for decent used stuff and you've got way less to choose from. New vehicles haven't been hit that hard but same models/trims are about 10-20% more since 2022, luxury stuff probably has an even bigger gap, I'm just talking entry level sedans and compact to mid-size work trucks
 
Indeed the used car market hasn't really settled down yet to pre 2020 days. Some people say certain types of cars have dropped back down while others have continued to remain quite high. From my observations, many 2000-2012 era cars have retained their value well especially if in good condition. Special enthusiast trims even more so like the Honda Accord V6 and your XX55 AMGs. Oddly enough it may be more reasonable to buy a new car since you can get it at msrp if you try hard enough, but the problem is many new cars aren't all that appealing. I think it's a combination of nostalgia and proven reliability of port injected older cars and the recent memory of how fragile the world's modern mechanisms are from the corona scamdemic where governments can shut down a country and arrest people on a whim. When life's pleasures can be so fleeting if you're a gearhead, the desire to be reminded of simpler and better times through older cars grows stronger.
 
Car Won't Crank said:
I think it's a combination of nostalgia and proven reliability of port injected older cars and the recent memory of how fragile the world's modern mechanisms are
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I think it's the computers, or it is for me at least. The paid subscription for hardware already on bored is unjustifiable, but the big problem is the ability for companies to shut down cars on a whim. Apparently when the war in Ukraine first broke out, people demanded Elon shut down all Russian teslas. I wouldn't want to risk a vehicle I start one day, only to be told that it's been bricked because of some political or business change.

Car Won't Crank said:
Oddly enough it may be more reasonable to buy a new car since you can get it at msrp if you try hard enough, but the problem is many new cars aren't all that appealing.
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Bikes at least have some good options, including budget options. That said, there aren't really any new economy cars. As said in the OP, the cheapest new car you can buy starts at 16k (some Honda thing iirc). Cars could be bought in China or India for 1 or 2 grand, but by the time you pay import fees and taxes, the price is raised so much that it's not worth the hassle.

Car Won't Crank said:
Indeed the used car market hasn't really settled down yet to pre 2020 days. Some people say certain types of cars have dropped back down while others have continued to remain quite high.
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From what I understand it's the mid-high end that's settled. SUVs, BMWs and the like. I'm not sure as I have no interest in those.

TheOtherSideofMakeBelieve said:
My own vehicle, at least last year, managed to be worth about what I paid for it back in 2009 somehow.
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Have any plans to sell it?
 
So, hear me out guys, this was been my secret to cars: fix them.

That mid-80s car in your neighbor's backyard? Cheap
Tools? Cheap. Get them from Harbor Freight, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. Just not the auto parts store since there's more of a markup there. Speaking of which....
Parts? Cheap. Amazon, eBay and Rockauto will be your friends. Tools can also be got there.

Will you have the best looking car? Probably not. Will it be the safest car? Fuck no. Will you have something cool to drive? Yes. Just make sure to get something where parts are easy to find and the cars themselves are reasonably reliable (i.e. in America, stick with Ford and GM for the most part. Maybe Honda of Toyota if you want to push it). I also recommend buying a repair manual, especially if you don't know much about cars. It'll be a step by step guide on how to fix it and also include troubleshooting information.

Slight powerlevel, but my 80s F150 was the best $400 I ever spent. Sitting in a guy's yard and wouldn't run, but the engine was good. Drove it home out of his yard three hours later after tracing down an electrical issue and checking things.
 
Judge Dredd said:
Have any plans to sell it?
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Yeah, I'm in the market for something similar, I just need something a bit bigger (really, the same size would work I just need a back seat lol). Once I've got the replacement I won't have any use for it so I'd prefer someone who needs it keep it in service. It's got a bit of sentimental value but I've sold off far more sentimental vehicles so I don't see a reason to hang onto it
 
Any love here for Crown Vic's? I still have my 2003 ex Seattle PD with the Seattle Blue still kicking around. Owned it for about 6 years now. Solid fuck.
 
It's not just the UK and the US where this is becoming a problem.

In Australia, it used to be quite easy to find a shitbox from the '90s-early '00s for about $1k dollarydoos that ran and drove OK. Now even the shittiest shitters that ever shat start from at least $2k dollardoos if they're running. These days the only < $2k car ads out there include phrases such as "needs new gearbox", "needs new headgasket" or - my favourite - "needs roadworthy", which is code for "needs new tyres, brakes, gearbox and headgasket". And they're almost always Holdens of either the Astra or Cruze variety
 
Ghostface Killah said:
Any love here for Crown Vic's? I still have my 2003 ex Seattle PD with the Seattle Blue still kicking around. Owned it for about 6 years now. Solid fuck.
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Those are great, the only problem is people see them in the rear views and think you're a cop and slow down.
Judge Dredd said:
Trying to find affordable transport has become difficult, at least in the UK. I think this is the case in Canada as well. So what's going on?
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We have that issue here too thanks to the idiotic "Cash for Clunkers" program where they bought up old cars and basically destroyed them, essentially wrecking the used car market for normal people.
Mr. Confederate Man said:
Slight powerlevel, but my 80s F150 was the best $400 I ever spent. Sitting in a guy's yard and wouldn't run, but the engine was good. Drove it home out of his yard three hours later after tracing down an electrical issue and checking things.
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Prices come down somewhat if you're willing to put up with a few dents, and if you're really lucky, you can find a car that got "totaled" with virtually no real functional damage to it, but those get snapped up really fast. Also if it starts out with a few dents you never have that horrible moment of "the first dent."
 
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I'm grateful my parents gave me my step brothers old beater when he got his grandma's old beater, so I could replace my old beater that was already mostly dead and had a fuel economy in the single digits in America and the near 30s elsewhere.

I think the main thing is that literally nobody has money. People that would normally be buying a 40k car are buying 20k cars, and people that would normally be buying 20k cars are doing their best to outbid everyone else on the cheapest car that they can live with.

Its not sustainable. Try to plan to keep what you have for the next five years.
 
Pee Cola said:
Now even the shittiest shitters that ever shat start from at least $2k dollardoos if they're running.
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Done.
Pee Cola said:
These days the only < $2k car ads out there include phrases such as "needs new gearbox", "needs new headgasket" or - my favourite - "needs roadworthy", which is code for "needs new tyres, brakes, gearbox and headgasket".
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"never been flogged"
 
I'm watching this 1987 Ford F-150 4x4 2 door with a 5.0 V8 that  might be able to handle a welding rig in the future as long as i keep that shit light. Less than 3000 dollars, local sale. By all accounts, it's a bit rusty, but runs fine, the guy just wants rid of it.
 
WelperHelper99 said:
I'm watching this 1987 Ford F-150 4x4 2 door with a 5.0 V8 that  might be able to handle a welding rig in the future as long as i keep that shit light. Less than 3000 dollars, local sale. By all accounts, it's a bit rusty, but runs fine, the guy just wants rid of it.
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It’ll do fine for that. However, if you’re worried about it, find a 4.9 l6 to put in it. The blocks should be easy to find at a junkyard and it does a better job at torque than a Ford 302. Also known for being more reliable, but both at solid. The 5.0 is the same as in my Crown Vic, so not much to complain about. Just get the timing chain changed from the stock plastic one to metal. Mine was from the Reagan administration and was starting to come apart.
 
Mr. Confederate Man said:
It’ll do fine for that. However, if you’re worried about it, find a 4.9 l6 to put in it. The blocks should be easy to find at a junkyard and it does a better job at torque than a Ford 302. Also known for being more reliable, but both at solid. The 5.0 is the same as in my Crown Vic, so not much to complain about. Just get the timing chain changed from the stock plastic one to metal. Mine was from the Reagan administration and was starting to come apart.
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Great to know that it has a chain and not a belt, I'll keep that in mind man!
 
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