Rising prices don't stop used car shoppers

By: Conan Gasque | SCNOW
Published: October 15, 2009

A quick glance at a used Lincoln Navigator and Samuel Varner already sees what he likes.

"It's nice, it's got the power-fold seats, the automatic lift gate. It's pretty much fully loaded," he said, admiring the car he and his wife were considering buying.

But he also likes the price, which he expected to be around $20,000 - much less than the $50,000-$55,000 he says a Navigator would cost brand new.

The lower price is only one reason Varner is searching for used cars instead of new ones. Many other car shoppers are doing the same, in spite of reports by Manheim Consulting firm that used cars are at their highest value ever. According to the firm's Used Vehicle Value Index, used car values have risen 6.9-percent in the past year.

Dealers say that's in part because of an increase in demand, but also because of a decrease in supply.

Charles Saverance, owner of Saverance Family Auto Center, says this decrease is partly caused by the Cash for Clunkers program.

"There were 700,000 vehicles that may have been used as a trade in, that have now been scrapped," he said. "They're off the road."

But he says the good thing for customers is that now they can get better trade-in value - good news for Varner, who's trading a car he bought new, and hoping for a good deal in return.

"Hopefully everything works out," he said. "And if it does, that's great."

At the least, he knows he's paying less than he would for a new car.