Where have all the cheap cars gone?

t25torx said:

I've been scouring CL here lately for a decent daily driver for my younger sister. Requirements are that it be under 150k miles, less than $2500, clean title, 30+ mpg hwy, and not be a complete pile of crap. I guess I'm asking for the moon here. My searches are coming up with buptkis, nada, nothing.

So where did all the cheap DD's go? The 2000 era Focus hatchbacks? The 2000 era Neons? Celicas? and you can forget anything Honda under $6000, it's all riced out swapped junk. Hell, even a Cobalt, there are 5 of those in CL right now that match my search...5, of those 5, 2 have blown engines, and none are the 2 door coupes. I mean how many of those did GM sell? Millions upon millions? It's crazy. Is CL not the place people sell cars anymore? I don't do facebook, so FB marketplace is out if that's where all this stuff is going.

Are people just hanging on to cars longer and driving them into the ground now? What's happening?

There’s a pile of Hondas and Mazdas just on the first page, including a decent looking mazda6 wagon & MP5...and...a Focus, if that’s your thing. At $2k, I’d be less concerned with miles and fuel economy, and more concerned with something that’s been taken care of and cheap/easy to maintain. 

https://nashville.craigslist.org/search/cta?min_price=11&max_price=3000

269 Hondas under $3k

Hardly any are riced/clapped out/swapped. There’s even a clean looking “antique” Insight!

81 Mazdas

A bunch of berkeleying focuses

Nice looking Celica

Scion TC

Thanks for the links poopy, but if you drill down a little more things become a little more bleak. Take the Focus group (pun intended) if we add the automatic filter (sister can't drive a stick, believe me I have told her it opens a whole lot more choice if she does and everyone needs to know how, but she has no desire to learn) clean title, and no visible damage, and less than 150K miles, we are down to a single Focus.

I guess we need to move up to the next price bracket. I could offer to match her money up to $2500, which would get her a $5000 car. Maybe there's more in that bracket. Off to CL again.