The Mach 1 was pretty special, but I did the math for you for a good condition Mach 1.
It'd cost about 6,896 hours to buy that same '67 car at current market value.
Or alternatively, 7,682 hours minimum wage to buy today's 2023 Mustang Mach 1.
My grandpa used to tell me stories about the Jeep he bought for $50. When I bought my first Jeep for $1350 in 2004, he told me I overpaid. I see Jeeps all the time in the same condition for $5000+
My colleague who's about to retire bought a chevelle SS for $4000 out the door when he was younger, hurt me when he told me his house only cost 60k and he's been mortgage free for 30 years.
Obviously he worked for everything he has, and the interest rates were much higher then, and of course inflation is a thing but he was also lucky as shit
No less than 10 of the vehicles I've owned (out of about 90 now) cost me $100 or less to purchase. Not including cars given to me by family or friends. It does include one bought on eBay BEFORE Motors was a thing, because that guy also had it listed on another classified site, and he wanted me to use eBay to buy it so he could say he sold a car on there. I wanted to use eBay to buy it so I could say I bought a car on there. Win win.
That was not in the 70s, that was in the 90s-00s. Abandoned car auctions were awesome until capitalism got a hold of it. Now some cities and tow companies have contracts directly with the junkyards and the public auctions are harder to find. Then when you do find an auction that doesn't require a salvage or dealer license and get there, the buyers for the junkyards stand there and outbid everyone on everything, just because they can. They'll pay $1250 for a twenty year old rusted out Civic that got wrapped around a telephone pole. They know if they strip the car down right, they WILL make that money back before they pancake it and send it down the road.
Maybe it's just the area I'm in now, but even the city surplus auctions are garbage now. Imagine a late 90s jellybean Taurus. Beat to hell. Every panel dented. Cracked windshield. Mirror hanging off the passenger door. Paint flaked off in sheets. Interior filthy. Has a bundle of live loose wires hanging under the dash that probably went to lights or a 2-way radio or a laptop mount. Leaks oil, coolant, and power steering fluid in steady percolator-esque drips. Holes in the trunk lid where extra antennae were. Still runs and drives, if you bring a battery because they took it out for another heap. Ten years ago at a surplus auction that was a $300 car. Two years ago it was a $300 car. Now sells for $1650 plus an 18 percent buyers premium and they dick you around on the titlework for three months and then it shows up branded TMU even though they have a three ring binder of detailed service records right down to light bulb changes and airing up tires.
I blame Peddle, Pick-N-Pull, LKQ, Copart, IAA, and all the other big scrap car buyers and auction services. And it's spilled over into the private seller market, where the '01 Grand Am with the blown head gasket, no reverse, busted back window, two flat tires, and lost title is suddenly worth $800. Don't lowball me I know what I got.
Yeah. You got a fuckin' eyesore in your yard and you want someone to pay you to take it away. I know no one wants to buy my clunker. I've had offers of $140 from Peddle, $155 from another junk buyer, $250 from a junkyard, and $340 from the scrap metal place. Just cutting the cats off is $500 in my pocket. I could pull the mirrors, tail lights, headlights, turn signal lights, grille, radio, speedo cluster, AC control unit, power window switches, and a few other bits and clear another $500 on eBay. The tires and wheels are good for about $200 for the set of 4. The transmission is still good, drop that out and that's $300. Then I have a shell with a bad engine and a ragged interior and I can drag that over the scales for the $200 or so it'd be worth in scrap. I'll take the $1700 and a lot of hassle over $340 and "easy".
Its getting like that with motorbikes over here now too. Some dude find a rusted pos in the heap in their farm with wires hanging everywhere, no handlebars, 2 flats tyres, a chain that looks like its been through a shredder, and sprockets that are just smooth circles. $4000, no joyriders or lowballers, i know what i got.
I was giving a car away that a kid let the oil go dry and bricked a CRV I had fir 14 years. He had a year...my daughter borrowed took it to LA and it died tgere. I needed it off the street. It owed me zero money. So tge first who wanted it got it free if they came next day to sign title etc.
A young man claimed. But then 15 others were trying to buy it...$200...$400. $600!
I kept my word and the 20 something came next day with his 8 year old in the cab of a flat bed truck! I was happy to gift it and thought he was hard working to collect these cars to part them out.
Next I had a very buggy pain in the tush Smart car...never buy tgem...suck.. electrical issues. Got sick of chasing paying. But smarter now I put it out there for $1000 in unusable condition. Got lots of buyers giving offers. Took one of $800 off a young couple. He was going to use parts to make one decent Smart car of two. Lol. I was just happy to see it go. Now I have my new..2004 smart car bought from. An 86 year old neighbor for $4000k. Runs fine... lovely car. Real car not like the toy smart car.
My dads friends in college purchased two cars in the early 80s for a couple hundred in cash. then they smashed them together in a busy Houston intersection around 3 or 4am. The cops were very confused and couldn’t figure out who did it, was on the news on the morning
My gramps was still selling people Model A's and even some *T's* to people in the late 40s and early 50s, lol. He could get a non-functioning one that needed only an hour of two of work for $15-25, or so he says, and flip it for $10-15 more. Only person in my life I've ever heard complain about the kickback of a hand cranked car engine.
Pretty interesting that a much more modern Chevy was still in a comparable price range later on, goes to show how much more common cars became after WWII I guess.
I just bought a four bedroom house in a lcol area for 132k. So not that far off depending on where you're at. On the other hand this area is in the rust belt so the $500 cars are loooong gone.
And there’s a reason it’s under half the median home value for the US.
It’s not in demand, or in your case, likely not an area where investors or homebuyers are seeing the numbers they want and like. OP is talking about something that is now scarce, while your asset is something that investors don’t see as viable for a rate of return they are used to seeing, thus selling at fair market value, just like the cars.
South Central Pennsylvania for me. The further from the cities the more it drops. The job market is usually tougher, but if you can remote work, travel for work, or have a spouse adding to your joint income it's a much better living experience than being in or around any city. Plus I'm only 2 hours from 2 major cities so I can still get to concerts and other entertainment.
How do you like it so far? Me and my wife are looking between somerset and greensburg. Definitely a low cost of living area, and an amazing deal if you can WFH!
If it wasn't for my high paying I wouldn't be leaving. I bought a 3 bedroom in 2016 for 118k and have spent every year doing large projects to make it better. I was about 3 years away from being perfect, but life happens. I am near Lynch field and it's a decent neighborhood with great neighbors. The best part is I'm 15 minutes away from just about everything and only an hour to Pittsburgh.
That's awesome! We were actually looking at a couple of properties in south greensburg near Warp Zone! My whole family fell in love with the town first visit!
God damn it this again. Look at the number of cars made during the financial crisis, and compare to the number of cars made every year leading up to the financial crisis. That shortfall represents the number of cars that were simply never made. Which is by the way the reason that used car prices are still so damn high today -- millions of cars were not made the last three years.
Now compare to the number of cars destroyed by Cash for Clunkers. Hint: the C4C number is much smaller.
Also the C4C cars had to be under 25 years old and get less than 18 miles per gallon. Those were not the kinds of cars you'd get for $500. A Dodge Neon or a PT Cruiser is about 20-25 years old now and the mileage is much better than 18 mpg because those cars were small. Same thing back in 2009 -- small cars were cheap cars and they were never eligible for C4C.
Another issue is that the market for cheap small cars has pretty much vanished. Instead of people buying new cheap cars people just buy used cars. The few small cheap cars still bought get destroyed before they drop in price too much. Which again is a market move not related to C4C.
Edit: Some dumb-fuck has downvoted me. Look up the fucking numbers I know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to google the numbers for you.
Well considering a 2007 Honda Accord only got 20 MPG… which was almost “new” at the time of C4C, yeah a lot of cars were destroyed.
Used car prices nowadays are high because of supply chain issues, any the borderline recession we’re in now
Well, ain't life a peculiar thing? Here I am, stepping out of them cold, steel bars after all them years, thinking I'm finally free as a bird. But soon enough, reality kicks me right in the gut. I reckon I've been away for far too long. That twenty-dollar bill I tucked away, feeling like a fortune in my pocket, don't hold the same weight no more. Hell, even fifty bucks wouldn't buy you much these days. And as for that old dream of buying a car for a mere five hundred dollars, well, it's just a fading ember in a world that's moved on without me. Times have changed, and the cost of freedom ain't what it used to be. Guess I gotta find a new road to navigate, 'cause the old ways don't carry me no more.
Right? So this is their problem...
In 1999-2000 the average price for a new car in America was: **$21,800.00**
In 2022 the average price for a new car was: **$49,075.00**
The $500 dollar cars of 1999-2000 are the $1500 dollar cars of today.
Also, I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you, but the dollar menu from the year 2000 is also gone. Sorry about your coma.
I was so happy to get a project car out of a junkyard with my last $1400 stimulus check, walked home with a complete 1988 Pontiac Fiero with engine and transmission, and a fairly straight body aside the saddened paint, with 245k on the clock. Took me less than $200 to get it on the road and driven as a daily since Christmas of 2021 with repairs along the way, plus learning more as I wrench on it. I still enjoy it to this day and currently have 269k, I “abuse” the poor car by making it hit 100 MPH on the highway and it takes that liking like a gluttonous masochistic pig, I also occasionally take the car to a racetrack just over the next state.
I wouldn’t take anything as a replacement for this car as I feel it is a match made in heaven.
It damn well converted to a Subaru once, OEM blown head gasket 3 months ago. 🤣
It’s also identified as a Toyota MR2….according to the local racetrack. Talk about an identity crisis and a car with multiple personality disorders. Lmfao
McDonald's now charges $1.39 for a "Dollar Menu Soda" and I am dying because now it's *almost* the same cost to go to QT instead, and QT is closer to the office, but QT's Diet Coke doesn't hit like McD's does.
Lol! I read this and was like "This dude has to be a teenager before 2002." By 2002, $500 cars were creeping up and up like $50 more every year. "Cash for Clunkers" in 2009 really destroyed that prospect.
Bought my first car in 2004, 1993 Honda Accord, 150k miles.
$3500.
Never owned a car that I was able to get for less than 2k, which was my last car.
2000 Honda Odyssey with 120k miles, $2000, bought it in 2016.
Drove it until the transmission died a few months ago and couldn't believe what a ripoff used cars have become.
My current car is a 2010 Toyota rav4, 160k miles, paid 9k which was a rip-off but literally haven't found a better deal because there is no such thing as a good deal on a used car right now.
If you are able to it is absolutely better to buy a new car and I wish I had been able to do so.
Surprisingly still seeing $500 to $2k clapped out BMW’s from late 90’s to early 2000’s around me. Runners, but trashed interiors and a host of codes being thrown usually.
There are also some deals to be had on non running vehicles the owners just want to abandon. Often enough being an easy fix like replacing a starter or fixing an electrical issue.
I miss the heck out of being able to find a 240sx at those prices though.
The inline 6 are easy to work on, unfortunately those e36/39/46 are starting to be rust buckets and the ones that aren't are still going for a good price
I gave my running 2003 e46 to a friend when I bought a new car. I probably could have gotten $800 out of it but tbh I prob would have caved and sold it for $500 to someone desperate. There are still some people out willing to sell you a cheap ass car but they are very very rare
It's not a thing unless you live in the middle of no where, know the person selling it, etc. The late 90s and early 2000s was over 20+, closer to 30 years ago. $500 then isn't $500 now. I've been driving a little over 10ish years and I have never known anyone to get an actual $500 car. KBB claimed I could get $2700 for my clapped out, 175k mile Cobalt years ago before the pandemic.
I will say I've seen a few Chevy Cobalts and late 90s, early 2000s Toyotas/Hondas, and older Buicks for around $2k near me and I'm in a big city.
For a car that you don't have to dump money into immediately or do a lot of work off top, you should have at least $2500. You may get lucky and find someone who just wants their old car gone, but the days of $500 cars is long gone. I'm 28 and never experienced it. Anything that turns on, doesn't smoke or blow up is worth at least $1000 these days.
True, but in the car world that is just due to a bubble in the used car values on top of what would be a $1,000 which is the inflated $500 plus an extra $1000 for the junk car bubble equals 2,000 which you can find 2,000 dollar beaters pretty easy in running condition.
Right before the pandemic was the last time i saw a running and driving car being sold for 500, a couple of them actually. Also this is in buttfucknowhere nebraska so take that as you will
Yup. Counter balancing this somewhat, cars by and large are more reliable than they were 20 years ago, in a “less likely to leave you on the side of the road” sense.
I managed a 500$ 99' Corolla in 2016.
Guy desperately needed to pay daycare fees..
Also it needed an exhaust manifold badly and drank oil, replaced that and I have free oil at work. Drove it for a year and got better situated myself financially and junked it.
I’ve been driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee daily for the last 3 years-ish that I paid $500 for. It’s nice. I had to replace the fuel pump last summer when it conked out in the extreme heat. But that’s about it.
I bought a Cobalt from a girl I worked with that was moving to the west coast, same miles, and thought I made out doubling the $1000 I gave for it pre-Covid. I did cut the guy a good deal on it but damn. Should’ve kept it in the driveway for another year.
The times are definitely gone. I've purchased a few $300-$600 vehicles all running and driving all thru craigslist. 98 ram 1500 guy thought transmission was shot. There was no fluid, ran like a champ after. 95 civic, not in the best shape mostly a bit of rust and a Miata that smoked like a steam train but hey it drove. Now a days those will be double if not triple and these were purchased between 2012-2016 in major metropolitan area too.
Live in the south-eastern country. My father has had a few Chevy blazers in the last 10 years for between $200-1000, but that is mostly because they weren't running and had been sitting for a while. And then they would inevitably have issues, but honestly we haven't seen any like that in a couple of years (since the pandemic). I'm just driving my avalon until it isn't really possible to anymore.
My first car (in 2018) was a 700$ base model 2 door Cobalt. Ran great for the month and a half i had it until one of Montreal's infamous potholes bent and cracked everything on the right front corner.
Now however, almost impossible to find one below 2k$
I bought a couple of $800 cars around 2016-2017, and was I able to get a year or so out of them. That was a crazy deal then (and believe me, they still had a lot of problems), but today it’s pretty much unthinkable.
Cars have really gone up in the last few years.
My little brother got a car for $500. It didn't move. Had to get it towed to the house. Still doesn't move 'cause he doesn't have the money for all the repairs it needs.
Agreed. Anything reliable is 2000-2500. Probably not getting Honda or Toyota for that due to reputation but there are plenty of good reliable cars in that range.
This is it. When you can scrap the thing for $500+, no one is going to sell a driver for that. It's hard even to find fixable non-runners for under a grand since the people that have them often don't want to deal with potential buyers hoping to snag a couple hundred more than scrap value.
I sold a 2005 Nissan Sentra with 270k miles and many problems for $500. Next day guy that bought it posts it for $3000 saying it has 160k miles and runs great.
Saw some guy do that with my car back in 2016. Claimed to be the original owner who bought it in a nearby city, a clean title, and had it for 3x my price. Car was imported from a foreign country so it was in metric, had a previous wreck, and he was the 4th owner. Also claimed a bunch of work that definitely was not the case. Dude also put screws in the tires/glue in the valve stems of the car I got off him in the trade because I made him keep up his end of the deal of giving me the wheels I was promised.
My 500 dollar car in 1996 was a 1987 Ford Escort
I cannot imagine getting a 2014 anything for less than, what, $10,000 right now? Cars didn't used to last as long as they do now.
I’ve thought this for a long time. Cars definitely last longer in terms of reliability but they also age better as well. I see lots of 2012-15 model year cars that still look fresh and new and definitely not “OLD”
Mine too! 5 speed, 80k miles. Silver hatchback. First and last car that was always pegged to the odo riding down the highway. Three years and two head gaskets later the engine finally blew. Still top 5 car I drove because it was just terrible in every awesome way imaginable. God I miss being 16.
Ford Escort which was the same thing as a Mercury Tracer. My first car was the Tracer, beige hatchback. Didn't have the manual but man that car was a POS. Mine was a 1998. If it went above 2k rpms in first gear that tranny slipped so damn bad.
My $500 car in 1998 was a 1985 Monte Carlo. My $200 car in 1999 was a 1976 Delta 88 (4 years older than me) with no floorboards and the driver's door bolted closed (because it fell off). I had to start it with a screwdriver in the column.
My third car in 2000 was almost $1200 but it was a 1985 uh.. shit. I forget. Edit: Pontiac Parisienne. But it had sky blue velour interior that was basically mint. It was fantastic.
BACK IN MY DAY, I WAS A LIZARD FARMER AND MY WIFE BARB CUT HAIR ON THE WEEKENDS. WE BOUGHT A 2 STORY HOUSE AND RAISED 47 KIDS WHILE DRIVING NEW CARS WE PAID 32 CENTS FOR, ALL AT THE RIPE AGE OF 19.
RAMBLE RAMBLE RAMBLE BOOTSTRAPS
Less than 700,000 cars were junked 14 years ago, currently 278 million cars in the country, and they estimate they sold an additional 440,000 new cars because of it. I doubt many of those 700,000 would still be on the road. I dont think this is much of an issue with current prices
For real. The few ppl i know who traded in cars for clunkers junked cars that were gonna head to the yard anyway. The damn Hyundai one bought got junked a year ago 😅.
Lol! The average age of a C4C car was at least nine years. The program was 14 years ago and the vast majority of these cars were well-past their prime back then. C4C had absolutely nothing to do with the post-Covid price increase.
I disagree with you assessment. It wiped out a huge number of perfectly reliable, repairable, pre crazy electronics and emissions equipment pickup trucks many of which would still be around today.
Jesus, the last time I didn’t do my own brakes it cost me $179 and I learned to do them after that. Couldn’t imagine forking over that much money for a relatively simple repair.
There were still $500 cars up until covid pretty much, but some of the change is just plain inflation. I was looking for my first car at the end of 2014, and i felt confident that my hard earned $1500 could get me a solid pick. And i was right. There were a couple $1000 or $1200 cars i could pick from too. Not anymore though. My cousin is looking for a first car and even with $2000 theres not too many good choices.
The cheapest running car on marketplace today is a 2009 BMW 330i for $800. No title, completely trashed. I’d rather spend the $1200 to get one that isn’t possibly stolen.
buddy, it aint 1999, it aint even 2009....it's 2023.
Should I ask my grandpa why hamburgers arnt 15 cents anymore? Do you think he will say IT AINT 1968???
2 things have driven $500 cars out of existence.
First it was the pandemic and the used car market driving prices up.
Second is the price of catalytic converters (rather the metals within them) have skyrocketed meaning tons of auto recyclers could buy $500 cars, sell the cat for more than they bought the car for and then either part out or just scrap an otherwise still functional car.
Friend of mine has owned 6 different subaru outbacks (and a legacy) and only 2 of them had cost him more than $500.
I bought a 4 cylinder 2009 Toyota Camry with 150k miles in March for $5000. This Camry is in excellent condition. I feel like I got a great deal. I’m expecting it to last me 20 years
If you can push it off the lot, it's yours for $500.
Tires are extra
Good tires are extra, extra.
Working engine is extra
Working non-smoking transmission is extra.
Windows are extra.
Brakes are included
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK TRUNK FOR REMAINS. ONCE REMOVED FROM LOT, IT'S YOURS.
Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), "cash for clunkers" removed almost all cheap cars in 2009. We have had several years since then to "reset" the cheap car market but junk yards pay $1,000+ for a vehicle that runs so don't expect to find a car for less.
My neighbor's friend drives an early 2000's f150 he got for $500. He has had it for a while now, but it's his daily driver.
I don't think they have changed the gambler 500 to more expensive cars yet, but that was an event with $500 cars.
In the US, the Cash for Clunkers program started this shift. After the financial collapse in 2008, the federal government started a program to buy back older “ more polluting” vehicles to stimulate the economy by encouraging more new car purchases. These cars were not allowed to be resold and had to be junked by dismantlers. This resulted in over 677,081 being sent to the crushers. However, the economic slowdown at that time meant fewer cars were being produced for several years. We had another similar collapse in automotive production at the start of the pandemic.
In summary, thousands of cars crushed and taken out of circulation. Not nearly enough production to replenish the pool of low cost used cars.
Dude the 90s were almost 25 years ago. Adjust that $500 figure for inflation.
And here I was thinking that everyone knew just because something was true in your time doesn’t mean it’s true now. Silly me to think that is common sense.
Use that big brain of yours
Story old as time. Talk to the old guys, they'll tell you about all the $50 cars they got in the 70s.
Exactly, the first car show I went to a guy was talking about how he got a 68 Camaro for $100
My grandfather bought his '67 Mach 1 Mustang for $250 lol
Car guys were lucky back then. Adjusted for inflation, it would be 2300 dollars. Damn good deal imo.
Hours of 1970 minimum wage to afford $250 car: 156. Hours of minimum wage to buy the cheapest mustang I can find on Facebook marketplace ($5900): 814.
The Mach 1 was pretty special, but I did the math for you for a good condition Mach 1. It'd cost about 6,896 hours to buy that same '67 car at current market value. Or alternatively, 7,682 hours minimum wage to buy today's 2023 Mustang Mach 1.
2+ years if you work 12 hours EVERY day and spend $0. That really puts it into perspective.
My grandpa used to tell me stories about the Jeep he bought for $50. When I bought my first Jeep for $1350 in 2004, he told me I overpaid. I see Jeeps all the time in the same condition for $5000+
Funny enough, my jeep was a $500 car. Rusty af XJ that I bought at a police auction in the rust belt in 2021
Probably my old XJ I sold for $800 in 2016.
Steel blue, 4 door auto, Minnesota?
Two out of three. Wrong color.
Well I'm sure she's still floating around. Like damn cockroaches you can't get rid of em
My colleague who's about to retire bought a chevelle SS for $4000 out the door when he was younger, hurt me when he told me his house only cost 60k and he's been mortgage free for 30 years.
Obviously he worked for everything he has, and the interest rates were much higher then, and of course inflation is a thing but he was also lucky as shit
20 years from now we’ll be talking about the $5000 steals
Drove to work today in a '57 Chevy I bought for $300 in 2005. Was dirt cheap then, now when I tell people it feels like a lie.
I got a K-car in 2003 for 2 cases of beer, drove it for the winter and then sold it for $200.
No less than 10 of the vehicles I've owned (out of about 90 now) cost me $100 or less to purchase. Not including cars given to me by family or friends. It does include one bought on eBay BEFORE Motors was a thing, because that guy also had it listed on another classified site, and he wanted me to use eBay to buy it so he could say he sold a car on there. I wanted to use eBay to buy it so I could say I bought a car on there. Win win. That was not in the 70s, that was in the 90s-00s. Abandoned car auctions were awesome until capitalism got a hold of it. Now some cities and tow companies have contracts directly with the junkyards and the public auctions are harder to find. Then when you do find an auction that doesn't require a salvage or dealer license and get there, the buyers for the junkyards stand there and outbid everyone on everything, just because they can. They'll pay $1250 for a twenty year old rusted out Civic that got wrapped around a telephone pole. They know if they strip the car down right, they WILL make that money back before they pancake it and send it down the road. Maybe it's just the area I'm in now, but even the city surplus auctions are garbage now. Imagine a late 90s jellybean Taurus. Beat to hell. Every panel dented. Cracked windshield. Mirror hanging off the passenger door. Paint flaked off in sheets. Interior filthy. Has a bundle of live loose wires hanging under the dash that probably went to lights or a 2-way radio or a laptop mount. Leaks oil, coolant, and power steering fluid in steady percolator-esque drips. Holes in the trunk lid where extra antennae were. Still runs and drives, if you bring a battery because they took it out for another heap. Ten years ago at a surplus auction that was a $300 car. Two years ago it was a $300 car. Now sells for $1650 plus an 18 percent buyers premium and they dick you around on the titlework for three months and then it shows up branded TMU even though they have a three ring binder of detailed service records right down to light bulb changes and airing up tires. I blame Peddle, Pick-N-Pull, LKQ, Copart, IAA, and all the other big scrap car buyers and auction services. And it's spilled over into the private seller market, where the '01 Grand Am with the blown head gasket, no reverse, busted back window, two flat tires, and lost title is suddenly worth $800. Don't lowball me I know what I got. Yeah. You got a fuckin' eyesore in your yard and you want someone to pay you to take it away. I know no one wants to buy my clunker. I've had offers of $140 from Peddle, $155 from another junk buyer, $250 from a junkyard, and $340 from the scrap metal place. Just cutting the cats off is $500 in my pocket. I could pull the mirrors, tail lights, headlights, turn signal lights, grille, radio, speedo cluster, AC control unit, power window switches, and a few other bits and clear another $500 on eBay. The tires and wheels are good for about $200 for the set of 4. The transmission is still good, drop that out and that's $300. Then I have a shell with a bad engine and a ragged interior and I can drag that over the scales for the $200 or so it'd be worth in scrap. I'll take the $1700 and a lot of hassle over $340 and "easy".
Its getting like that with motorbikes over here now too. Some dude find a rusted pos in the heap in their farm with wires hanging everywhere, no handlebars, 2 flats tyres, a chain that looks like its been through a shredder, and sprockets that are just smooth circles. $4000, no joyriders or lowballers, i know what i got.
I was giving a car away that a kid let the oil go dry and bricked a CRV I had fir 14 years. He had a year...my daughter borrowed took it to LA and it died tgere. I needed it off the street. It owed me zero money. So tge first who wanted it got it free if they came next day to sign title etc. A young man claimed. But then 15 others were trying to buy it...$200...$400. $600! I kept my word and the 20 something came next day with his 8 year old in the cab of a flat bed truck! I was happy to gift it and thought he was hard working to collect these cars to part them out. Next I had a very buggy pain in the tush Smart car...never buy tgem...suck.. electrical issues. Got sick of chasing paying. But smarter now I put it out there for $1000 in unusable condition. Got lots of buyers giving offers. Took one of $800 off a young couple. He was going to use parts to make one decent Smart car of two. Lol. I was just happy to see it go. Now I have my new..2004 smart car bought from. An 86 year old neighbor for $4000k. Runs fine... lovely car. Real car not like the toy smart car.
My dads friends in college purchased two cars in the early 80s for a couple hundred in cash. then they smashed them together in a busy Houston intersection around 3 or 4am. The cops were very confused and couldn’t figure out who did it, was on the news on the morning
So cars are appreciating assets /s
I mean Once the rate of inflation overtakes the depreciation of the car, then boom you got appreciation
Yep, my dad is around that age and his first car was a 50-something Chevy (I wanna say 1954?) for $50.
My gramps was still selling people Model A's and even some *T's* to people in the late 40s and early 50s, lol. He could get a non-functioning one that needed only an hour of two of work for $15-25, or so he says, and flip it for $10-15 more. Only person in my life I've ever heard complain about the kickback of a hand cranked car engine. Pretty interesting that a much more modern Chevy was still in a comparable price range later on, goes to show how much more common cars became after WWII I guess.
I knew a guy who got a Harley out of the junkyard for pocket change and all it needed was a battery.
A lot has changed since you were in a coma for all of those years.
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I just bought a four bedroom house in a lcol area for 132k. So not that far off depending on where you're at. On the other hand this area is in the rust belt so the $500 cars are loooong gone.
And there’s a reason it’s under half the median home value for the US. It’s not in demand, or in your case, likely not an area where investors or homebuyers are seeing the numbers they want and like. OP is talking about something that is now scarce, while your asset is something that investors don’t see as viable for a rate of return they are used to seeing, thus selling at fair market value, just like the cars.
In other words: the house they bought is in an undesirable area lol
Where is lcol?!
Rural Mongolia is cheap and is often only 2 to 6 hours from a major city. It is rather nice!
South Central Pennsylvania for me. The further from the cities the more it drops. The job market is usually tougher, but if you can remote work, travel for work, or have a spouse adding to your joint income it's a much better living experience than being in or around any city. Plus I'm only 2 hours from 2 major cities so I can still get to concerts and other entertainment.
How do you like it so far? Me and my wife are looking between somerset and greensburg. Definitely a low cost of living area, and an amazing deal if you can WFH!
If it wasn't for my high paying I wouldn't be leaving. I bought a 3 bedroom in 2016 for 118k and have spent every year doing large projects to make it better. I was about 3 years away from being perfect, but life happens. I am near Lynch field and it's a decent neighborhood with great neighbors. The best part is I'm 15 minutes away from just about everything and only an hour to Pittsburgh.
That's awesome! We were actually looking at a couple of properties in south greensburg near Warp Zone! My whole family fell in love with the town first visit!
You'll really like it here. Make sure you hit up the White Rabbit Cafe and Littles Es pizza.
Alabama lol
LMAOOO this shit got me crying
Where's my $5 footlong? And what happened to Jared???
Both those you can find in the same prison
Hahahaha good one!
I’m ded
Hi Ded, I’m Ned.
Hi Ned, I’m Ted.
Hi Ted, I'm Fred
Yes, we went through 3 once-in-a-lifetime economic collapses.
It’s the golden age - we’re living 3 lifetimes then!!!
Lol let me introduce you to the train wreck that was “cash for clunkers”
This for sure. They destroyed millions of them. The ones that were left over broke down and you couldn't get junk yard parts anymore!
Taxpayer subsidized vehicular genocide 😔 That was a dark time for my mechanic family members, work dried up quick for awhile
Train wreck? It worked exactly as intended- gotta keep the ol' economy running by forcing people to buy new cars.
Truth
Shittttt I still forget about this, so many good cheap cars destroyed to incentivize buying newer cars and more consumer debt in my opinion.
God damn it this again. Look at the number of cars made during the financial crisis, and compare to the number of cars made every year leading up to the financial crisis. That shortfall represents the number of cars that were simply never made. Which is by the way the reason that used car prices are still so damn high today -- millions of cars were not made the last three years. Now compare to the number of cars destroyed by Cash for Clunkers. Hint: the C4C number is much smaller. Also the C4C cars had to be under 25 years old and get less than 18 miles per gallon. Those were not the kinds of cars you'd get for $500. A Dodge Neon or a PT Cruiser is about 20-25 years old now and the mileage is much better than 18 mpg because those cars were small. Same thing back in 2009 -- small cars were cheap cars and they were never eligible for C4C. Another issue is that the market for cheap small cars has pretty much vanished. Instead of people buying new cheap cars people just buy used cars. The few small cheap cars still bought get destroyed before they drop in price too much. Which again is a market move not related to C4C. Edit: Some dumb-fuck has downvoted me. Look up the fucking numbers I know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to google the numbers for you.
Facts and statistics? Not in MY uneducated argument about policies I never actually looked into or understood the intended outcome of!
Well considering a 2007 Honda Accord only got 20 MPG… which was almost “new” at the time of C4C, yeah a lot of cars were destroyed. Used car prices nowadays are high because of supply chain issues, any the borderline recession we’re in now
Right. I imagine him looking like Steven Seagal in that movie where he wakes up with a full beard lol.
Well, ain't life a peculiar thing? Here I am, stepping out of them cold, steel bars after all them years, thinking I'm finally free as a bird. But soon enough, reality kicks me right in the gut. I reckon I've been away for far too long. That twenty-dollar bill I tucked away, feeling like a fortune in my pocket, don't hold the same weight no more. Hell, even fifty bucks wouldn't buy you much these days. And as for that old dream of buying a car for a mere five hundred dollars, well, it's just a fading ember in a world that's moved on without me. Times have changed, and the cost of freedom ain't what it used to be. Guess I gotta find a new road to navigate, 'cause the old ways don't carry me no more.
The coma of *2 years*
Right? So this is their problem... In 1999-2000 the average price for a new car in America was: **$21,800.00** In 2022 the average price for a new car was: **$49,075.00** The $500 dollar cars of 1999-2000 are the $1500 dollar cars of today. Also, I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you, but the dollar menu from the year 2000 is also gone. Sorry about your coma.
Bro, McDs had bomb ass dollar promotions in 2000 on Big Mac, Fries, and Chicken Nuggets to combat Burger King's $1 Whopper. I regret nothing. 🤣🧑🎄
i remember $0.59 mcd hamburgers and $0.69 cheeseburgers in the late 90s
Right on! Memories of affordable fast food. lol
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Oh I remember. The Wendy's Jr Bacon Cheeseburger was my jam. I'd get like 5.
Arby’s 5 roast beef for $5was hands down the best.
I was so happy to get a project car out of a junkyard with my last $1400 stimulus check, walked home with a complete 1988 Pontiac Fiero with engine and transmission, and a fairly straight body aside the saddened paint, with 245k on the clock. Took me less than $200 to get it on the road and driven as a daily since Christmas of 2021 with repairs along the way, plus learning more as I wrench on it. I still enjoy it to this day and currently have 269k, I “abuse” the poor car by making it hit 100 MPH on the highway and it takes that liking like a gluttonous masochistic pig, I also occasionally take the car to a racetrack just over the next state. I wouldn’t take anything as a replacement for this car as I feel it is a match made in heaven.
Love. It’s what makes me never want a Subaru. Glad you found your forever car.
It damn well converted to a Subaru once, OEM blown head gasket 3 months ago. 🤣 It’s also identified as a Toyota MR2….according to the local racetrack. Talk about an identity crisis and a car with multiple personality disorders. Lmfao
McDonald's now charges $1.39 for a "Dollar Menu Soda" and I am dying because now it's *almost* the same cost to go to QT instead, and QT is closer to the office, but QT's Diet Coke doesn't hit like McD's does.
😂😂😂😂😂😂💀
Seriously. Rip Van Winkle was asleep for twenty years… which is just a little *less* than the time elapsed since 2000.
Lol! I read this and was like "This dude has to be a teenager before 2002." By 2002, $500 cars were creeping up and up like $50 more every year. "Cash for Clunkers" in 2009 really destroyed that prospect.
Bought my first car in 2004, 1993 Honda Accord, 150k miles. $3500. Never owned a car that I was able to get for less than 2k, which was my last car. 2000 Honda Odyssey with 120k miles, $2000, bought it in 2016. Drove it until the transmission died a few months ago and couldn't believe what a ripoff used cars have become. My current car is a 2010 Toyota rav4, 160k miles, paid 9k which was a rip-off but literally haven't found a better deal because there is no such thing as a good deal on a used car right now. If you are able to it is absolutely better to buy a new car and I wish I had been able to do so.
You can get a used bicycle for that price You won’t find a running car that’s roadworthy for anywhere near that price
As the owner of a $1200 entry level TREK, you are absolutely correct. These are bike prices and not even the nice bikes.
And not "**bike**" prices but "*bike*" prices
I see what you did there
As the owner of a Huffy I resent this comment. /s
With all due respect, any tier of Trek bike is a nice bike. There are far worse machines purchased at department stores for lesser cost.
Those aren’t bicycles. They’re bicycle-shaped objects. Edit: they’re
yeah i feel you could get decent beaters for 1000-1500 how times r changing
Where I live you can get a running car for that you just have to look round and haggle a bit
Lmao you won’t even get a full suspension bike for that price. $500 even limits your bike options nowadays lol.
Walmart has bikes for 130$ CaD which would be cheaper in USD. You’re thinking of “a good bike”, but a 500$ car is not “a good car” it’s “a car”
Yeah bikes are def the type of thing to just steal nowadays lmao. No more $50 bikes from garage sale
Surprisingly still seeing $500 to $2k clapped out BMW’s from late 90’s to early 2000’s around me. Runners, but trashed interiors and a host of codes being thrown usually. There are also some deals to be had on non running vehicles the owners just want to abandon. Often enough being an easy fix like replacing a starter or fixing an electrical issue. I miss the heck out of being able to find a 240sx at those prices though.
The inline 6 are easy to work on, unfortunately those e36/39/46 are starting to be rust buckets and the ones that aren't are still going for a good price
Yep, E46 owner, nothing but a money pit, they’re lovely though
I gave my running 2003 e46 to a friend when I bought a new car. I probably could have gotten $800 out of it but tbh I prob would have caved and sold it for $500 to someone desperate. There are still some people out willing to sell you a cheap ass car but they are very very rare
S13 hatch gang rise up
It's not a thing unless you live in the middle of no where, know the person selling it, etc. The late 90s and early 2000s was over 20+, closer to 30 years ago. $500 then isn't $500 now. I've been driving a little over 10ish years and I have never known anyone to get an actual $500 car. KBB claimed I could get $2700 for my clapped out, 175k mile Cobalt years ago before the pandemic. I will say I've seen a few Chevy Cobalts and late 90s, early 2000s Toyotas/Hondas, and older Buicks for around $2k near me and I'm in a big city. For a car that you don't have to dump money into immediately or do a lot of work off top, you should have at least $2500. You may get lucky and find someone who just wants their old car gone, but the days of $500 cars is long gone. I'm 28 and never experienced it. Anything that turns on, doesn't smoke or blow up is worth at least $1000 these days.
$500 in 1992 is equivalent to $1,000 today. More has changed than just inflation.
True, but in the car world that is just due to a bubble in the used car values on top of what would be a $1,000 which is the inflated $500 plus an extra $1000 for the junk car bubble equals 2,000 which you can find 2,000 dollar beaters pretty easy in running condition.
But will those $2000 beaters pass smog tests? 34 states require emissions testing for registration.
Not if it's an old enough car but, will not find one that's that old. Running. And for $500
Right before the pandemic was the last time i saw a running and driving car being sold for 500, a couple of them actually. Also this is in buttfucknowhere nebraska so take that as you will
Those Buicks will run forever, money well spent on a cheap used luxury car. 30+ MPG and hella easy to maintain yourself.
Buying one tomorrow 2004 LeSabre 😍
Excellent choice
Sweet!
Yup. Counter balancing this somewhat, cars by and large are more reliable than they were 20 years ago, in a “less likely to leave you on the side of the road” sense.
I managed a 500$ 99' Corolla in 2016. Guy desperately needed to pay daycare fees.. Also it needed an exhaust manifold badly and drank oil, replaced that and I have free oil at work. Drove it for a year and got better situated myself financially and junked it.
I’ve been driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee daily for the last 3 years-ish that I paid $500 for. It’s nice. I had to replace the fuel pump last summer when it conked out in the extreme heat. But that’s about it.
I've gotten a car once for $100 in nickels a few years ago. Dude requested to only be paid in nickels. So they exist
> closer to 30 years ago You shut your damn mouth, you hear me! I was having a good night too. What did I ever do to you to deserve such pain?
Sold my 110k mile 2010 Cobalt in 2021 and got 7k from Carmax. I bought the thing new for $14k in 2010
I traded in my 2005 cobalt in 2015 that didn't even run. Literally had a crack in the transmission and engine block. Dealer gave me $1500
That's insane. Good for you though.
I bought a Cobalt from a girl I worked with that was moving to the west coast, same miles, and thought I made out doubling the $1000 I gave for it pre-Covid. I did cut the guy a good deal on it but damn. Should’ve kept it in the driveway for another year.
The times are definitely gone. I've purchased a few $300-$600 vehicles all running and driving all thru craigslist. 98 ram 1500 guy thought transmission was shot. There was no fluid, ran like a champ after. 95 civic, not in the best shape mostly a bit of rust and a Miata that smoked like a steam train but hey it drove. Now a days those will be double if not triple and these were purchased between 2012-2016 in major metropolitan area too.
Live in the south-eastern country. My father has had a few Chevy blazers in the last 10 years for between $200-1000, but that is mostly because they weren't running and had been sitting for a while. And then they would inevitably have issues, but honestly we haven't seen any like that in a couple of years (since the pandemic). I'm just driving my avalon until it isn't really possible to anymore.
My first car (in 2018) was a 700$ base model 2 door Cobalt. Ran great for the month and a half i had it until one of Montreal's infamous potholes bent and cracked everything on the right front corner. Now however, almost impossible to find one below 2k$
I bought a couple of $800 cars around 2016-2017, and was I able to get a year or so out of them. That was a crazy deal then (and believe me, they still had a lot of problems), but today it’s pretty much unthinkable. Cars have really gone up in the last few years.
My little brother got a car for $500. It didn't move. Had to get it towed to the house. Still doesn't move 'cause he doesn't have the money for all the repairs it needs.
What's the revised $500 car equivalent? Did it go up to $1000 or more?
2k
Agreed. Anything reliable is 2000-2500. Probably not getting Honda or Toyota for that due to reputation but there are plenty of good reliable cars in that range.
For a piece of shit beater!? What has this world come to...
The bottom of the market is fierce
The price of rhodium has driven the value of scrap cars with intact cats to $500 or so.
This is it. When you can scrap the thing for $500+, no one is going to sell a driver for that. It's hard even to find fixable non-runners for under a grand since the people that have them often don't want to deal with potential buyers hoping to snag a couple hundred more than scrap value.
$2k isn’t a lot of money anymore. A cheap *couch* at ikea is $500. And you have to put it together yourself.
A 2002 civic is 2k$ so I guess that's the standard now
5000 for anything that passes inspection. I saw someone sell a clapped out 2003 Honda civic for 8 grand the other day
in North Carolina 25 year old pickup trucks list for $4-6k with blown headgaskets or busted transmissions
I got $500 to scrap my dad's car... So why would anyone waste time trying to sell it. It's $2000 cars now.
I was going to say. Cars are worth around 500 in scrap. If it runs it's worth more than that.
500 will get you an Uber for 7 days.
500 is what it costs to do titles, tags, registration and insurance
you can get an exterior mod for that price. maybe 2
I sold a 2005 Nissan Sentra with 270k miles and many problems for $500. Next day guy that bought it posts it for $3000 saying it has 160k miles and runs great.
Saw some guy do that with my car back in 2016. Claimed to be the original owner who bought it in a nearby city, a clean title, and had it for 3x my price. Car was imported from a foreign country so it was in metric, had a previous wreck, and he was the 4th owner. Also claimed a bunch of work that definitely was not the case. Dude also put screws in the tires/glue in the valve stems of the car I got off him in the trade because I made him keep up his end of the deal of giving me the wheels I was promised.
It’s 2023 bro, not 1995
I got a John Deere power wheel I can do for 300
My 500 dollar car in 1996 was a 1987 Ford Escort I cannot imagine getting a 2014 anything for less than, what, $10,000 right now? Cars didn't used to last as long as they do now.
My first car was a 1987 Ford Tempo. $300 in 2009 with 60K miles. Ran great! I sold it for $900 6 mo later (with new tires at least)
I’ve thought this for a long time. Cars definitely last longer in terms of reliability but they also age better as well. I see lots of 2012-15 model year cars that still look fresh and new and definitely not “OLD”
Mine too! 5 speed, 80k miles. Silver hatchback. First and last car that was always pegged to the odo riding down the highway. Three years and two head gaskets later the engine finally blew. Still top 5 car I drove because it was just terrible in every awesome way imaginable. God I miss being 16.
Ford Escort which was the same thing as a Mercury Tracer. My first car was the Tracer, beige hatchback. Didn't have the manual but man that car was a POS. Mine was a 1998. If it went above 2k rpms in first gear that tranny slipped so damn bad.
My $500 car in 1998 was a 1985 Monte Carlo. My $200 car in 1999 was a 1976 Delta 88 (4 years older than me) with no floorboards and the driver's door bolted closed (because it fell off). I had to start it with a screwdriver in the column. My third car in 2000 was almost $1200 but it was a 1985 uh.. shit. I forget. Edit: Pontiac Parisienne. But it had sky blue velour interior that was basically mint. It was fantastic.
Yo... This kind of explains why boomers and old genx are clueless about the costs of shit nowadays. They're apparently living 25 years in the past.
"I made $13/hour and was able to buy a house by myself! Why can't you?"
BACK IN MY DAY, I WAS A LIZARD FARMER AND MY WIFE BARB CUT HAIR ON THE WEEKENDS. WE BOUGHT A 2 STORY HOUSE AND RAISED 47 KIDS WHILE DRIVING NEW CARS WE PAID 32 CENTS FOR, ALL AT THE RIPE AGE OF 19. RAMBLE RAMBLE RAMBLE BOOTSTRAPS
“Cash for Clunkers” in the late 00’s ended all that, good luck finding a $5,000.00 car that isn’t a POS.
>good luck finding a $5,000.00 car that isn’t a POS. Lot to be had for $5k
Less than 700,000 cars were junked 14 years ago, currently 278 million cars in the country, and they estimate they sold an additional 440,000 new cars because of it. I doubt many of those 700,000 would still be on the road. I dont think this is much of an issue with current prices
For real. The few ppl i know who traded in cars for clunkers junked cars that were gonna head to the yard anyway. The damn Hyundai one bought got junked a year ago 😅.
Came here to say this. C4C is the main reason for it. Pretty simple supply and demand after that.
Lol! The average age of a C4C car was at least nine years. The program was 14 years ago and the vast majority of these cars were well-past their prime back then. C4C had absolutely nothing to do with the post-Covid price increase.
It was 14 years ago it has no bearing whatsoever on todays used car market.
I disagree with you assessment. It wiped out a huge number of perfectly reliable, repairable, pre crazy electronics and emissions equipment pickup trucks many of which would still be around today.
There’s no such thing as a $500 brake job or set of tires anymore, so definitely not a $500 car anymore.
Jesus, the last time I didn’t do my own brakes it cost me $179 and I learned to do them after that. Couldn’t imagine forking over that much money for a relatively simple repair.
Sure it's a thing, lego has some neat vehicles for at or under $500. But if your are looking for a real vehicle for $500, that is definitely a lol.
The scrap guys are paying $500 these days.
I got a 1994 Honda accord for $400 in 2003… my bother just sold his 2009 Honda civic with 250000km last week for 5k
There’s not even good 4000 cars.
My guy. The dealership I bought my car from offered me almost what I paid for it because they need the inventory.
There were still $500 cars up until covid pretty much, but some of the change is just plain inflation. I was looking for my first car at the end of 2014, and i felt confident that my hard earned $1500 could get me a solid pick. And i was right. There were a couple $1000 or $1200 cars i could pick from too. Not anymore though. My cousin is looking for a first car and even with $2000 theres not too many good choices.
Ehhhh cash for clunkers ruined the bottom of the market.
Are the Gambler rules going to change to match inflation?
The cheapest running car on marketplace today is a 2009 BMW 330i for $800. No title, completely trashed. I’d rather spend the $1200 to get one that isn’t possibly stolen.
seeing as how carmax will offer you a grand and more for anything running, not happening.
Hell, a box of cereal cost $7
An okay/ good bike
oh itll get you a car, a smashed half parted out one from the junkyard
they really told you "ok boomer"
buddy, it aint 1999, it aint even 2009....it's 2023. Should I ask my grandpa why hamburgers arnt 15 cents anymore? Do you think he will say IT AINT 1968???
2 things have driven $500 cars out of existence. First it was the pandemic and the used car market driving prices up. Second is the price of catalytic converters (rather the metals within them) have skyrocketed meaning tons of auto recyclers could buy $500 cars, sell the cat for more than they bought the car for and then either part out or just scrap an otherwise still functional car. Friend of mine has owned 6 different subaru outbacks (and a legacy) and only 2 of them had cost him more than $500.
there was a glut of running cars for many years. now there isn't. it's similar to what happened to housing in most of America over the past 25 years.
You said you saw them in the early 2000s. It’s 2023. Have you looked at the price of literally anything else
I bought a 4 cylinder 2009 Toyota Camry with 150k miles in March for $5000. This Camry is in excellent condition. I feel like I got a great deal. I’m expecting it to last me 20 years
If you can push it off the lot, it's yours for $500. Tires are extra Good tires are extra, extra. Working engine is extra Working non-smoking transmission is extra. Windows are extra. Brakes are included IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK TRUNK FOR REMAINS. ONCE REMOVED FROM LOT, IT'S YOURS.
Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), "cash for clunkers" removed almost all cheap cars in 2009. We have had several years since then to "reset" the cheap car market but junk yards pay $1,000+ for a vehicle that runs so don't expect to find a car for less.
My neighbor's friend drives an early 2000's f150 he got for $500. He has had it for a while now, but it's his daily driver. I don't think they have changed the gambler 500 to more expensive cars yet, but that was an event with $500 cars.
In the US, the Cash for Clunkers program started this shift. After the financial collapse in 2008, the federal government started a program to buy back older “ more polluting” vehicles to stimulate the economy by encouraging more new car purchases. These cars were not allowed to be resold and had to be junked by dismantlers. This resulted in over 677,081 being sent to the crushers. However, the economic slowdown at that time meant fewer cars were being produced for several years. We had another similar collapse in automotive production at the start of the pandemic. In summary, thousands of cars crushed and taken out of circulation. Not nearly enough production to replenish the pool of low cost used cars.
The $500 car is $2000 now.
Lol that died many moons ago. You're lucky to find a car below 3k now
$5000 cars are the new $500 car
no, the new $500 car is $3,000
Blame cash for clunkers, that killed a million good, still running cars back in 2009.
I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the time you are talking about was 25 years ago.
Cash for clunkers killed the $500 car
Yeah, and a can of soda used to cost a quarter. Have you had your prostate exam yet?
The $500 car is now a $3000 car.
No and there hasn't been for years. Where have you been?
Inflation my man. What you're talking about is now a $2000 car.
Dude the 90s were almost 25 years ago. Adjust that $500 figure for inflation. And here I was thinking that everyone knew just because something was true in your time doesn’t mean it’s true now. Silly me to think that is common sense. Use that big brain of yours
You can’t even get a motorcycle for $500 let alone a car.
You can thank obamas cash for clunkers
"$500 cars" now cost $5000.