Is it just me or is there a sudden decrease in available used cars?

No, I haven't lived under a rock , I know there is a general shortage of used cars and hence the $tupid pricing at the moment.

That said, I've been shopping for a winter beaterish car and within the last week or so, it looks like the number of cars listed on a FB Marketplace seems to have halved, and I also noticed that there are even fewer cars listed on CL than a few weeks ago.

FB seems to have cracked down a bit on a certain type of scam (the one with "email me because my messenger doesn't work" listed in screenshots), but even taking that into account, it feels to me like a lot of other ads either were evaporated or taken down by the sellers.

Anybody else seeing this also?

The big used car retailers are buying up everything they can. Im sure thats not helping the average joe looking for a decent ride. 
 

and with cost and availability, im sure more folks are hesitant to make an auto purchase and are sticking with what they have. 

If anything, I'm shopping in the buy-here-get-ripped-off-here dealer price range (sub $10k), so I shouldn't be competing with the big retailers. But then again, everybody is hurting for inventory.

I think you might be onto something with people holding on to their cars because the replacement is going to cost them a mint. OTOH, I am seeing prices come down on higher mileage vehicles by now.

What has the Algorithm decided you need to be buying instead?

On a more serious note. Marketplace is now hiding/deactivating items for sale after a week or two so some stuff might be "aging out" and unless the seller relists its basically impossible for anyone to find. Which I'm sure has everything to do with trying to force sellers to pay in order for people to find your listing. As for vehicles I know a lot of people who have posted a vehicle for sale and within 24hrs removed the posting without selling it due to the tidal wave of time wasting inquiries of questions that were answered in the AD, insulting low ballers, and quite frankly aggressive A holes trying to bully you into either a scam or the price they want to pay.

I scan daily.  Seems like the good stuff gets snatched up quick.   Aside from scams, what's left is unreasonably priced , problem cars, or just rusted "parts" cars.  As stated, due tightening belts, people seem to be hanging on to their stuff, me included.  Sometimes it's better to stick with the devil you know.

Shop for the car that others overlook. 

This would namely be non-sporty cars with manual trans.  No one is learning manual trans and those who know have aged out past wanting to drive them (bad knees, etc) 

The other is 2 door cars.  Anyone with the need to transport kids will overlook them.  

Combine the two, manual trans in non-sporty, 2 door car for your best deal.  Think Scion TC or similar.  

Single cab trucks than are rwd can be added to the list, especially with manual.  Think V6 F150

Asphalt_Gundam said:

What has the Algorithm decided you need to be buying instead?

Apparently I'm supposed to buy an 2005-2009 Audi for way too much money.

On a more serious note. Marketplace is now hiding/deactivating items for sale after a week or two so some stuff might be "aging out" and unless the seller relists its basically impossible for anyone to find. Which I'm sure has everything to do with trying to force sellers to pay in order for people to find your listing. As for vehicles I know a lot of people who have posted a vehicle for sale and within 24hrs removed the posting without selling it due to the tidal wave of time wasting inquiries of questions that were answered in the AD, insulting low ballers, and quite frankly aggressive A holes trying to bully you into either a scam or the price they want to pay.

I tend to use a bunch of targeted searches and the odd thing is that I'm seeing ads that are way older than usual. Like, I foun d what looked like the perfect Mk5 GTI for a decent price, only to see at second glance that the ad was well over a year old. Same with a few of the motorcycles I keep looking for. It really seems to depend on how you look for items that determines if they show you ads that are older than a few days or not.

Given the "funny" interactions I had with a bunch of people when I tried to sell the BRZ on Marketplace, yeah, I can see why people sour on it quickly. The number of people offering half asking price or less and then get mad at you for not taking their generous offer was something to behold. Dollar Store Mike Brewer wannabe, just without the charm.

Not cheap at $7k ask but should commute like a champion... 2004 Celica

In reply to John Welsh :

I could have my pick of Mazdaspeed 3s around here if manual trans was an option. It's not, because the other half doesn't drive manuals, and the car has to be usable for both of us.

I'm trying to look for "less desirable" vehicles - definitely sedans and hatchbacks, no SUVs or trucks. Anything fuel saving is likely a no-go, Prii for example are rather expensive around here as they make good Uber beaters around DC. Although Civic Hybrids aren't that bad price-wise, but still a little more expensive that I'd like.

Guess I should check if there are any automatic Biturbos available near me .

Dirtydog (Forum Supporter) said:

I scan daily.  Seems like the good stuff gets snatched up quick.   Aside from scams, what's left is unreasonably priced , problem cars, or just rusted "parts" cars.  As stated, due tightening belts, people seem to be hanging on to their stuff, me included.  Sometimes it's better to stick with the devil you know.

I pretty much do, too. Even the odd stuff gets snatched up quickly - there were two SVXs for sale around here and even the overpriced one of the two was snapped up so quickly I didn't even have time to check the air in the trailer tires.

The problem with the devil I know is that I traveled all the way to CA to pick up a rust free vehicle, so that's not going to get exposed to the road salt here. I may have to bite the bullet and in a sense overpay for a winter vehicle.

I'm working this to my advantage right now- have a lease return that I'll buy and sell for profit. Like real profit, free driving for 3 years plus some extra. 

In reply to alfadriver :

I looked into that with my Alfa lease, but unfortunately it would've mostly been a wash once I factored in sales tax and all that. Plus lease returns are a tick newer than I'm looking for, but then again, rising tides and all that.

I've been half-heartedly looking for another rio hatch for strictly race car duties and they are getting harder and harder to find. The mix of limited new cars, used car market pretty empty and high fuel prices have eaten them up

A few servings from the fringe of the SUV offerings...

Montero

XL-7

In reply to bobzilla :

I was actually eyeballing Korean cars as well, and ended up more or less ruling them out as they're in demand due to the high fuel prices. The "bargains" at the moment seem to be at the older luxobarge with a drinking problem end, preferably painted gold metallic (at least up here).

What's your fleet again?  Given your luck with used cars, maybe just buy/lease a new one to take on winter driving for the next 3-4 years?

In reply to BoxheadTim :

I've gotten offers from Carmax and carvana for about $10k over my buy price. And it helps this car isn't going to be replaced. 

In reply to alfadriver :

Yeah, if your sitting on something ultra popular like a 3yr/36kmile, off lease Ford Escape...you're in the driver's seat!  

In reply to docwyte :

4 sports cars (2x 911, Elise, Rollerskate), wife's LJ Wrangler, my F250 beater truck. Plus the Range Rover P38 project that I'm slowly working my way through trying to unberkeley the work the egg spurts did on it that we paid for their expertise. At this point I'm not sure I can get the P38 back to a usable state, but I'm trying.

Right now I don't really want to take on another financial commitment for a large-ish loan as I'm trying to pay off the 997 quickly. My wife wants a new Bronco in the next couple of years once the initial issues have been ironed out and supply is a bit more normal.

I can bump up the budget to about mid-teens if I wanted to, the issue is mostly that I don't necessarily want to spend that much money on something that's likely going to rust away in five years depending on how bad the winters get. That's also the reason we don't want to use the LJ in winter, it's got enough frame corrosion already despite the PO's treatment.

The other reason I'm reluctant to make a massive financial commitment right now is that I haven't got much enjoyment out of motorsport recently. Not sure if that's because I'm somewhat burnt out in general or if it's just time to face facts and decide that it's not worth to me throwing that much money at diminishing returns of enjoyment. If it turns out to be the latter, I'm probably going to severely cut the fleet (ditch the Elise, truck, trailer and possibly the a/c 911) as I can always run the Maxton or the 997 at a local autocross.

In reply to alfadriver :

That's a pretty sweet spot to be in. In my case, the Alfa would've probably netted a grand after sales tax if that, so it wasn't really worth the hassle.

In reply to John Welsh :

It's actually a 1,5 fusion with zero options. It was the cheapest lease I could get in 2019. 

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to bobzilla :

I was actually eyeballing Korean cars as well, and ended up more or less ruling them out as they're in demand due to the high fuel prices. The "bargains" at the moment seem to be at the older luxobarge with a drinking problem end, preferably painted gold metallic (at least up here).

Gold and silver Azera's and Cadenza's. They actually got about 30 highway if you can keep your foot out of them. At least the newer ones. Great cars for a boring commuter. Think Buick LeSabre or Olds 88 comfort buy toyota avalon reliability.

Rental car companies have also been buying up used cars like crazy.  I didn't realize until returning my National rental car at the race last week.  Guy asked me how it was, I said, "Nice, not used to getting a rental with a tonneau cover and hitch."  He said they have been buying from dealers (Carmax, others) and even retail/private party, their access to inventory is getting that bad. 

I've also had several rental cars with 60k+ miles on the clock, which is either a recent used car purchase for them or an extremely rough life for a fleet car.

John Welsh said:

A few servings from the fringe of the SUV offerings...

Montero

XL-7

Both of these are very capable off-orders. Maybe after a year or more of street driving, you could retire either down to an off-road build. Maybe that could be your next, fresher motorsport.

These are as capable as the JL but without the risk of damage to higher value JL. 

With Midlana sold, I was halfway thinking of picking up a used Miata as a track car. Unfortunately I'm old and have old-guy ideas about what a very used Miata should cost (like, oh, about $4000) - ahahaha, clearly decades-old  thinking. At this point, my desire to get back out on-track, assuming that I could even find one, is outweighed by the expense, especially for something that sits all the time.