Used car prices nearly double in quake's wake

"The new paradigm is $10,000. Anything under $10,000 is considered an inexpensive car." Low supply and high demand, a flat economy and a rush to trade in larger vehicles that consume a lot of gas for smaller ones are all reasons for the shortage of used cars, several local dealers said. ... The nation's Cash for Clunkers program took almost 1 million vehicles off the road. People who got $3,500 for the cars they turned in would probably get $5,000 to $7,000 for the same trade today ... The Cash for Clunkers program was an example of government shortsightedness, which contributed to the lack of used cars on the market today, Lookingbill said. The 800,000 vehicles that were junked through the clunkers program would have been sold three to five times for a total of 3 million sales, Lookingbill said. The number of available older cars on the market used to peak at about 20 million, but the number is nowhere near that today ...