[teek]

On carmax a 2005 Corolla with over 100k miles still sells for over $9000.

General car advice is the minimum you should spend on a used car is at least $5000. And that's if you're really lucky. If you want a problem free used car for a usable amount of time (3-4 years) then you need to go up to at least $8000.

[chiph]

As someone who tried to sell a $2000 Honda Accord one time for $1200 (to get it out of my driveway before I started getting angry letters from the HOA), I agree. It's tough to find a buyer in that price range that has cash, or at least a check that will clear. Pretty much everyone that looked at it wanted to make payments to me for the car. And no, I wasn't going to chase them down every two weeks for my $100.

edit: Wanted to also point out that banks won't lend on cars that old or cheap or decrepit. Someone in that position who needs a car to get to work, has no option but to pay cash.

[sejje]

Maybe the time of year is somewhat relevant.

I haven't sold in that price range before, but I imagine at tax time there's some cars being bought for that price, certainly.

[chiph]

I was expecting college students, high school students, etc. who just needed basic reliable {mostly} transportation.

But no. I ended up selling it to a lady whose car had been totaled in an accident, and $1200 was what the insurance pay-out was. She had never driven a manual transmission before, so a Honda was a good choice for her to learn on. It was painful to listen to her grind gears as she drove away, though...

[kbenson]

I'm always leery when I see absolute numbers like that bandied about without qualification of when someone decided they were a good idea. If someone actually spent some time and figured that out in 1995, that doesn't really mean the same thing as in 2015, just from inflation (the simple inflation calculator I just looked up and used shows it at over $7500).

And that's ignoring all the other things that may affect the automotive industry over time, such as different regulations causing different materials to be used which can greatly affect how long the cars from that era may last. I own a car from 1973, I'm in no way confident that the same model car in 2015 will still be drivable in 40 years.

[sejje]

Not to mention a $5000 Jeep Wrangler is entirely different from a $5000 Ford Mustang from a $5000 Toyota Corolla.

As to your last point, I have no reason to believe cars aren't lasting longer and longer. Engine life is determined more by use than age. (Do you have a million miles on your 40 year old car? Probably not)