Why are used cars so expensive?

I have been in the market for a used car for about 6 months now and i have yet to find something that actually is worth my money. I have tried a couple of different ways: Craigslist, dealerships, private sellers, classifieds. They all seem to want a small fortune for their vehicles. Ex: 1999 Honda Accord with 212,000 miles they are asking $3500? Lets see that Is a car that is 15 years old and has over 200,000 miles! And then you have the dealerships. They have a brand new 2014 Sentra for 16,000 and then a used 2014 sentra with 35,000 miles for $14,000? HOW THE **** DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE? I THOUGHT CAR VALUES DROPPED WHEN YOU DRIVE THEM OFF THE LOT LOL

AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE?

The Cash for Clunkers program removed a large number of used vehicles from the market. Due to the laws of supply and demand, when the demand remains the same, and the supply is limited, the cost goes up.

The governmental interference in the free market has cause the prices of used vehicles to become,. In my opinion, excessively high.

It will take at least another few years for the market to return to "normal" and than is only if there's no more governmental programs to "help"

Yes, what you are missing is that the value of the used automobile market has been extremely high for the last several years. The used car market has been as strong has it has been in nearly two decades. However, there's hope on the horizon. It was reported just in the last few weeks the used car values are finally beginning to fall. Be patient.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140818/RETAIL/140819910/falling-used-vehicle-values-threaten-recovery

Its supply and demand plus dealers need to show both a profit and have cash on deal left to cover warranty work.
private sales are possibly better but buyer beware!

Yes, people like to quote the loss in value as soon as a car is driven off the lot thing, but it's still supply and demand. During the economic auto crisis a number of years ago new car sales were very low, so there are now less used cars from that time period, and cash for clunkers did remove quite a few cars.

In addition, people are tending to keep their cars for longer periods of times and, of course, cars themselves have gotten more complicated and expensive.

And unfortunately, the plethora of buy here/pay here lots has impacted the lower end of the market. While a 10-15 year old car used to be easy to find for a very low price, they will now often be snagged by those lots who can then sell them at absurdly inflated prices, coupled with a high interest loan, to people who don't understand the terms or believe they have no other choice.

But the recovery should make more used cars available again soon, which will drive down the prices, and there are still deals out there. For instance I sold my 2000 Accord Coupe with well over 200K miles for $500 to a guy who helped out my parents. (I told him if he didn't take care of it or put a giant wing and neon on it that I'd come to take it back, though.)

Supply/demand. And retail buyers can't buy at wholesale.

All cars drop in value when you buy them because your car is only worth "wholesale" and you pay private party or retail.

Nobody in the car business works for free.
And the wholesale to retail spread is often $3000 or more on an expensive car.

I bought a $1900 car 8 years ago for $1900 and I still drive it.

I bought it wholesale at a dealer only auction and I got out of the business after buying it. It had like 68,000 miles when I bought it.

It needs occasional repairs about once a year. The cheaper the car, the more the repairs tend to be,

Its difficult to find used cars at decent prices. I made my living doing it for a dozen years. I spent a lot of time finding good values and then sold them "off the curb" at decent prices.

I had no overhead.

And most people assumed I was a crook even though I wasn't.