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Chris Pistner, owner of Pistner Auto Shop in St. Marys, said the "Cash for Clunkers" program made it more difficult to get used cars by taking most of the useable cars people were ready to trade in off the market.
"'Cash for Clunkers' definitely hurt the market in used cars," Darren Morelli of Fran Morelli Sales and Service of Brockway said. "Dealers are absolutely having a harder time finding used cars."
Although the program helped the new car dealers, it hurt those that are looking for used cars because the cars traded in are being thrown out, Morelli said.
Although useable cars were traded in a lot of the cars that weren't sellable and wouldn't pass inspection were traded in as well, he said.
The prices for used vehicles are up because all the dealers are looking for the same things at auctions. Lower end vehicles are more difficult to find, he said.
Dealers can still get cars that are 1 or 2 years old, but they are more expensive.
Bob Johnson, owner of Johnson Motors in DuBois, said the prices of used cars had been depressed and now they are essentially back where they have traditionally been.
"People are able to trade up now because their cars are worth something again," Johnson said.
The "Cash for Clunkers" program took cars out of people's driveways, but most of the cars were not cars people were going to trade in soon anyway, he said.
"The clunker program was a wonderful program. A lot of clunkers were cars sitting by the barn or in the back of a business lot and just hadn't been thrown away yet," Johnson said.
The program made it possible to fill a lot of people's needs, he said.
The car market is getting stronger and Johnson said he applauds the government for doing the "Cash for Clunkers" program.
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Reported by JoAnn Seltzer, Tri-County Sunday E-mail:jseltzer@thecourierexpress.com.
