[m21sniper]

Many previous customers went ahead and bought new cars. Very few were shopping used cars during C4C.

Now, after all those cars were destroyed you have hundreds of thousands fewer "cheap" cars in circulation. That means higher auction prices, and cheaper repair parts- making it more economical for people to hold onto their old car instead of buying a newer used car with an even more inflated price. Toss in the horrific recession on top of it, and you had even lower foot traffic in used car lots.

That all translates into smaller profit margins and lower volume.

Very few in the used car business (around here) do the level of reconditioning you are describing. Or rather, do not do it on a large scale. A few units a month might be thorough "rebuilds", but most are auction cars that need minor repairs or paint work.

There are dozens of empty used car lots in Philly that just a couple years ago were very profitable dealerships. They were barely holding on after the economy tanked. To top it off, business expenses in Philly are extremely high.

C4C was just too much for these dealerships to handle when combined with the recession.