Are 5000's appreciating?

[frank j. bauer]

for 10-20 years, $1000 has typically been the floor for a registerable 
hunk of iron that you can fire up and drive away.
that price may have been affected by the "cash for clunkers" program 3-4 
years ago.
in addition the newest 5k is now almost 25 years old, so most of the 
junkers have been junked.
audi's parts support policy for the older platforms hasn't helped keep 
these cars on the road, so only the consistently well-kept ones are 
still worth anything.

Cody Forbes wrote:
> They never seem to appreciate the TLC I put in, but in terms of value I'm seeing an odd trend. I've had 9 of then in the last 12 years. In that time the most I've ever paid for one is my current black one that I bought 10 years ago for $1700. Since then I've bought a pair for $3000, and most recently my better half's driver is a super clean, extremely well maintained one that I paid a whopping $700 for about 4 years ago. Last I looked at KBB they showed something like $1300 in good shape.
> 
> My black car got backed in to in a parking lot and I was with an insurance adjuster this morning. I popped open our marketplace here to check current values and see a number of cars for $3000, $4000, and even $5000! Just this last weekend I found a turbo Quattro under a carport that looked like it had been sitting for a few years. I knocked on the owners door and had a chat that ended up in "I won't take a penny less than $3500". What's going on?? Are values going up or is everybody just nuts?
> 
> -Cody Forbes (mobile)