“Better for the seller than the buyer.” That quote from an article in Car and Driver Magazine tells all about today’s used car market. When Jim Norton’s ads include the offer to “buy your car whatever its condition,” it may be time to sell your vehicle with a deal just short of “Cash for Clunkers.”

During the Great Recession of 2008, the government placed incentives on cars 25 and older with ratings of less than 18 miles per gallon. It was meant to get old polluters – no, I’m not talking about the city marshal – off the road and stimulate the economy with new car purchases. It ended after the...