Where have all the interesting cars gone?

I have to admit I am a bit of a window shopper, but I do buy things from time time time. I love in the semi-rural midwest, but it used to be a regional search on Craigslist would turn up maybe a Jensen Healey or two, numerous front engine Porsches, XJS's, Alfas, as well as several old British sports cars. Now not so much. Some of it has migrated to facebook,but even that has seemed to have dried up lately.

Lots of interesting stuff on bring a trailer, but I am more a buy low kind of guy. Ebay has made it a lot harder if not impossible to do a search of manual transmission cars within a year range and radius of me. I also think ebay is where people go to get rid of dogs they can't sell locally.

Maybe the cars are just getting older and you just don't see them listed as much. Interestingly, relatively near big cities like Chicago don't have much more, I am thinking real estate is at a premium there and keeping a derelict old car becomes a more expensive proposition. Pacific Northwest seems a bit of a mecca, but 1500 miles away. Minneapolis/Minnesota slightly better.

Have a little more time, so looking a bit more, anybody else seeing the same thing, or am I looking through my own skewed set of goggles?

Your goggles are good-to-go. Noticed the same thing here, especially in the last five or six years. And an escalation in prices of the cars you've mentioned if you find one. The elevated cost of a pre-'86 911 Porsche is downright insulting.

Same here. Though I search Kijiji (like Craigslist) over the whole province and remain surprised how regularly deals pop up. Obviously usual caveats - Ontario + salt roads = rust etc. etc., but especially in slightly less collectible cars, they are out there. Last week saw a running with ownership TR7 for $750. and a convertible for $1800 - not the $50 cars of our youth but still.... My club also has a facebook page where a couple of zealous members post ads from across the country Austin A30's etc for reasonable money - and since I am only dreaming I can pretty much dream from any distance.

Likewise there are other cars - Packard/ Corvair/ Rambler/ Bricklin that are quirky enough but not stupid money.

The thing that is currently driving me crazy especially under lockdown is the number of people (probably the same guy) who are stuffing kijiji with wanted ads 'collector looking for ferraris/ porsche/mercedes etc etc etc any condition. Collector my a**.

Flipper. Lots of that down here.

I hate those ads!
If I had the patience,I'd answer the ad,but be real vague,
telling them you have a Ferrari,but not sure what it is,de-
scribing a Daytona/512,etc.,& saying "I have no idea what
it's worth".

I've actually had quite a bit of luck shopping for cars on both ebay and craigslist. All old cars.

Maybe they've been dragged off to California and 800 hp engines put in them. Of course the engines are only 125 hp but with the twin turbos we can hypothesize anything.