Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 23, 1994                   TAG: 9405230028
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By ERIKA BOLSTAD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SOME USED CARS INCREASED IN VALUE

"Several cars went up. Smaller pickups and some midsize four-wheel-drives, especially," said Steven Wampler, Botetourt County commissioner of revenue.

It all has to do with the laws of supply and demand, said Jan Ocean, managing editor of the National Automobile Dealers Association Official Used Car Guide - the Blue Book - the most widely used market report of used cars.

"The car market in general and the used car market specifically are both hot, and have been for the last few months," Ocean said.

And right now, nothing is hotter in the used car market than 2- to 3-year-old sports-utility vehicles.

"Two years ago, no one had them other than your 'coon hunters," Salem Commissioner of Revenue Ron Wright said. "Now, one in three cars on the road is a sports-utility vehicle."

Ford Explorers, Toyota 4-Runners, Isuzu Troopers and Chevrolet Blazers are just some of the popular four-wheel-drive vehicles on the road that may never see the off-road.

And the popularity of these vehicles affects the taxpayer's property tax bill.

For example, a 1990 Toyota 4-Runner went up in value last year, according to the Blue Book. As a result, the owner of a 4-Runner would pay $416.50 in taxes in Roanoke County this year - $26.25 more than last year.

In the late 1970s, a different kind of car had inflated values.

"Back when we had the gas crunch, all four-cylinder cars went up in value," Wright said. "No one was out buying gas-guzzlers."

Of course, increased car values do cause some problems for commissioners of revenue, not just taxpayers.

"When you're an elected official and vehicle values start going up, you know you have your work cut out for you," Wright said.