One side effect of an economy mired in a recession is that when the car conks out, some people can’t afford to buy a new one.

But Seguin Services is banking on lower-priced used cars to entice prospective car buyers to a used car lot they run. They need more donated vehicles to keep pace with the new demand for cheaper transportation and more jobs for disabled adults.

“We need cars on the lot now because of the economy,” said Julie Lerch, director of marketing and business development for Seguin Services in Cicero. “We find people are looking for lower-priced cars.”

Along with an increased need to provide used cars comes the correlating need to hang on to older cars to squeeze as much use out of them as possible.

“We are finding that people are holding onto their cars a little bit longer,” Lerch said.

Seguin’s lot is the only licensed, nonprofit used car lot in Illinois, Lerch said. Located on the corner of Ogden and Central avenues in Cicero, the car lot is visited most by residents in Berwyn, Cicero and from Chicago’s West Side, she added.

“Many people who live in these areas can’t qualify for a loan,” she explained.

The first car donated came in 1999 when an early-model Lincoln Continental with about 11,000 miles on it was gifted to the group. The donor’s father had died, and it was his car, Lerch said.

“We will never sell it. We take it to car shows to help market our product,” she explained. “Again, it’s a job. It’s about jobs.”

After a car is donated, Seguin participants detail, wash and prepare it to be sold as well as answer phones at the car lot and show cars to prospective buyers. Most of the cars are sold as-is, without major repair work put into the vehicles, she said.

“By donating your car, you provide a job for a person with disabilities,” Lerch said. “And all the proceeds stay local. (Money collected from car sales) goes back into our programs and services for children and adults with disabilities. It helps people in their own backyards.”

Attempts to reach Jesse Castro, who runs the group’s vehicle lot, were unsuccessful.

For the past seven years, 962 vehicles have been donated to the used car lot. But Lerch said the lot is not reserved solely for cars and trucks. They have had two school buses, pontoon boats, motorcycles, boats and trailers, pop-up and regular campers, a 24-foot box truck and a dump truck.

To donate a vehicle, owners must have the vehicle’s title and a set of keys. If they do not have the title handy, Lerch said they can help the owner obtain one.

Donors are not required to be home when Seguin’s tow truck arrives to pick up the car, and the keys may be left inside, she added. Vehicles usually are picked up within 24 hours of a donation.

These cars are not given away to disabled residents, she added, but sold to help provide services, programs and jobs to these individuals.

“Illinois (ranks) 51st out of 50 states in providing funding for people with disabilities. The territories of Puerto Rico and Guam provide more funding for people with disabilities,” she said. “Because the economy is so poor and investments have been hit so hard, people are not able to donate to us like (previously). They don’t have the money. This is hitting everybody. We try to get more cars donated. We try to sell more used cars.”