As cars age, the span of potential condition varies greatly, as do the odometers. Plus, some folks will feel that spending money on the car somehow adds value, and it rarely does. Not on something this old.
They are pretty cheap around here now, so much so that I don't bother with fixing them up quickly to sell them. There are just not the people looking for them there used to be.
Cheap gasoline (but in comparison diesel is not.... right now for instance in my area diesel is about 60 cents more a gallon than regular gasoline). The forbidden fruit buyback cars available for relatively low prices and they are much newer and have a warranty (never mind they'll statistically need that warranty over and over again while an old ALH or BEW car will happily putter along without any problems).
The last two I got, a 2004 Jetta sedan and a 2005 Jetta wagon, I got for $0, in need of some work. By comparison, not long ago, even a non-running car like that would have required at least $1000 to obtain.
Which is a catch-22. Good that they can be obtained for nothing, bad that once fixed they have often no chance of getting any level of return on investment. I might break even, if I can fix them cheap enough, but gone are the days of pocketing a couple grand on one bringing it back to life.
I am surprised it is that different in Canada. However as someone has pointed out, what people are asking for them and what they are actually getting for them are two different things. The cream puff cars may get a decent amount, but those are rarely put up for sale.
