Emma Anders of Palolo Valley is in the market for a used, gas-efficient car priced at $5,000 or less.

The trouble is she's not the only one.

With gasoline prices rising, Hawai'i car shoppers are discovering it's more difficult to find economy cars and that they may not be able to negotiate discounts.

"I feel like they are definitely getting more difficult and expensive to come by," said Anders, who's taken out an online want ad after weeks of searching for the right vehicle.

"I have seen the prices of efficient cars rise by almost a thousand dollars while prices of trucks and SUVs are dropping at the same rate," she said in an e-mail.

Some O'ahu dealers report they don't have as many gas-scrimping compact cars on hand. Inventories are lower than normal as more shoppers eschew gas-thirsty sport utility vehicles and large pickup trucks.

"Once gas prices hit what people considered record levels, we had far more people coming in and at least considering a four-cylinder vehicle," said Curt Lee, general manager for Servco Automotive, which operates Toyota, Scion, Lexus and Chevrolet dealerships.

Although dealers are hesitant to say what's happening to compact-car prices, national figures show car buyers aren't getting as many price breaks compared with three years ago.

Dealer incentives granted to buyers shrank to $1,100 in September from a high of $2,000 in summer 2003, said Mike Chung, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based analyst for Edmunds.com, which provides automotive reviews and sales information.

"Gas prices went up, and we decided to get a smaller car," said Josie Sagisi, 33, a Kalihi resident who was out shopping with her husband at Pfleuger Honda on Ala Moana last week. Sagisi said she wanted to trade in her five-year-old Mazda MPV van with a V-6 engine for a four-cylinder compact car with better gas mileage and a good safety record.

"We've been looking for a cheaper car with lower maintenance costs, but mostly cheaper gas. That's the main reason."

Hawai'i drivers paid an average of $3.432 for a gallon of regular on Friday, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The price, the highest in any state, was 45 percent higher than a year earlier.

At that price, a driver getting 20 miles per gallon, who drives 10,000 miles a year, spends about $572 more annually than a driver with a vehicle getting 30 mpg.

Don Brower, general sales manager at Pfleuger Honda, said the increased interest in fuel economy is predictable, given gas-price spikes over the past three-and-a-half decades.

Typically, shoppers have a list of items they look for, including attractiveness, performance, comfort, durability, fuel economy and safety, Brower said. In times when gas prices are high, fuel economy takes on greater importance.

"The longer the gas prices stay there, the higher that priority will be," Brower said.

Pfleuger Honda had about two weeks' worth of fuel-efficient cars on hand last week. While not unusual, it is less than the 30-to-45-day inventory dealerships strive for, Brower said.

Servco's Lee said he has about a week's worth of Scion cars, while the Toyota dealerships have about two weeks' worth of Corollas, all gas misers. Lee said there is a four-month waiting list for the hybrid Toyota Prius, which gets 55 mpg. At the start of summer, there was almost no wait for the vehicles, Lee said.

Nationally, compact vehicles averaged about 47 days on dealers' lots, Chung said.

That's about 28 percent less time compared with a year earlier, when the average was 65 days, Chung said. It's also less than half the average lot days for SUVs, which stood at 97 in September, he said.

"Compact vehicles across the board are doing very well right now," Chung said.

On the other hand, owners of big trucks and other gas guzzlers can expect to receive less for their trade-ins.

Wes Tomlinson, owner of independent used-car dealer Island Auto Exchange in 'Aiea, estimated prices dealers are paying for SUVs and V-8 powered vehicles at weekly wholesale auto auctions has come down by a fifth or a quarter in recent weeks.

At the same time, the prices for compact cars has nudged up, he said.

Dealers said new-car sales have slowed, in part because of what they believe are consumers waiting on the sidelines to see what happens to gas prices.

"I think the dealers' stance right now is that a lot of them are being more cautious with their inventory," Tomlinson said. "Everyone is being more tentative."