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I found some good ones at Toys R Us.  The brand is 'Fast Lane' and they have 8 for $10.  Mostly modern cars (all but 1 alas) but they're good quality, the right scale and CHEAP!  I may go to the specialty sites for some 40s stuff but for now I think I can make do.  I got 2 sets and hope to find the third.

 

Police car (28mm cops from westwind)

Marines vs SUV

The parking lot

 

And a line up with the cop, a marine, a termi and a hellhound

 

One question, what's the best way to age or weather then so they're not so shinny? Black ink? Brown? Good ole dirt?

It's going to be tough to weather them convincingly when they've got that gloss varnish on them.  You might wanna paint them matte then use chalks and normal rust painting techniques to weather them.  Any wash is just going to flow wrong because of the glossy surface- it'll pool up too much, I suspect, and end up just filling the cracks.

Get some Tamiya Flat Base (I'm pretty sure Granddads out in Annandale carry's it), and mix a bit of it with "future wash" (50/50 water/future floor finish), and a few drops of brown ink. That'll dirty 'em up a bit and take the shine right out. You can also use various browns/orange color for rust spots.

If you want to go realy crazy, cut nicks and such with an x-acto knife, or paint such damage on there by dabbing black paint. On top of the black dabs, put boltgun metal, leaving a bit of the black showing. Then just a tiny bit of mithril silver over that. As far as the real thing, I have a feeling your neighbors might give you some funny looks when they see an adult man playing with matchbox cars in the dirt...

Edit: You might have problems with the finish that's already on them though (good catch DM). Make sure before ya do anything, ya give 'em all a good wash with a mild abrasive soap (ie: comet or ajax) to scrub off any oils that might be on there. If you hose them down with Testor's Dullcote, it should stick, but it's going to fog up any clear plastic (which you can apply a mask using, well, masking tape or similar, which should prevent the fogging).

Thx

I don't mind the fogged windows, I prefer them actually but what about the many convertables the sets came with? Any special thoughts for them?

Clearly the orks need to take over that convertible and give it a red paint job.

I was at the Eckerd (Drugstore) the other day and found some wicked cheap 1/43 scale older cars (mostly '40s trucks) for around $2-3 in their toy department. Sometimes Drug Stores are good places to find some oddities. I'd also try an outlet toy store (Toy Works/Kay-Bee outlet), as they often have weird stuff really cheap.

Just washing may not be enough to help paint stick to a glossy finish. A better bet would be to give them a light sand with fine sandpaper. Gets rid of the gloss and weathers the finish at the same time

Syr can you remember the brand of the cars, I don't remember seeing any Eckerds in VA.

Now might be a great time to break out the Dremel and a brush attachment. A light wire brush (or something slightly less abrasive) should help you take the shine off of those cars quicker than sandpaper, and it should be able to reach the recesses and curves better.

If foggy clear plastic don't bother ya none, hose them all down with some Dullcote or go the sandpaper/dremel route. Either will do the job just fine.

As far as Eckards, I think there was one in Arlington across from Lion Village Shopping Center on Lee Highway (Rt. 29), where it intersects with Spout Run. There might be others, I can't remember (it's been a while since I've been up there).

I think one was Hot Wheels, believe it or not. I'll go and double check when I'm back from vacay

a scotch-brite pad can take off the shine

Just for fun, you might bang them up a bit on the ground to give them some damage. Maybe a few ball peen hammer strikes to the fenders will look cool.

Doing a shattered windshield would look good too. Maybe etch the windshield into the spiderweb pattern with a knife then put a bit of black wash in the etches to make it stand out.

I'm thinking a car with a openable hood/trunk would look cool with the hood blown almost off and hanging on by just one hinge.

Along the same vein, removing the doors from a car (with opening doors of course) and using them in a nearby baracade would be cool too.  Maybe the same for a hood too.

Cutting the tires flat on the bottom (or removing them and putting the cars on blocks)  would give them a nice abandoned feel.

Wold acyetone work on those? Maybe throw them into paint thinner for a while. Mind you, you'll need to tak ethem apart and get the plastic what-nots out first. That or hit them with a sand blaster! Mmmmmm, Sand Blast!

Could it have been Tonka?  I found the Eckards but they only had one lonely Tonka truck at 1:43 scale.

 

Anyway I'm off to NYC but when I get back the plan is:

Shake them in a box of gravel

Apply black and brown ink

Apply Testors Dull Coat

that oughtta do it.