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Want to know what happens to the clunkers in the "Cash for Clunkers" program?


jagr

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There is no way the government would tolerate giving out $4500 for a car and allow the dealership to pull the motor and make money off of it. It's all about the money. They are only using the fuel usage as a means to get backing from the EPA. The program appeals to alot of people and may end up being a good thing.

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There is no way the government would tolerate giving out $4500 for a car and allow the dealership to pull the motor and make money off of it. It's all about the money. They are only using the fuel usage as a means to get backing from the EPA. The program appeals to alot of people and may end up being a good thing.

Hey Jess, question for you. I have a vehicle that is worth ~$7k. Lease turn-in now would be about $3k.

MPG is pretty low on it so I may qualify in some cases for $4500 so let's use that. Does it make sense for me to go to a dealership expecting to turn it over at a loss knowing I'll make that up in the rebate?

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I think people will just buy a $100 beater off of craigslist to trade in to get the credit, leaving less cheap used cars out there for those with little cash and not credit worthy.

It is a joke.

For the vehicle to be eligible, the current owner has to have owned it and had it insured for the past year.

i heard they get crushed...which on most cars that are being brought in...doesn't bother me much...

Who wants a 93 cavalier with 180,000 miles on it? (especially with northeast ohio rust)

anything that's salvageable or worth money probably won't be swapped in on this deal (especially since you have to prove you've owned the car for over a year)

Actually, a 93 cavalier is not eligible for the program. It is rated at 21mpg combined.. combined needs to be 18mpg or less, so that rules out most of the smaller and medium sized vehicles.

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http://www.cars.gov/

Has to be equal to or under 18 MPG. Has to be no older than 1984.

Here is a list of the vehicles that qulify.

http://www.edmunds.com/cash-for-clunkers/eligible-vehicles.html#f

Can't buy a base vehicle for over $45,000.

Has to be an 08, 09, or 10 model.

The better gas mileage the new ride gets, the more you get back for your clunker. You're not going to get $4,500 everytime, that's just the max.

There are also certain cars that you can't buy. I just can't find the list.

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Corolla's are flying off the showroom floor from this program..

This program is also good for people that own vehicles that have to take a loss on their vehicles. If you have a 95 Exploder with a hundred different problems(c'mon now, you know ford lacks in the SUV dept) such as no AC, a window that doesnt roll down with a ticking noise coming from a belt tensioner, no one in their right mind would buy it. Shitty gas mileage plus a bunch of normal ford problems make it's actual value way lower than what you would find in a lil yellow book. You probably couldn't GIVE it away to a normal person. Now the people that are in this situation have an opportunity to take advantage of. If they can afford the new car its not a bad deal. Of course, if this program doesn't directly help you because you dont need a new car or dont have a shitty one right now, I supposed its the worst idea iin the world.

But here's where it does good things:

My dealership has sold 40 new cars(give or take). Thats revenue for my establishment of employment. Which means it benefits me indirectly, along with other Toyota employees all over northern KY. TEMA gets more cars sent to us from the factory 50 miles from. It's helping the entire automotive industry. Selling new cars, while some can argue is pointless for how many used cars are out there, is a key factor in our economy and trickles down from one little dealership all the way to the huge factories that employ thousands of people. And that goes for every brand, not just toyota...

Destroying the cars is a good idea I think. It takes away the demand for useless pieces of shit out there on the road and eliminates them from the economy and from the sales choices. why give so much money for them if they are going to get in the way for people to decide what cars they would like to buy. Just because they are cheap at first doesnt make them worth it IMO

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Whether the program works or not is a whole different story. The one thing that does concern me about it is where the rebate is coming from. obviously its true, if you're not benefitting from it, you're still paying for it so that is definitely a downfall.

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Oh and for those of you that think they have a vehicle worth $7K? If thats the case, then sell it for that much. Go ahead and try.

During times like these, the term "retail value" has absolutely no meaning whatsoever. The value of your car is only what you DO sell it for. Not what you COULD sell it for. My 91 accord is valued at 2400 in that little yellow book, but I'll be lucky if I can sell it for $1500...

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that sounds all well and good, but if your control arm "failed" likely any control arm in the junkyard is not going to be in any better condition than the one that failed.

just replaced the upper control arm on my 1990 S-10 with a junker after it rusted thru and snapped. car parts are interchangeable, I'm sure my junker didn't come from a 1990

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i haven't heard any comments about this being the result of the far left wing environmentalists trying to push their agenda? anyone? anyone?

On another note, it does suck because its not really "free" money its coming from the taxpayer and the only way to benefit from it is to participate otherwise someone else is enjoying your tax dollars more than you. So if you qualify you can either say no in principal and lose money or agree and come out ahead. I know that you can use this towards the purchase of foreign vehicles, but I also kind of think this is a way to help "stimulate" the US car market to make sure that the bailout/bankruptcy of GM/Chrysler doesn't continue to fail. Just my conspiracy theory tho'...

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Holy multi quote!!!

That is part of their intent I think. Everybody is fixing their cars instead of buying new ones. Which on some level is great for me as I am in the service end of a dealership. But this program was designed with the new car industry in mind only. Not the used parts industry.

I am biased towards used parts too. The junk yards and endless aftermarket companies create a problem for me too. a person is definitely going to go buy what is cheaper regardless of whether it is used or new. There is a higher valued market for the parts I sell than the parts they sell because there is a higher quantity of them to be found. The used parts industry isn't going to be hurt that badly by dealership ruining the cars bc there are still gonna be wrecks and totalled losses, people are still going to blow their shit up because they dont know how to take care of it and the junk yards are going to continue aquiring their assets the same way they do now.

And I will continue to sell the door handles on camry's that the junk yard ran out of or the suspension arms on 4runners that you cant get aftermarket. The program is not going to affect the parts industry on the whole nearly as bad as you are suggesting.

I don't think this is meant to say whether you should have a lower valued car. It just creates a new factor in the purchase knowing that if you buy it, you might have missed out on being able to buy that control arm you might need in the future because the car got traded in and crushed instead of getting rearended and ending up in a junk yard....

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The government doesn't have a vested interest in used parts, only new cars. I see the plan and how they expect it to help the new car market. I see the pros and cons of this all. I don't plan on trading my 4500 paid in full vehicle that can be maintained cheaply for a new vehicle with a 5 year note. Long term it isn't a wise financial decision for me.

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It's not going to work for everyone. There is no possible solution out there that is going to accomodate everyone...

New car companies create revenue and employs thousands and thousands of people across the nation from dealerships to accounting buildings to new car factories to parts manufacturers. Even Toyota. The only Toyota vehicles not built in United States factories are the Rav4, the 4Runner and the Scions. Those are the only cars still made in Japan. That leaves a long list of cars being built here by hard working American hands. Therefore the new car businesses are gong to win from this because of these facts. The government doesn't factor the used parts markets because right now that industry is booming. Junk yards, aftermarket companies are all doing really well right now because people want to fix their cars instead of buying new ones.

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Corolla's are flying off the showroom floor from this program..

This program is also good for people that own vehicles that have to take a loss on their vehicles. If you have a 95 Exploder with a hundred different problems(c'mon now, you know ford lacks in the SUV dept) such as no AC, a window that doesnt roll down with a ticking noise coming from a belt tensioner, no one in their right mind would buy it. Shitty gas mileage plus a bunch of normal ford problems make it's actual value way lower than what you would find in a lil yellow book. You probably couldn't GIVE it away to a normal person. Now the people that are in this situation have an opportunity to take advantage of. If they can afford the new car its not a bad deal. Of course, if this program doesn't directly help you because you dont need a new car or dont have a shitty one right now, I supposed its the worst idea iin the world.

But here's where it does good things:

My dealership has sold 40 new cars(give or take). Thats revenue for my establishment of employment. Which means it benefits me indirectly, along with other Toyota employees all over northern KY. TEMA gets more cars sent to us from the factory 50 miles from. It's helping the entire automotive industry. Selling new cars, while some can argue is pointless for how many used cars are out there, is a key factor in our economy and trickles down from one little dealership all the way to the huge factories that employ thousands of people. And that goes for every brand, not just toyota...

Destroying the cars is a good idea I think. It takes away the demand for useless pieces of shit out there on the road and eliminates them from the economy and from the sales choices. why give so much money for them if they are going to get in the way for people to decide what cars they would like to buy. Just because they are cheap at first doesnt make them worth it IMO

Oh thank god !!!!! I was so scared that all of the high school educated ford workers that screw on lug nuts would lose their $40 an hour jobs. For a minute there I thought that UAW and major Automakers would have to make a deal that is beneficial to both parties as well as the American public that is supporting them.

I cant wait to go to bed tonight, I am sure I will sleep easy knowing we have delayed the inevitable.

While that money is "trickling down" I don't think there will be much left after people get their greedy hands on it

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Um... remind you of a certain administrations domestic policies? ;)

no, why would you say that? :rolleyes:

and let's not knock Ford's employees. Overpaid or not, Ford could actually afford to pay their employees that much without hemmorhaging millions and taking billions from taxpayers just to delay their filing for bankruptcy. ;)

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im with jagr i dont qualify........ and i have a true clunker if there ever was one. 95 dodge intrepid is right on the line of guzzler......... well i bet when it was new it got that mileage :lol: but now it leaks oil faster than it uses gas :D

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I think it's all coming a little too late.

My dad was a vice president at a plant for Toyota.. he just got laid after he had to lay off maaannnyyy people. And he's worked for Toyota ever since I can remember.. I'd say at least 20 years.

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Six days into the official start of this program and they are out of money! Another billion $$$ government program, This was supposed to last 12 weeks looks like it will only go one week. The bean counters under estimated the demand for this. I'm sure they will do better spending our $$$ on health care.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axu76hQpdRAA

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can we say 'biased' together as one? give me an unbiased source to your claim. or at least one i have heard of. thanks....

the money isnt gonna run out. it will just be borrowed. and then settled out in another deal then borrowed again. the program cant stop due to lack of funding. too much advertisement. it miight help the citizen but it will always fuck the gov't, and then the gov't will fuck us.... the whloe problem lies therein

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can we say 'biased' together as one? give me an unbiased source to your claim. or at least one i have heard of. thanks....

the money isnt gonna run out. it will just be borrowed. and then settled out in another deal then borrowed again. the program cant stop due to lack of funding. too much advertisement. it miight help the citizen but it will always fuck the gov't, and then the gov't will fuck us.... the whloe problem lies therein

cash for clunkers is suspeneded.. the money is out

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/default.aspx?feat=1209770&gt1=33002

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Automotive News

July 30, 2009 - 8:52 pm ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) --The Obama administration will suspend a $1 billion program intended to spur U.S. auto sales after it surprisingly approached its funding limit after only a few days, government and industry sources said.

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