Continue to Site

Welcome to our site!

Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

  • Welcome to our site! Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

Cash For Clunkers.

Status
Not open for further replies.

tcmtech

Banned
Most Helpful Member
I was checking out the cash for clunkers web site and I cant find out what the deal is on the way they chose what vehicles qualify and what dont. :confused:

For my vehicals only one was listed but didn't qualify the rest were not even listed. Anyone else run their vehicle through the rebate calculator system and get an actual number?

Its not that I want a new vehicle. I just feel a bit snubbed that my stuff is not worthy of clunker status. :(
 
Last edited:
I didn't even check mine, but suspect the '91 Ford Explorer would have qualified. Think it's too late now anyway, no money left. Even with all cash incentives, you will still end up paying close to $10k over the next 5 years (interest, full coverage insurance...), on a vehicle you might not have even really wanted, just that it qualified and was available. Guess the 2-6 MPG improvement would make it worthwhile though. Oh, wait... For around $60, I could have changed my oil and filter, and basic tune-up, and most likely have gotten about the same improvement, maybe check the air in my tires...
 
Apparently the program has been suspended.

**broken link removed**

By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
On Thursday July 30, 2009, 11:53 pm EDT
Buzz up! 309 Print
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House said Thursday it was reviewing what has turned out to be a wildly popular "cash for clunkers" program amid concerns the $1 billion budget for rebates for new auto purchases may have been exhausted in only a week.

Transportation Department officials called lawmakers' offices earlier Thursday to alert them of plans to suspend the program as early as Friday. But a White House official said later the program had not been suspended and officials there were assessing their options.

"We are working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said of the Car Allowance Rebate System. "Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored."

Gibbs said the administration was "evaluating all options" to keep the program funded.

A Transportation Department official said the department was working with Congress and the White House to keep the program going. The administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions.

The CARS program offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Congress last month approved the program to boost auto sales and remove some inefficient cars and trucks from the roads. The program kicked off last Friday and was heavily publicized by car companies and auto dealers

Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through the program and nearly $96 million had been spent. But dealers raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system, prompting talk of a possible suspension.

A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by NHTSA, or nearly 13 trades per store. It raised concerns that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, auto dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.

"There's a significant backlog of 'cash for clunkers' deals that make us question how much funding is still available in the program," said Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the dealers association.

Alan Helfman, general manager of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston, said he was worried that the government wouldn't pay for some of the clunker deals his dealership has signed because they aren't far enough along in the process.

His dealership has done paperwork on about 20 sales under the clunker program, but in some cases the titles haven't been obtained yet or the vehicles aren't yet on his lot.

"There's no doubt I'm going to get hammered on a deal or two," Helfman said.
 
My 96 Pontiac Trans Am qualifies but I just can not see turning my baby into scrap metal, just can't bring myself to do it. Beside, a new car is just to costly, the $4500 bucks would hardly help with a $30K Toyota. I never buy new cars. I heard the program has thrown in an additional 2billion to the program.

Now look at this car, how could I scrap it?
 

Attachments

  • mytrans.jpg
    mytrans.jpg
    104.6 KB · Views: 149
Looks like the government and all the people driving new cars, way over their heads, want us that own our cars to join them. Driving America deeper in the hole.

The bailout money should have went to the tax payers with a condition it is only good for a car. So we bail them out and get to buy a new slightly discounted car. Only in America.
 
The part of this I think is going to start all the economy problems again, is that a lot of people can't afford new car payments, and will eventually default. The banks already have a lot of foreclosed properties, and will soon have a bunch of repossessed vehicles. Think it'll 'drive' more people deeper in debt. Pretty soon, most people will depend on the government help pay their bills, heath care, basic needs, since the banks won't lend money to people who can't repay (unlike the government).

I think it would have been a better program, if the government would have paid at least half the cost of a new, but sensible, base model. The buyer would have to pay for the fun options. Maybe require proof that the old vehicle was actually in use, like having valid registration and insurance, for at least one year. People won't pay these for a lawn ornament.

$4,500 isn't much better than the common $3,000 trade in, other than it's guaranteed by the government, and you don't have read through six or more pages to find where the dealer tries to recover the trade in money with standard/options and questionable fees. I don't buy cars off a lot, just don't like being lied to, or deceived by some stupid, greedy, salesman. Only took a few times, and a lot of wasted time, to realize that it's just not worth the hassle. Used cars are a gamble too, but I do my own repairs, and got a pretty feel for thing to check and look for, and what to avoid. I just want transportation, don't spend that much time driving.
 
HarveyH42,

I am the same way. What amazes me is that we actually pay these government people to dream these poor ideas up.

If you give the money to the car companyies, they stay in business. Give it to the tax payer under the condition they must buy a car, they still get the money and the tax payer gets something in return.

$4000 is a joke, I lose a working $2000 vehicle and end up with payments and full coverage insurance. Now pay for a base model car, that sounds fair. Harvey for President :D.

I agree with you and I think it will bring out the next level of Americans that are living outside their means (or soon will be).
 
I started playing around with the cash for clunkers website and found what did qualify and I see no realistic reason to ever use such a dumb government program.:mad:

Every vehicle listed I could think of that qualified had a far higher blue book resale value than the $3000 - $4500 they give you and the ones accepted typically dont get any worse fuel mileage than what you would get from most newer vehicles of equal replacement in comparison.:mad:

Why scrap vehicles with $5000 - $10000 market values to get far less for them in trade? Sell the one you have and then use the money to wards the new vehicle. Your far better off!;)

Now if they would change the program to where you bring in any number of old but runnable vehicles (no age, make, or model limitations) so that you could trade in say 10 true clunkers at $3000 each for one new vehicle listed at $30000 then yes I would participate!
It would then truly get many old and less fuel efficient vehicles off the road.
 
tcmtech said:
Every vehicle listed I could think of that qualified had a far higher blue book resale value than the $3000 - $4500 they give you and the ones accepted typically dont get any worse fuel mileage than what you would get from most newer vehicles of equal replacement in comparison.:mad:

I understood you had to buy a car that got better mileage. There were two different cash values based on how much better the new one was.

Regardless it is a flawed program.

If you think about it, the program also reduces the pool of used cars for people who can not afford new ones.

3v0
 
My 96 Pontiac Trans Am qualifies but I just can not see turning my baby into scrap metal, just can't bring myself to do it. Beside, a new car is just to costly, the $4500 bucks would hardly help with a $30K Toyota. I never buy new cars. I heard the program has thrown in an additional 2billion to the program.

Now look at this car, how could I scrap it?


what the heck ,, i also wouldnt have scrape the car myself ,, if i were in ur place...

96 ponticac is such a beauty..
 
Do the dealers really have to scrap the car? Salvage yard pays around $150 a car. This is really going to destroy my brother's income, since there will be a surplus of it. Seems very wasteful, most of those 'clunkers' are probably newer, maybe in better shape than either of mine. Lots of people could get good use out of them, that don't qualify, or just don't want to go in debt (me). But then again, I've helped my brother haul stuff to the salvage yard many times, and have seen some fine looking vehicles on the scale, not to mention a few other things I would have liked to take home...
 
My dad works as the administrator for a local school and the government has a similar program for school busses. If you get a new bus and scrap an old one they pay half. But the old bus has to be taken directly to the local scrap yard and has to have the engine literally crushed beyond reuse and witnessed by a some official person. :mad:

Tearing an engine out of a bus pretty much wrecks the rest of it as well. And as has been told to me the new busses dont get any better mileage than the old ones do in real life school bus driving situations but are supposed to be more emissions compliant is mainly the reason for the government program. As far as emissions output most school busses rarely see more than a few hours run time 5 days a week. A long haul trucker will put in more hours in a day than over half of the school busses do in a week. :mad:
Plus I have heard the emission's systems dont seem to work a well as they should since most busses spend more time in stop and go or sit and idle conditions than in open road driving conditions where the emission's systems are calibrated to actually work at. :mad:

I find it a rather stupid thing to do myself. Many old busses get bought by farmers and other truck owners just because the old bus has a good engine with better power and fuel economy than many old farm grain trucks and local delivery and service trucks. They want the engine but not the body.

To me this is just one more way to keep people from reusing good equipment and instead it just keeps them driving old less efficient equipment. Plus many lower income schools will buy the old busses to keep their fleets going because they cant afford new busses even with a half off price tag!:mad:

Around here a good used large capacity school bus goes for around $750 - $2000. Most get bought for the drive train or to be turned into campers.
 
I heard somewhere they put a chemical in the oil and run them until they stop running.

Also, scrap cars go for up to $500 in South Florida.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest threads

New Articles From Microcontroller Tips

Back
Top