Cash for Clunker...Really?

[kc5grw]

Killing these cars, especially the ones that still are serviceable is a tree hugger initiative. The nature of the program requires you to move into a more fuel efficient vehicle, the larger the differential, the larger the incentive.

The writing is on the wall and I don't think it is far fetched at all to believe that this type of program could be foisted on the public as mandatory if your vehicle is not green enough.

 

[RvUsa]

Killing these cars, especially the ones that still are serviceable is a tree hugger initiative. The nature of the program requires you to move into a more fuel efficient vehicle, the larger the differential, the larger the incentive.

The writing is on the wall and I don't think it is far fetched at all to believe that this type of program could be foisted on the public as mandatory if your vehicle is not green enough.

DING DING DING, we have a winner!!! Tell him what he won, Merv! Well he has won an all expense paid, by the "rich" trip to socialism, with complementary horrid govt run health care, and banks run by the state. He will also now be living in a country where only criminals will have guns and all business will be owned by "everyone".

 

[ntsammy5]

By government standards this is a cheap program - only a few billion not trillions - it's up in the air whether the senate will approve the next $2 billion.

I looked at it but it makes no sense for me - the 2nd car would qualify but I only drive it a few miles a year - any old car will do fine.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I heard a little while ago on the talk radio that they are gonna pass the 2 bill. today or tomorrow,,

Deb, no one hates you for it,, at least I don't.
If I could afford it , I have a truck I'd trade too to get this deal. I figure if the gov. is gonna do it, then we should at least get some of our $ back somehow,

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I heard a little while ago on the talk radio that they are gonna pass the 2 bill. today or tomorrow,,

Deb, no one hates you for it,, at least I don't.
If I could afford it , I have a truck I'd trade too to get this deal. I figure if the gov. is gonna do it, then we should at least get some of our $ back somehow,

There is rumor going around right now that it won't be passed, and the program will go away. The zeitgeist right now is that there simply isn't enough money available to pay for it, despite barney frank madly printing new money down in the capitol building basement (kidding, sort of).

MIL and I were at a dealership today to trade in her clunker, and they told us (at two different dealerships) that they weren't taking in any clunkers today because they weren't sure what was going to happen. MIL is taking advantage of the deal mostly to get the clunker out of her driveway, but it will impact what she buys and when, because she's looking for a large sedan, and there are very few out there that qualify-the Toyota Avalon is one, the Lexus ES 350 is another.

Neither dealership would talk clunker today.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm another one that took advantage and traded my old SUV for a new 2009 Dodge Caliber (I did make sure to buy American). Since the SUV has long been paid for I was able to take advantage of the voucher, matching cash and another dealer credit to get it at about 50% off MSRP and pay in cash. While I could have made the SUV go a few more years, I was able to go from 14 mpg (what the SUV actually got) to about 24 mpg. I've estimated I'll save about $800 year in gas.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

DING DING DING, we have a winner!!! Tell him what he won, Merv! Well he has won an all expense paid, by the "rich" trip to socialism, with complementary horrid govt run health care, and banks run by the state. He will also now be living in a country where only criminals will have guns and all business will be owned by "everyone".

As someone who has had a number of older classics I look at the number of cars being crushed and wonder what will be left in 20 yrs. I can recall in my youth scrounging junkyards for car parts for my Dads 57 chevy's. I still have a few of the items we salvaged. I doubt that my kids will be able to find salvage parts for a 20 yr old car right now (we were pulling parts in 77 for a 57)
Some of the items I have tried to find for my 64 Chevy wagon have been ridiculously priced if they can be found at all, the ability to "recycle" an older car will be all but non existant soon.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

As someone who has had a number of older classics I look at the number of cars being crushed and wonder what will be left in 20 yrs. I can recall in my youth scrounging junkyards for car parts for my Dads 57 chevy's. I still have a few of the items we salvaged. I doubt that my kids will be able to find salvage parts for a 20 yr old car right now (we were pulling parts in 77 for a 57)
Some of the items I have tried to find for my 64 Chevy wagon have been ridiculously priced if they can be found at all, the ability to "recycle" an older car will be all but non existant soon.

You can recreate a lot of parts now using a laser guided CNC machine. I watched my brother do it with a rusted old piece that the computer "learned" and then recreated in a piece of, um, aluminum?

 

[stpetedisneydad]

Is it just me or does all the dealers going "whoo-hoo, look at all the cars we're selling, things are improving" seem premature since in my opinion once the free money dries up so will the sales. Also as mentioned in previous posts alot of the "clunkers" being traded in are still in very good shape and have alot of serviceable life left in them. Why didn't the administration come up with a set of criteria and pay the dealerships to inspect the cars (which would also help stimulate the economy) then any cars that passed could then be traded for a less fortunate persons or familys car as long as the car being traded in gets worse mpg than the one they're getting. You're still helping the environment AND helping out someone who really needs it with a more dependable vehicle that would save them money on gas and repairs so they would have more money to spend which also in turn stimulates the economy. A car that came in under the "clunkers" program and passed on to someone else can be "flagged" in the computer system much like Carfax so it could not continueously be traded in as a "clunker". Just my thoughts.

 

[DisCamper]

I am taking advantage of this program the golf cart Disney gave me sucks we got passed by a guy in a walker. Do I need a card like the DTV boxes?

 

[auntie]

ETA: I work with a man who owns a '95 Taurus with over 200k miles & we were going to swap titles & I would take his car to trade in & give him my truck. We discovered the Taurus didn't qualify because of the gas mileage it gets. We were both disappointed. He really wanted my truck & I really wanted him to have it.

We looked into this for my daughter. She was driving a 98 Taurus..and we couldn't get in on this deal. For the same reason as your friend..the gas mileage it supposedly gets.
We did manage to replace her car with a newer 2005 Taurus in excellent condition. Very low miles. One owner..and we know them. Honestly, she (or should I say we) are better off without a loan at this point.


Good Luck and enjoy your new truck Deb!

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

You can recreate a lot of parts now using a laser guided CNC machine. I watched my brother do it with a rusted old piece that the computer "learned" and then recreated in a piece of, um, aluminum?

Problem is that laser CNC machines are a little out of range for a shadetree mechanic

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Is it just me or does all the dealers going "whoo-hoo, look at all the cars we're selling, things are improving" seem premature since in my opinion once the free money dries up so will the sales. Also as mentioned in previous posts alot of the "clunkers" being traded in are still in very good shape and have alot of serviceable life left in them. Why didn't the administration come up with a set of criteria and pay the dealerships to inspect the cars (which would also help stimulate the economy) then any cars that passed could then be traded for a less fortunate persons or familys car as long as the car being traded in gets worse mpg than the one they're getting. You're still helping the environment AND helping out someone who really needs it with a more dependable vehicle that would save them money on gas and repairs so they would have more money to spend which also in turn stimulates the economy. A car that came in under the "clunkers" program and passed on to someone else can be "flagged" in the computer system much like Carfax so it could not continueously be traded in as a "clunker". Just my thoughts.

They want the bigger less efficient cars off the road, crushing them makes that permanent.

 

[stpetedisneydad]

They want the bigger less efficient cars off the road, crushing them makes that permanent.

Yes, I understand the concept of the program but my point is that some poorer people can't afford to buy a new car or even a used car for that fact. They are driving around in cars that get crappy mileage and spew smoke out the exhaust because they're just about worn out. I was behind a Ford Ranger today that you would have sworn was fogging for mosquitos. If someone trades in a 10 or 12 year old car that gets say 17 or 18 mpg we're better off giving that car to Mr oil burning killing birds as he drives by Ford Ranger guy and crushing his truck aren't we? Shouldn't the ultimate goal be to remove the most offensive/polluting vehicles instead of just what ever was traded in for $4500?

 

[Goofyseven]

What is really frightening is that the gov can't run a $1b program without screwing it up. Just imagine what will happen to healthcare if Obamacare passes.

Oh, and along with the tremendous debt that will be passed along to our grandchildren

What with rationing, the soon to be grandparents won't live too long

 

[des1954]

Well....my new truck has arrived at the dealer and we will be getting it tomorrow. There is a "glimmer" of hope for "Old Red". Their used car manager will look it over and see if it's worthy for resale. If it is, the dealer will give us the trade-in value instead of the clunker program. I'm going to work hard detailing the crap out of it this afternoon. If there's a chance my faithful explorer can survive, I'm gonna go for it. I'll only lose a little sweat, zip wash, and armor-all. It's the least I can do for my 13 year old "baby".

ETA: At 167K miles, my V-8 gets 17MPG in town & 22MPG on the road. It has never burned a drop of oil! It also has 6 month old tires that I hate to lose. But, I've have always kept up with maintenance on this truck and as such, it has rewarded me with faithfulness.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I hate trading in a vehicle with good rubber, but I have done it so many times - I buy tires, say to my wife "I can't trade this in now until the tires are worn" and 3 months later I am trading it in. Oh well, I guess I might get a little more on trade if the tires are good.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Yes, I understand the concept of the program but my point is that some poorer people can't afford to buy a new car or even a used car for that fact. They are driving around in cars that get crappy mileage and spew smoke out the exhaust because they're just about worn out. I was behind a Ford Ranger today that you would have sworn was fogging for mosquitos. If someone trades in a 10 or 12 year old car that gets say 17 or 18 mpg we're better off giving that car to Mr oil burning killing birds as he drives by Ford Ranger guy and crushing his truck aren't we? Shouldn't the ultimate goal be to remove they most offensive/polluting vehicles instead of just what ever was traded in for $4500?

The problem is that you are expecting something logical and rational to come from Washington, dont hold your breath waiting for that to change.

 

[LegoMom3]

They want the bigger less efficient cars off the road, crushing them makes that permanent.

Exactly why DH and I are keeping our big ol' Ford E150, 351 V8, 7-passenger, 18-mpg-on-a-good-day VAN! If I could afford payments I'd might look into something newer, but I have no intention of going to anything smaller/more efficient. We need something that size!



Did anyone else hear that the steel from these crushed "clunkers" is being shipped to China??... Wondering if that's true or rumor.

.

 

[RvUsa]

Exactly why DH and I are keeping our big ol' Ford E150, 351 V8, 7-passenger, 18-mpg-on-a-good-day VAN! If I could afford payments I'd might look into something newer, but I have no intention of going to anything smaller/more efficient. We need something that size!



Did anyone else hear that the steel from these crushed "clunkers" is being shipped to China??... Wondering if that's true or rumor.

.

Oh no, it's true, almost all of our recycled steel goes over seas. The guy that used to work for me, deals with scrap a lot. And every time the chinese sneeze about something, the price of scrap cars falls. Last year around this time, scrap was over $400 a ton, but because of this cash for clunkers stuff, it is at $75 a ton, and he is really hurting.