Let's talk about the "Clunker" law

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Well, this clearly is another example of God taking care of idiots - I have an old, beat up, gasping-for-air Suburban that my 22 year old son in college abuses/drives. It's paid for, many years ago. With the clunker law going into effect, we could get $4500 if the Beast will make it onto the lot. My ex-husband says it has a blown head gasket, so it's debatable how many trips this thing has left in it.

My question is, due to our situation we need to get the cheapest car we can. Last week on vacation I saw a dealership advertising some kind of Hyundai for $6900, which would mean financing a new car for $2400. What are some other very cheap deals out there? We need to do our homework now and be ready to jump on this program as soon as it's in place.

Thanks for your help!

Edited to add: the idiots mentioned above refers to my family only; it is sheer Providence that this law passed when our old clunker is giving up the ghost!

 

[Soulsearching]

Can't help you out, but just wanted to say, I can't wait for this law to go into effect. We have four cars, all that have given us many good years with high mileage. We never buy new, we always buy used. It's worked beautifully for many years. This will work too!

 

[MineMail]

It's the end of a quarter, so take a look around the dealerships. They're dying to sell cars and they should be negotiating. The big gas guzzlers are the ones they want to move the most, although many of the leftovers are being sent overseas.

You might be able to get a zero-percent financing deal if you check the Sunday paper ads.

Car-buying services such as BJ's, Costco and AAA, sometimes have good deals. Just watch the delivery charges. Many of them have you pick up the car at a dealer or they deliver the car to your home.

If you know people who have Saturns, ask them if they have any certificates for $$$ off a new purchase that they'd be willing to give you. Saturn pricing is usually non-negotiable, but we received a $1,000 off our Vue because of the certificate.

Our van comes off lease at the end of the year. When it does, we're going to look for a good late-model used car or van. We now know two people who buy/sell used cars, so they said they'd keep an eye out for us.

 

[MineMail]

We never buy new, we always buy used. It's worked beautifully for many years. This will work too!

Any tips on buying used? Things to watch out for or things to look for?

 

[lspst8]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soulsearching
We never buy new, we always buy used. It's worked beautifully for many years. This will work too!

Any tips on buying used? Things to watch out for or things to look for?

I was under the impression that you had to buy a new car to use the "clunker law." Am I mistaken?

My fiance is looking for a vehicle, but we are only considering used cars right now. (It is pretty hard to get a decent automatic car for 10 grand.) He has a broken down old car that won't even run, but I would tow it to the dealership if I could get $4500 credit for it

 

[meandmytwogirls]

The $4500 rebate is only on new cars. Ya can't use it for a used one.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

I was under the impression that you had to buy a new car to use the "clunker law." Am I mistaken?

You do have to buy a new car, but I also read that leases qualify too. I normally would not consider a lease, but in this particular case we need the least outlay possible, and I'm pretty sure once my son is done with college he'll want a better car. I think a lease would fit our situation pretty well.

 

[Soulsearching]

Any tips on buying used? Things to watch out for or things to look for?

I'm not the buyer, my husband is, so I can't help you out, but I would suggest that when you find a car you are interested in, I would ask a friend who loves to work on cars to check it out for you.

 

[Soulsearching]

I was under the impression that you had to buy a new car to use the "clunker law." Am I mistaken?

My fiance is looking for a vehicle, but we are only considering used cars right now. (It is pretty hard to get a decent automatic car for 10 grand.) He has a broken down old car that won't even run, but I would tow it to the dealership if I could get $4500 credit for it

Yes, you do need to buy an new car, but "The program, which Congress approved Thursday, would provide vouchers of $3,500 to $4,500 to Americans willing to trade in their old gas-guzzling vehicles as part of transactions for new vehicles that consume gasoline at slightly less fearsome rates." The vouchers make it very appealing, to buy new.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

Here is a link to the official government web site.

http://www.cars.gov/

Be forewarned, expect many to scams to come out of this program, not the program itself, but watch out for scams via e-mail posing as official information. Like they say "Let's be careful out there."

 

[KelleyD]

Just a few things from the cars.gov site...

1. passenger vehcile you trade in has to get LESS then 18mpg combined according to their rating. You can get the link to find your rating on the cars site.

I was very dissapointed to learn my 1999 galant has a combined rating of 20 therefor I will not qualify. It has 181,000 miles and I was looking forward to this deal...but mileage means nothing...

2. The car has to be working i.e. driven to lot!

3. $3500 for passenger vehicles that get 5mpg more then your existing rating...so 18=23. $4500 passenger if you can get 10 so 18=28.

I hope it turns out to be a great deal for those who qualify!

 

[daughtersrus]

Just a few things from the cars.gov site...



I was very dissapointed to learn my 1999 galant has a combined rating of 20 therefor I will not qualify. It has 181,000 miles and I was looking forward to this deal...but mileage means nothing...

I just checked the site and am quite disappointed to find out that DD's 1990 Oldsmobile won't qualify either. It's listed at 19.

DH works at a dealership so this program added to his employee pricing would have been a great deal.

I randomly checked other years/makes/models and it seems like most are being listed at 19 or 20. Just above the cutoff for this program.

edited to add: I thought that I had read somewhere that the car has to have been insured for the last year as well. This will prevent people from buying a cheap car just to trade it in for this program.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

So, if DH wants to trade in his '95 truck, he'll get a $4500 credit......like paying $4500 down on a new car?
What if his truck is worth $5000?? Not smart to even do this then, right? Or is it $4500 plus whatever the dealership would give him for trade in. Who am I kidding, like that would happen.

So, could we find a $7000 new car (I know that's practically impossible), minus $4500, then finance $2500??

 

[WendyisDarling]

Here is a link to the official government web site.

http://www.cars.gov/

Be forewarned, expect many to scams to come out of this program, not the program itself, but watch out for scams via e-mail posing as official information. Like they say "Let's be careful out there."

Thanks for the link. I was wondering about some of the details.
Trade in value = scrap value. Interesting.
Must be registered and insured for a year --I wondered if there was language to prevent people from going out to buy an old clunker for the trade. I figured there was and I'm glad.

 

[Traveliz]

So, if DH wants to trade in his '95 truck, he'll get a $4500 credit......like paying $4500 down on a new car?
What if his truck is worth $5000?? Not smart to even do this then, right? Or is it $4500 plus whatever the dealership would give him for trade in. Who am I kidding, like that would happen.

So, could we find a $7000 new car (I know that's practically impossible), minus $4500, then finance $2500??

No the dealer can't give you any additional money and they have to destroy it - so if its worth 5000 you are better off selling it on your own or trading it in for that amount if the dealership will give you that.

Liz

 

[luvmy3]

So, if DH wants to trade in his '95 truck, he'll get a $4500 credit......like paying $4500 down on a new car?
What if his truck is worth $5000?? Not smart to even do this then, right? Or is it $4500 plus whatever the dealership would give him for trade in. Who am I kidding, like that would happen.

So, could we find a $7000 new car (I know that's practically impossible), minus $4500, then finance $2500??

The thing is it has to qualify as far as the MPG. I have a feeling that dealerships will be raising their prices on those new inexpensive cars because they know that many people will be searching for the cheapest car that meets all the gov'ts requirements for this program.

I could use a new car but I'm not willing to trade in my paid off van for another 25K vehicle so that I can use taxpayer money to help me afford it.

 

[luvmy3]

So, if DH wants to trade in his '95 truck, he'll get a $4500 credit......like paying $4500 down on a new car?
What if his truck is worth $5000?? Not smart to even do this then, right? Or is it $4500 plus whatever the dealership would give him for trade in. Who am I kidding, like that would happen.

deleted

 

[ElizabethH]

Another thing to keep in mind is the vehicle has to be less than 25 years old. I was just looking and my husbands 1984 truck is not elligible (sp?) so that totally stinks.

 

[luvmy3]

Another thing to keep in mind is the vehicle has to be less than 25 years old. I was just looking and my husbands 1984 truck is not elligible (sp?) so that totally stinks.

Which is ironic especially since we are supposed to believe that the goal of this program is to get the gas guzzlers off the road.

 

[ElizabethH]

Which is ironic especially since we are supposed to believe that the goal of this program is to get the gas guzzlers off the road.

No kidding that is what I was thinking. Around here there are tons of farm trucks that are older than 25 years. Crazy stuff. We actually have 2 and they both run. LOL