Cash for Clunkers program suspended (to buy, cars, health care)

[woodinvilleguy]

I managed to be the last one out of the honda dealership when they came in and told me that the program is suspended as of midnight tonight. Crazy.

I'm not necessarily saying that I think the program was the right thing to do or not, I'm just letting people know about the news.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

I don't know anything about the program but I guess I'll have to keep my clunker.

[mimimomx3]

We did our clunker deal on Saturday and finished it up on Monday. The dealer said they wouldn't do any more on Tuesday! Wow!

[Trainwreck20]

The program was funded by a limited amount, so when the money ran out...poof!

My BIL traded in a van they had bought 4 years ago for $2,000 for a new Hyundai. He got $4500 on the clunkers deal. He got very excited, bought his son's old pickup (also worth <$2,000) and traded it in on a new car ($4,500) which he turned around and donated to some charity. Since he donates a certain amount a year, this gets him there for $2,500 cheap or for $2,500 more, whichever, I don't really know. He literally has never bought a new car in his life until now..... as the song goes "...and people are crazy".

[HappyTexan]

I thought about it but then decided I like not having car payments so I'll keep my Chevy.
Just wasn't enough incentive to go out a buy a new truck.

[AustinGuy]

Funny how a government that claims to be broke somehow finds money for ridiculous programs like this.

[G Grasshopper]

Well, you can argue about whether the idea of government stimulus is good or bad, but as stimulus programs go, this seems to have been very successful. It got a lot of people to buy new cars in a very short period of time. That's why they had to stop it so soon; the money allotted got out there in circulation more quickly than they thought it would. I would be interested to know what happens now to those "clunkers". If they were truly to be gotten off the street in favor of more efficient, less polluting cars, then one would assume they were to be scrapped.

[Trainwreck20]

I would be interested to know what happens now to those "clunkers".

Part of the reason for the program was to get those cars off the street. Since you can basically only get the rebates through a dealeer, it is easy enough to track. The cars have to be sold for scrap value, I think, although there may be some ability to scrap them for parts, as well. The cars CANNOT be resold.

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Part of the reason for the program was to get those cars off the street. Since you can basically only get the rebates through a dealeer, it is easy enough to track. The cars have to be sold for scrap value, I think, although there may be some ability to scrap them for parts, as well. The cars CANNOT be resold.

the dealers actually have to pour a liquid into the engine that siezes the engine block in order to get their money from the fed.

[blakesq]

I can hardly wait for the same Federal Government, that runs the cash for clunkers programs, to start running our health care system!

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

I managed to be the last one out of the honda dealership when they came in and told me that the program is suspended as of midnight tonight. Crazy.

I'm not necessarily saying that I think the program was the right thing to do or not, I'm just letting people know about the news.