Cash For Clunkers : Supended : No More Cash

As someone who works with government folks I might suggest standing back for a moment and looking carefully at the press anouncement. It said the program was overwhelmed and was being suspended not ending. From my research on this the CARS program was simply not set up to handle the vast number of submissions and I think they have no clue as to how to handle the backlog and figure our who qualifies and who does not. Stay tuned. I will bet there will be a lot more on this topic before its all over.

Stan

 

wow i am blwn away at how quickly (in one day) we could go from having only used 10% of he funds to it being gone. it doesn't make any sense.
they definatley need to kick this up again, if it was that successful then we need more, it seems like it will really help the economy.

 

Well, if they don't get more funds, I guess the government made my decision for me. After hearing about low ground clearance scraping the paint, the $75 oil changes and fighting with dealers that wouldn't budge more than $200 off sticker, I can't say I'd be too sad if it didn't come back. Granted, I have a clunker worth ~$3000....if I had one worth $1000, I'd be pretty upset at losing $3500!

 

That's how I read it too.

 

It appears that there are two basic issues with this program:

1) Having the funds to adequately fund the program, and
2) Administration of a complex program that was an immediate runaway success.
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With the program being suspended and congress going on their 30 day August vacation, it looks like there will be an un-intended 30 day cooling off period to figure out how to: a) handle this program from an administration perspective and b) to figure how deep in debt the public (taxpayers) are willing to go to fund the program.

Is the short term success worth the long term consequences? As great as this program looks, there is no free ride.

Keith

 

But rough estimate provided by cashforclunkersfact suggests that the money is long gone.
Average number of clunkers/registered dealer is 11-15 depending on the source, but I don't know any dealer who took in less than 15 clunkers.

Anyway, I think it's better to rewrite the program with the Net-10 clause instead of the bogus maximum 18mpg number.

 

The 10% is what had been processed. The unprocessed backlog that dealers are trying to get submitted appears to be far larger.

 

"As of late Thursday, the government had committed roughly $850 million of the program’s $1 billion, according to calculations by NADA and various congressional offices. It’s unclear whether and how the CARS program could be restarted."

 

As I mentioned in the other thread. Nobody had any clue as to how much money is actually spent. The cars.gov "fuel tank" was strictly a funded amount. Our dealership has over 40 deals that have not been funded yet. The suspension (as reported by AP) is temporary. Since every dealer is scrambling to get their paperwork into the government, the website keeps crashing. Nobody has a total as to how much money is actually gone. My guess is they suspended it to let all the dealers who have them written get their paperwork in and get caught up. Once they see how much money is gone, then they can resume and tell dealers that there is only $xx amount left.

And a Pelosi aide said that numerous politicians have already begun stating that they want more money to continue the program as it is the single most effective stimulant on the economy. This billion has done more for one of the largest industries than the previous trillion they have given away/spent.

 

that is what i thought by the word suspended, just means it is on hold for a while to let dealers catch up. i hope that this is the case.

 

For a moment, let's take a look at the overall impact of this program.

So, if the amount allocated for "Cash for Clunkers" is $ 1 Billion, and if the average payout is $ 4,000 per clunker - then the program will stimulate sales of 250,000 new automobiles and get the same number of gas guzzlers off the road. Now if there are 315,000,000 people here in the U.S., then one out of every 1260 people will be getting a new car.

Is there an error in my arithmetic?

Keith

 

To be truthful:

1) I am willing to bet that more than a billion has been spent. One dealer I know of is owed almost $500,000. Just my dealership is owed about $200,000. There are roughly 21,500 dealers who have cars that qualify. Simple math will tell me that it is gone. If that is the case, the government will have to pony up additional funds just to pay what has already been spent so dealers don't get killed. Which, in turn, will kill the consumer becuase dealers will go back after the consumer. It will be a nightmare for public relations either way.

2) I will be glad when this program is over. I'm going to sleep for a week straight.

 

Small problem with it.. 315,000,000 is every living, breathing, human in the US. Assume 70%(?) of that number is of legal age to own a vehicle. Changes your math to 1 out of 882.

 

So am I yoked on this?

Put 1G down on a 2010 Prius IV on 7/16 - the car had a "sold" sign put inside, and was parked in a corner as the dealer was "waiting" for the details to be finalized on the 24th before they would be able to officially do a c4c deal. On the friday the 24th I got information that everything would begin on Monday (4 Days ago) 7/27 - that's when deals at this dealer would begin to be consummated. My salesman on monday said it was a mess in there, blamed the Fed web site and such, and said he would call me when he knew what was what. On tuesday, he calls and says they got the go ahead for c4c deals, but that I wouldn't be able to come in tuesday and that Wednesday would work. Meanwhile I sent the insurance info for my clunker, faxed my reg and the front and back of the title, etc. but we have no time set up for Wed. I call Wed, and he says he can only do a 6 pm appt. I said I could meet him anytime all day Wed, but he tells me he can't accomodate me until 6pm, the only time he said he could "get access to his financial mgr, who was apparently taking at least 2 hours per deal to sit with clunker customers as they fill out the forms. I can't do that time - dear friend's 84th b'day party that night, and we're bringing the cake. So, since Wed. can't work, we talk about thursday (today), but I can't get in there (dealer is an hour away), so we set up our appt. to finally, once and for all, get this done on friday. We have an appt. tomorrow at 4pm to turn in my '99 explorer and pick up the black prius IV that's been sitting there ever since I put deposit on it two weeks ago. I called this afternoon, but my salesman is out until tomorrow. But now I hear this news. My blood pressure is high already, and this news is not helping.

So I ask again... am I yoked? I won't do the deal without getting the $4500 for my previously worthless (I was told) Explorer XL V8.

 

Let's just hope they don't try to rush some more money into the program by attaching the so called healthcare reform to it as a way to get it passed.

 

Goulds, in a nutshell? Yes. You are screwed. Unless you call the manager and tell them you will be there within the next 2 hours to complete the deal. Or ask him if he processed your paperwork since you sent him everything in advance. DO that quick!

 

Hey, I think you are on to something!!!

I can get my tonsils and appendix removed for almost nothing and drive away from the hospital in a new car that I saved $ 4500 on the purchase price - all in one month.

Lets go for it!!!

(I really like this socialism thing, except for one minor detail - eventually you run out of other people's money.)

Keith

P.S. Sorry, I guess I forgot to take my medication, again.

 

End to gov cash for clunker promotion

AP sources: Govt to suspend 'cash for clunkers' - Yahoo! News

Just in case some have not read it eles where

 

Jabber - thanks for your reply, but I can't say I'm happy that you're confirming my worries... and it depresses me. This dealer closed at 8pm, and the phone just rings and rings. No midnight deadline worries on their part. Sticking to their posted hours. I have a sneaking suspicion the dealer was dragging it's feet on this whole c4c thing anyway, despite the animated gif block heralding their participation in the program on their web site.

 

What time did this get announced? May have been too late for many East coast dealerships.