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The Kitchen Table

Refunding cash for clunkers

14 years ago

Congress has added funding to continue the cash for clunkers program listed below.

I see it as an economic incentive to sell cars and give the auto industry, workers, local economy and national economy a shot in the arm.

Hope it works.

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Comments (14)

dilly_dally
14 years ago
Link?
sheilajoyce_gw
Original Author
14 years ago
I first saw it on CNN and then in our local online newspaper.
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Yeah, I agree with Dave. I can't help but think dealers aren't motivated to sell at the best price now because the Federal program is doing most of the work, although the dealers are saying that they are matching the $$, like most everything else, this may just mean they're marking up the original price so it may look like you're getting a "double bang", so to speak. LOL Car dealers know the art of win-win can be summed up in one sentence: "Ask for 'way more than you'd ever expect to get, and then let yourself be negotiated down." The dealer gets the price he actually expected in the first place, and the consumer walks away happy, thinking he was a master of negotiation. Considering that the new car depreciates greatly the minute you drive it out of the lot, if you normally buy used and you normally wouldn't be ready to buy another vehicle for three more years, I can't see that this program would be the best for you. There are hidden costs associated with a new car: higher insurance, higher tags and taxes, for two. You didn't mention how many MPG you get in your current car. That could make a difference and you probably need to do some figuring to see if it does. If your MPG's are low on your current car and you do a lot of driving now, then that alone might be a consideration. I don't think we've seen the end of astronomically high gas prices. I don't have a clunker to trade in, but if I did, I think I'd be thinking about what's possible to happen down the road. I normally buy my vehicle new or nearly new (usually I get a "program car") and keep it at least ten years. We turned over our sassy little red 94 chevy pick-up to our grandson and it's still dependable and seems to be quite a "chick-magnet" with DGS behind the wheel. What I'm thinking, down the road, is that the automakers are going to discover (if they haven't already) that there is a market for a vehicle that gets extremely high MPG. Once all the vehicles that they made under the "old" assumptions of what consumers want are sold in this program, creation of innovative vehicles will once again create a booming market. Think ahead to future months: If dealers sell most of the cars they had on their lots under the CARS program, what are they going to do, stock up with more of the same cars they couldn't sell before the program? Without the CARS program, and with everyone who might want to upgrade having already done so, where's their market? If I were you, I'd wait and watch. Lots can happen in three years. You might be really happy with your new vehicle that uses alternative fuels more efficiently than we have ever seen, in three years.
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mariend
14 years ago
Wish they would take the money and help with health expenses of the unemployed or help retrain those out of work. Sorry to say, that some people are going out and finding old cars and getting money back on new ones they really don't want or cannot afford.
We need to encourage more jobs in America and less sent overseas.
sheilajoyce_gw
Original Author
14 years ago
Selling cars will help encourage jobs, and that is why they are doing it. More people will make and sell the cars and the parts for cars. Then they will spend that money for their needs, and it goes on and on. Hopefully.
gemini40
14 years ago
my feeling about this is not good, and unnecessary..all it is doing is giving people an excuse to get rid of a perfect good running car and buy a new car putting them into debt...not needed,
desert_bound
14 years ago
This is Obama Motors way of getting money for the car makers to pay those big executive bonuses. The more cars they sell the bigger the bonuses for the execs.
Tally
14 years ago
The more cars they sell the bigger the bonuses for the execs.

Are you kidding me? The more cars they sell, the more people stay employed on the assembly lines and in the showrooms. A better chance another factory won't be closed.

By the way, I'll bet people are spending a lot of money to keep those old clunkers going - repairs, parts and labor.
Tally
14 years ago
Forgot to add: Not to mention the savings in gasoline.

When gas prices shoot back up (and they will), the savings can be substantial with the more efficient engines in the newer cars.
barb_from_pa
14 years ago
What happens to all the cars getting traded in?

"By the way, I'll bet people are spending alot of money to keep those old clunkers going -repair , parts, and labor"

Doesn't that contribute to our economy, too?
glenda_al
14 years ago
Ditto what Tally said.

Heard that on the news tonite.
dilly_dally
14 years ago
Posted by barb_from_pa: "What happens to all the cars getting traded in?"

The cars that get traded in for this program must be destoyed and not resold. That is the LAW. The dealers are required to freeze the engines, making all the parts unsalvagable. The whole thing ends up in a landfill. What a waste.

It is ALWAYS cheaper to repair a car than to buy a new one.

Before if a car traded in, was so old it could not be sold economically on an auto lot, it could be salvaged for parts. Not with this program. Now smart people who decide to keep their car and do minor repairs over the years of owership won't be able to find used parts easily.

I don't see the advantage to this program. A person only has to buy a car that get 2mpg more than the one they are trading in. Older cars are not necessarily "clunkers" either. My parents have a 1990 auto and it is in pristine condition. They hardly ever drive since they are retired. Why would they junk it for a new car? This program in the newspapers made it sound like it was a government mandate to turn in your old car. Elderly people can be hoodwinked or just not understand things properly. My elderly parents thought they HAD TO turn in their old auto. They just got over having to trash their perfectly good working TV because it would no longer work with the new digital OTA transmissions. The government gave them a coupon :whoopee: so they could save 40 bucks when they dug into their retirement savings for a brand new TV. They did not understand why they had to buy it and why the goverment was taking away their TV reception and why their good TV had to go to a landfill. I don't understand it either.
bee0hio
14 years ago
There are rules, but they can't make a rule for every single situation. There is no solution for the foolish decisions people make.... say if a person who turns in a low-mileage "pristine" automobile that they don't drive much anyway, even if it is a gas-hog. That would seem to be not a very cost effective way to spend one's money.

I've seen plenty of people bad mouth the program with one breath & in the next breath say they want to "cash in on the CFC program" with their perfectly good automobile. The word "CLUNKER" ought to be a clue.......
dilly_dally
14 years ago
Anyone driving a true "clunker" probably does not have any extra money just sitting around to purchase a brand new auto anyway. The idea stuck in their head that they can get $3,000 for a "clunker", drowns out the common sense hidden in the back of their brain as to how they are going to come up with the money out of their household budget to make the car payments they then owe on a new car.

Anybody who has no trouble with those car payments probably was going to get a new car anyway at this time. So all we are doing is handing thousands of dollars to wealthy people to put in their pockets.
monica_pa Grieves
14 years ago
A large local Toyota dealer was featured in this morning's paper. He's getting low on inventory - has sold 100's of cars in the cash for clunkers.

This is helping dealers get cars they have already purchased from manufacturers.
Clearing out inventory that was sitting on the lot does not mean increased manufacturing...sales are still down from same month last year.

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