Link?

I first saw it on CNN and then in our local online newspaper.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.

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?

Ditto what Tally said.

Heard that on the news tonite.

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.

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.......

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.

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.