According to the Associated Press, the Department of Transportation has suspended the CARS, or Cash for Clunkers program indefinitely effective at midnight Thursday. According to the breaking news story, officials are concerned that the money will run out too quickly and that they will not be able to pay dealers participating in the program. Read the entire AP story here,
The government is sure to endure a backlash from consumers and dealers alike as millions of dollars in advertising has been spent on a program that was supposedly designed to last until November.
As President Obama clinks beer mugs with his Harvard buddy and his arresting officer, the American people are focused on other issues. With public support for the president waning significantly and a new Rasmussen poll reporting only a 48% approval rating, Obama needs to see some success in some of the programs he has run so rapidly through congress or risk losing support completely from the American public. The AIG bonuses bill created enormous scandal and outrage, the stimulus package has failed to bring about the jobs numbers promised months ago and thehealth care bill is facing trouble in both the senate and congress. The Cash for Clunkers meltdown couldn't have come at a worse time for the president.
Original post below.
Does your car qualify? How does the program work? Is it really a good deal for consumers? What kind of car can I buy? What happens to my old car?
The Cash for Clunkers program, now known as CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System), is leaving more questions than answers for many consumers, dealers and salvage yards.
According to CARS.gov:
* Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
* Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
* Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
* Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
* You don't need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
* Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
* The program requires the scrapping of your eligible trade-in vehicle, and that the dealer disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in. The scrap value, however minimal, will be in addition to the rebate, and not in place of the rebate.
The website warns you must check back often for "updates" to the program. That seems good advice being that the qualifications have already changed once since last Friday.
Though the official kick-off of CARS was Monday, July 27th, many dealers began participating over the weekend. They came into their offices on Monday with a new set of rules.
Once the consumer is out the door with their new, more fuel efficient vehicle, the real work begins. The rule book for dealerships is about 150 pages long on the website and the longer, more detailed version from the Department of Transportation was approximately 400 pages. The rules outline the process for destroying the traded vehicle, applying for a voucher, and turning in the necessary accompanying paperwork such as proof of continuous insurance and a certificate proving the trade-in was destroyed.
Dealers, which already have enormous amounts of paperwork when selling a vehicle, must submit all documents rather quickly because the program is on a first-come, first-served basis. The latest reports are showing nearly $100 million in vouchers has already been requested this week with more than 19,000 "clunkers" traded in. (Bloomberg, 7-29-09) The $1.2 billion program will continue until money runs out or on November 1, 2009, whichever comes first.
Since there are only so many dealers participating in the program and only so much money to go around, it works out to be about 11 CARS deals on average per dealership. Some dealerships have already well exceeded that average number.
Some things to consider...
If I am a dealer that is turning in my paperwork today for a voucher to arrive in several weeks, how should I pay out commissions to the sales person? How do I pay the bills while I'm waiting for the vouchers to arrive? Dealerships typically make much less profit per vehicle than the voucher will be paying out, so there is a cashflow issue for most dealerships.
Also, what will happen with the "leftovers?" In other words, if the dealers are turning in deals at the end of the program, what happens to the deals that are a day too late? How will the government let dealers know when to cut off the program? There will inevitably be deals still on the table, with consumers on the road and old vehicles destroyed, that won't be funded by the vouchers.
If the money runs out, who will get paid first? Will GM and Chrysler dealerships be paid first since they are now owned by the government?
With the amount of paperwork being turned into a government that already has trouble getting the White House staff to properly pay its taxes, there are sure to be errors in reporting. Should there be any mistakes in reporting, the voucher will be denied. What happens then?
The dealer will need to call the consumer, who is already zipping around town in his fancy new car, whose old car has already been destroyed, and inform him that he owes the dealership an additional $4,500. How do you think that will go over?
At least one Minnesota dealer has already put a halt on the program and will not be submitting any more requests for vouchers for fear that the money will run out before they get paid in full by the government. They have already exceeded the average at each of their stores and said they were afraid they would have to "eat the 4,500 bucks per car" to keep customers happy and returning for additional business. Speaking under anonymity, one salesman said, "I'm still waiting for my $400 refund check from the IRS. How can we expect them to pay out $1.2 billion to car dealerships all over the country?"
The CARS program is being trumpeted as a "green" initiative with the intent of getting gas guzzling vehicles off the road in favor of more fuel efficient means of transportation. On the surface, this sounds appealing, but once we dig into the mechanics of the program it isn't difficult to see that it is fundamentally flawed.
First, the government is assuming people will drive the same amount of time or less in their new vehicles. Studies show that Americans are more likely to drive newer vehicles more than their older cars. (FoxNews, 2009) The emissions results are yet to be determined, but the result could very well be a wash.
Also, the program fails to address the fact that when you destroy the trade-ins, you are diminishing the parts available for recycling. The car must be drivable upon trade-in, however the dealer is responsible for pouring sodium metasilicate into the engine before transport to a salvage yard. Sodium metasilicate, also known as "liquid glass," produces a sludge-like substance in the engine, destroying it, and making the vehicle non-drivable. The salt, sand & water based liquid is said to be harmful if inhaled and can cause severe irritation to eyes, skin and the respiratory tract.
Following the destruction of the car's engine, the salvage yard is required to crush the vehicle, leaving much of the cars parts nothing more than scrap metal. Engines and engine parts are big business for salvage yards and count on those parts to stay in business.
From WHSV, an ABC affiliate that investigated local salvage yard owners:
"If this program keeps running, we're not going to have used parts to sell. It's going to hurt us, and it's going to hurt the average everyday person," says Angela Ingram, of B & A Auto Parts.
Again, the Obama administration hasrushed through a piece of legislation and burdened the people with unintended consequences.
Time will tell if the CARS program was a good deal for the consumer, a profitable program for the car dealerships and a fair deal for the taxpayer (who now owns a large portion of GM). If you are interested in finding a dealer near you, click here.
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