Cash For Clunkers - This is what happens.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Eric.
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Omnis
Yes but it helps the automakers at everyone else's expense. There is no growth, only a reallocation at the very best. Yet it will always be a net loss for the economy as it takes resources to reallocate in the first place.

There is only an illusion of aid or growth, in accord with what Frederic Bastiat called that which is seen and that which is not seen.
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FoolKiller
I forgot you posted that. It's been five days.

Hopefully the Wiki article will be an easier read.
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Yeah, I probably should've linked the wiki at first. Funny how great minds think alike. :lol:
 
so what happens when people who can't really afford these cars get them repo'd? I guess then the economy's goes further down, cause they'll lose their jobs when they can't drive to work in their previously usable, now destroyed car.
 
Sniffs
A6: this is heartbeat country around here, big time. I've seen a LOT of t400's around here (and actually owned one for a month) around here, Pickups are used for their original purpose, ditto with the SUV's. the only cars I see belong to the Doctors and Lawyers, and they ain't Mercedes (i've seen mabey three Mercs), thy're more Mercurys!

this is why I was saying that there will be no used vehicles. I even had to tell the Amish that they were crushing the cars.

since Foolkiller seems to be looking at the thread, prepare for a good old arguing time.
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Should this post be directed to somebody else? Only discussion I remember between two of us is regarding the Aveo hatchbacks.

P.S. Who's going to argue with the FoolKiller? Looks like just about everyone's on the same page. :lol:
 
a6m5
Should this post be directed to somebody else? Only discussion I remember between two of us is regarding the Aveo hatchbacks.

P.S. Who's going to argue with the FoolKiller? Looks like just about everyone's on the same page. :lol:
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Yeah seriously.
 
TrievelA7X
so what happens when people who can't really afford these cars get them repo'd? I guess then the economy's goes further down, cause they'll lose their jobs when they can't drive to work in their previously usable, now destroyed car.
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Most of the automakers are still pretty stringent on their rules when it comes to giving out auto loans. Sure, Hyundai, GM, Ford (and others) will still back-up your loans in the event something "bad" happens... But that assumes you qualified for the loan in the first place. To put it plainly, your credit has to be in great shape to get money from them. Much less, your own bank.
 
a6: who said it was an argument AGAINST? FoolKiller is a great debater. and the reason I mentioned trucks is because this area would be majorly hurt by C4C if they take all the pickups out of circulation.

I'm just afraid that those of us who actually NEED the likes of a pickup or SUV will suddenly find there aren't any to be had.

if it actually wasCash for clunkers, instead of a dealership credit, I could get a decent used and increase my chances for getting hired at something more than a minimum wage job!
 
Sniffs
a6: who said it was an argument AGAINST? FoolKiller is a great debater.
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Ah. Point taken. 👍
Sniffs
and the reason I mentioned trucks is because this area would be majorly hurt by C4C if they take all the pickups out of circulation.

I'm just afraid that those of us who actually NEED the likes of a pickup or SUV will suddenly find there aren't any to be had.
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I most definitely see your concern. I'm sure the same exact concern has crossed over everyone's mind. I know it did mine. I just got confused, because we were talking about Aveo, then hatches, then..... I didn't know anymore. :lol:
Sniffs
if it actually wasCash for clunkers, instead of a dealership credit, I could get a decent used and increase my chances for getting hired at something more than a minimum wage job!
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I do hear you. Unfortunately, involvement of the new car dealership are the whole point of this bill. ;)
 
Sniffs
...the reason I mentioned trucks is because this area would be majorly hurt by C4C if they take all the pickups out of circulation.

I'm just afraid that those of us who actually NEED the likes of a pickup or SUV will suddenly find there aren't any to be had...
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While I totally understand what you're talking about, living in an area with 15+% unemployment leads to similar situations, you as well as others continue to assume that because people have the access to an extra $4500 credit at their local dealership that they will do it. As you've pointed out, a lot of people are flat broke where you are. So, how are they going to be able to trade in their older vehicle for a new one? I do understand what you're getting at, but I also think its fairly safe to assume that there are a lot of people who won't be trading in their older vehicles simply because they can't afford to.
 
God forbid the goverment giving $4,500 cash instead of a down payment credit. :rolleyes: Maybe some people just want the cash?
 
I figured they weren't rare rare, but I would think the nostalgic value would make it worth keeping. I don't know, I guess everybody has different views on cars.
 
The BiTurbo may not be worth much in terms of monetary value or whatnot but this is:

CFC-Typhoon-front1.jpg

DSC08538.jpg


OMG, a Typhoon?! Is the owner a F'ing RETARD?!?! That is most CERTAINLY worth more than $3,500-4,500! EVEN IN THAT SHAPE! MY GOD there were ONLY 4697 of them even made! This hurts as an auto enthusiast. :(

Case in point! 150k miles

300k miles.
 
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Wow, how clueless must you be to get rid of a Ty for $4,500...unless of course the whole thing was shot. A guy in high school had one and he destroyed it, motor, trans, everything. I still think he made a decent amount parting it out though.
 
I imagine you could probably sell the intake and related bits for close to 4500 by themselves. I'm surprised the dealer didn't just take it at book value and give the guy the money.
 
http://blog.caranddriver.com/cash-f...rs-but-there’s-hope-or-a-syclone-saved/

But all is not lost—or at least this particular Syclone. Much to my relief, I can report that the Syclone has been saved thanks to the work of a few SyTy.net forum members. Board members were able to track the truck down and someone purchased it from the dealer before the government death certificate was filed. Dealers apparently have the option of selling clunker trade-ins (assuming they receive an offer that bests the $3500 or $4500 put up by the government) before they file the rebate papers.
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OOOOOOH! Now that makes things interesting. Problem is most dealership employees--especially sales people--are ignorant about what vehicles are ACTUALLY worth. A Typhoon/Cyclone are so rare that only an absolute IDIOT would junk one. Even WITHOUT THE ENGINE the vehicle is worth $5,000 JUST IN PARTS ALONE.

If that Cyclone would of bit the dust that would be even worse as there were less than 3,000 of them made.

In a similar save-the-clunkers vein, we’ve also heard reports of other rebate-seekers gaming the system in an attempt to save valuable performance engines. For example, some are turning in Mustangs with their original V-8 engines swapped out for four-cylinders to take advantage of the car’s original bad fuel economy while keeping the guzzling (and powerful) V-8 engine for themselves. This totally circumvents the government’s vision of getting inefficient “clunker” powertrains off the streets, but if these reports are true and even one sweet, sweet V-8 is saved, kudos to those taking advantage of the loophole. Nothing that we’ve read in the government guidelines says that the vehicle must be equipped with its stock powertrain, only that what’s being turned in, or something fitting its general description, got poor gas mileage when new.
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AWSOME! Good for them.
 
Even if there wasn't something saying the dealers could do that, I'm sure there would have been a lot of them seeing a car worth more that $4500 and simply handing the customer that much cash and putting the thing right back up for sale for more. It only makes sense.
 
Dealers would face big time fines if they tried to resell a car traded in for the CFC program.

In other news, the CFC program has run out of gas again. Dealers nationwide have stopped participating in CFC because they haven't recieved any payment from the government.
 
Adamgp
Dealers would face big time fines if they tried to resell a car traded in for the CFC program.
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But if a customer brought in a car for C4C that was worth more than $4500, there's nothing stopping the dealer from saying they'd take the thing in as a $4500 trade.

In other news, the CFC program has run out of gas again. Dealers nationwide have stopped participating in CFC because they haven't recieved any payment from the government.
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I had also heard that they were going to shut it down at 8:00 on Monday because they're out of money.
 
C4C ends on Monday, August 24 at 8PM EST. The DOT is pretty sure we're close to hitting the $3 Billion ceiling, so once its done, its done. It has nothing to do with the checks.

While some dealers haven't received their checks for the cars, they're coming. The DOT added 1000 people to the payroll to help process the paperwork ASAP, in addition to offering overtime during the entire process. As I understand it, GM is backing up the C4C cash until it comes in (if the dealer wants/needs it). But, if you want a car through the C4C program, you better get in line. Dealers will be busy this weekend with last-minute sales. Well, assuming they have cars to sell you. I stopped by the local Ford dealer today and they're out of cars. I mean, they have a couple of Fusions and Mustangs, but they're out of cars. They had one Focus on the lot, roughly a 1/4 of their typical Mazda 3 stock, and that was it. Four Fusions, two or three Tauruses (one an SHO), and that was that.
 
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Wouldn't C4C money apply to orders too? Going to the dealer to fill out an order form and have the car built how you want it is still buying a new car. So it makes sense that that would still be an option, even if there are zero cars still on the lot.
 
I'm fairly sure, yes. But, you understand how fickle consumers can be over the issue. They don't want to wait if they don't have to. Considering that Fox Ford managed to get rid of at least 3/4 of their overall inventory (Ford & Mazda), which normally consists of fully-loaded garbage, that's an impressive feat.
 
That's actually pretty surprising to me. For all I'm concerned, the only real reason to buy a new car is so that you have the ability to customize it exactly how you want it. So I'd for sure wait for a few weeks in order to get exactly what I wanted with everything I want and nothing I don't. But maybe Americans are still stuck on getting as much as they possibly can so everybody still buys loaded cars.

I'm wondering how most cars were optioned out from the program. I would actually think that most cars would be strippers because the people trading these cars in probably wouldn't have the money for a pricey car.
 
JCE
The BiTurbo may not be worth much in terms of monetary value or whatnot but this is:

CFC-Typhoon-front1.jpg

DSC08538.jpg


OMG, a Typhoon?! Is the owner a F'ing RETARD?!?! That is most CERTAINLY worth more than $3,500-4,500! EVEN IN THAT SHAPE! MY GOD there were ONLY 4697 of them even made! This hurts as an auto enthusiast. :(

Case in point! 150k miles

300k miles.
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You got to be kidding me... just what did he get is the question? --- Randy
 

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