Cash for Clunkers - why does congress hate me ?

[NC-36]

So the "cash for clunkers" supplemental passed, making up to $4500 available if you trade in your old POS for a shiny new car.

My Pontiac Bonneville would be a perfect candidate, except it's an '81 model and they're giving out vouchers for cars only going back to 1984.

So my 28-year-old POS is just slightly too old a POS to get rid of ? Can someone explain to me the reasoning behind a 25 year cut-off date ? It seems to me that the older the car the more eager they would be to get it off the road.

I want to be a good consumer. I want to help stimulate the economy by buying a new car. So I ask - why does congress hate me ?

[Tsar Chasm]

Hit the junk yard and pick up a 1984 pontiac bonneville for $350 and trade that in.

[Mordred]

Originally Posted by Tsar Chasm

Hit the junk yard and pick up a 1984 pontiac bonneville for $350 and trade that in.

If you can actually do that (i.e. nothing about having to own the car for a period of time prior) then I'm guessing the junkyard value for cars like that has jumped significantly.

[parrotheads4]

Once a car hits it's 25 year birthday it is considered "Vintage".

[Heat]

The new program is really faulty - it is rewarding bad behavior, the buying of a gas guzzler in years past. If you have an old, but fuel efficient car and are buying a similar car you are out of luck.

Oh well.

[Birrman54]

we need to give that money to people who bought SUVs in the 90s

[calhoun07]

Originally Posted by Heat

The new program is really faulty - it is rewarding bad behavior, the buying of a gas guzzler in years past. If you have an old, but fuel efficient car and are buying a similar car you are out of luck.

Oh well.

Right. What if I want to upgrade my car? I drive a small sub compact car. What if I wanted to upgrade to a hybrid? Where's my tax credit?

I don't know if it's bad behavior that some people have driven old inefficient cars for so long, but it certainly does nothing to encourage those of us who want to upgrade to a hybrid and could benefit with a credit like this to help us make the purchase happen.

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by Heat

The new program is really faulty - it is rewarding bad behavior, the buying of a gas guzzler in years past. If you have an old, but fuel efficient car and are buying a similar car you are out of luck.

Oh well.

Much like many of the govt. programs. The problem is that it's the people with bad behavior that are screwing the economy.

Same can be said for the people who are getting help to stay in their homes... people who were more responsible or a little less underwater get no help.

[jonw9]

Originally Posted by Tsar Chasm

Hit the junk yard and pick up a 1984 pontiac bonneville for $350 and trade that in.

The FAQ i read indicated the car must be drivable, and owned for 1 year.

This isn't for sure yet, until the final bill is passed.

[asabase]

Originally Posted by calhoun07

Right. What if I want to upgrade my car? I drive a small sub compact car. What if I wanted to upgrade to a hybrid? Where's my tax credit?

I don't know if it's bad behavior that some people have driven old inefficient cars for so long, but it certainly does nothing to encourage those of us who want to upgrade to a hybrid and could benefit with a credit like this to help us make the purchase happen.

There have been tax credits for hybrids for a while now. Toyota already used up their quota though.

[NC-36]

Originally Posted by jonw9

The FAQ i read indicated the car must be drivable, and owned for 1 year.

This isn't for sure yet, until the final bill is passed.

The bill was passed by both houses yesterday. All it needs is Obama's signature.

And yeah, the trade-in has to be drivable and have proof of insurance for at least a year.

[collven]

My niece drives a '94 Thunderbird. My sister and I were thinking about chipping in and helping her get a new car this summer. Unfortunately, according to the government's website, the T-bird gets a combined 19 mpg. The cutoff is 18 mpg on cars. There's no way her car gets 19 mpg. Oh well.

[Heat]

Here's some more information on how it works. I didn't realize that the car to be traded in had to have a combined mileage of 18 mpg or less.

While the program is supposed to run July 1 through November 1, The U.S. Department of Transportation has 30 days to set regulations for the program — including how dealers should crush, shred or otherwise dispose of traded-in clunkers — after it gets Obama’s signature. Legislators, however, have laid out the basic framework. Here’s how it works:

Clunkers, Defined: You can only trade in drivable vehicles made in the last 25 years that have been continuously insured by the same owner for at least one year leading up to the trade in (so no junkyard finds or used cars bought to “flip”). Qualifying “clunkers” will have a fuel economy rating of no more than 18 MPG (combined city and highway ratings, which you can find on fueleconomy.gov).

How Much Cash?: New cars qualify only if they have a sticker price of $45,000 or less. So no Tesla Roadsters ($109,000), but a Toyota Prius ($22,000) could qualify, depending on your trade-in. And once the $1 billion appropriated for the program runs out (good for an estimated 250,000 vouchers), it’s over unless Congress extends the program.

Passenger Cars: New passenger cars will qualify under the program only if they have a fuel economy of at least 22 MPG. If the new model gets four more miles to the gallon than the old car, you qualify for the $3,500 credit. With a 10 MPG improvement or more, you can qualify for a $4,500 credit.

Trucks and SUVs: For light trucks, SUVs and minivans, the new vehicle has to get at least 18 MPG and can offer as little as a 2 MPG improvement over the old one to qualify for $3,500. With a minimum 5 MPG improvement, you can qualify for $4,500.

And yes, I don't really care for this legislation. Should have had a smaller voucher, maybe $2,000, and expanded the number of cars that are eligible. The goal should be to get the really old cars off of the road, the ones that are probably polluting the air too (not every place has emissions checks). Oh well. At least this latest giveaway is aimed at Americans and not some Arab country.

[Lee Harvey Oswald]

Is it city mpg or Highway mpg?

According to the fueleconomy.com website I'm either 17 or 18 mpg city. But the picture of the car they're showing is not the same model as my car.

Also from the article:
"Under the provision included in the legislation, all vehicles which are traded in must be scrapped."

^ My car still has retail value around $5000 so it's not a clunker. It can be resold. I was hoping I could sell/trade in my car and get the credit - doesn't look like I'll be able to do that.

Guess I'll just keep my car.

[collven]

It's combined mileage. If you click on the "compare" link, it should show you the combined mileage.

[DthRdrX]

Was hoping to dump a 1990 Dodge Shadow for a new car, but it get's 18/21 mpg.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by asabase

There have been tax credits for hybrids for a while now. Toyota already used up their quota though.

The fact there is a quota on these is idiotic.

[Mrs. Danger]

I want to get a good used car... but Nooooo... it has to be new one.

[jonw9]

Originally Posted by NC-36

The bill was passed by both houses yesterday. All it needs is Obama's signature.

And yeah, the trade-in has to be drivable and have proof of insurance for at least a year.

I figured without Obama's signature, the final bill hadn't actually been passed?

Either way, my vehicles don't qualify. Damn moderate MPG.

[LurkerDan]

I think my 94 Ford Ranger might qualify. But not sure I want a car payment when the Ranger runs just fine.

[DVD Polizei]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Danger

I want to get a good used car... but Nooooo... it has to be new one.

Exactly. $4500 doesn't even come close to the money I'll STILL save if I drive my POS car. I love not having payments, and yeah, I have to pay for repairs, but it's still better than paying $200 or more a month, having people wanting to steal it (I love the new Honda Civic/Accord (V6) and Mazda 3 and 6 (V6)), paying higher insurance rates, and on top of this, trying to keep the fucker clean from road debris and whatever else from ruining the paint job. Just ain't worth it.

How about car manufacturers lower their MSRP to used car prices and then I might bite. Otherwise, there's no fucking way I'm paying for a new car. New cars are for suckers and/or for those who make enough money they don't need to care about how much of their ass they lose.

[LurkerDan]

Which is exactly why this program is unlikely to cost nearly as much money as the detractors suggest (or have nearly the positive impact that the proponents suggest).

[JasonF]

Originally Posted by Heat

The new program is really faulty - it is rewarding bad behavior, the buying of a gas guzzler in years past. If you have an old, but fuel efficient car and are buying a similar car you are out of luck.

Oh well.

I oppose this policy because it's going to incentivize people to build time machines, travel to the past, and convince their prior selves to buy gas-guzzlers.

[wendersfan]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Danger

I want to get a good used car... but Nooooo... it has to be new one.

Well, duh. It's not going to do Ford or GM a lot of good if you buy a 2006 Taurus or a 2005 Tahoe.

[kvrdave]

I oppose this because it will be a slap in the face of GM when no one will use it to buy their crappy cars.