You may have heard the ads for the “Cash for Clunkers” and wondered why all of the dealerships are offering $4000.00 for used cars. “Clever” car ads withstanding, not a lot of noise was made after the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act (CARS) of 2009 was signed into law.
To prep for this blog post, I thought I could just go to the official CARS website and get all of the information I would need. It’s a very clean and simple site, but strangely, I didn’t really learn that much about the program. Odder still is that the site is programmed so that we, the consumer, are prevented from just simply printing the only useful information available. I tried to select and print the Important Things To Know section on the home page. I printed two blank pages. Now, it might just be me, but that doesn’t seem very green, does it? If you look carefully, you will see a small link that indicates you can download and print the information as a PDF.
Does this seem difficult to anyone else? After looking high and low, I came up with the following facts– Lets hope the kind folks at the Columbia Business Times might even let you print it:
How long does the program last? :
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The official CARS program kicked off on July 24, 2009, although you probably saw the Cash for Clunker ads as early as July 1st.
- The program will continue through November 1, 2009, or earlier, if the funds run out.
Who is eligible?:
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If your car gets less than 18 miles to the gallon (Important: This might have changed from the date you purchased your car. Go to: http://www.fueleconomy.gov to see what the current EPA miles per gallon is for your vehicle.)
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If you car is less than 25 years old on the date of the trade-in.
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If your car is in driving condition.
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If leasing, your lease must be at least five years old.
- Your vehicle needs to have four wheels, doors and windows — sorry, no motorcycles.
How much you can expect to get:
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This is dependent on the difference between the efficiency of your clunker and the new car you want to purchase.
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If the new car gets between 4-9 mpg better than the clunker, you’ll get $3,500.
- If the new car gets 10mpg or better than your junker, you’ll get $4,500.
So is this a good deal?
It is if you met the following requirements:
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If Sasquatch is envious of your carbon footprint. (Go for the Hybrid)
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If you’ve previously been laughed off the lot when you asked if your car is worth $4,500. (It doesn’t matter if it is!)
- If you were planning on purchasing a new car any way.
Categories: Business, Consumer Interest, Sales.
I ordered a Prius and am using my 1986 Volvo Turbo 740 station wagon as the cash for clunkers trade-in. (my son’s not happy about it-he’s grown fond of the clunker) My wife sent in the VIN this morning. It’s worth 500-1,000 dollars, so it’s a pretty good deal. I’ll send another post when the deal is done (or not done, if it doesn’t work as expected)