"Great. NOW the government acts fast!" Topic

I've been planning on taking advantage of the Federal "Cars for Cash" program which started up last week. My '89 Cadillac isn't going to be worth $3,500 USD again for another 30 years (if then). I've been doing a little shopping, and we're down to a Chrysler PT (Chrysler is doubling the government's money) a Toyota Matrix, and perhaps a Kia Rio. All come within our budget and the credit union has very good rates.

And then, last night they announce that they're ending it at midnite due to overwhelming success.

Of course, this morning that was pushed back to the end of the weekend.

I'd really rather not rush into a car purchase but, as none of my options are bad, I may have to expedite things a wee bit.

Wyatt

I guess push on through then.

It is kind of amazing that people are surprised that this program was such a "success." Is it really hard to believe that people will come out of the woodwork for free money?

I always sell off my Good stuff too soon.
I sold SPI's "The Conquerors" at a flea market for $10, and my 1982 Dodge Aries was a trade in.
Heck, the K car probably would not have qualified. Wikipedia said it got 24mpg, which is a triumph of hype over reality.

"If they can't administer a program like this, I'd be a little concerned about my health insurance,"

We just used the British version of the scheme to trade in my son's old car. We get the new one, he gets ours.
I must reset the fuel consumption display to show an average for the journey. At the moment it's on an instantaneous readout. Very disconcerting when you ease off and the display jumps from 41.3 mpg to 999 mpg.

Picture of the day:
link

Loved my Ares wagon. My 1st car. It had a Mitsubishi hemi engine it. Great car. Got it used off my grandparents, who lived in the Poconos and never washed the car unless they had to. Rusted the frame. Ergh! Anyhoo…

We have a 95 Nissan Sentra and need to get a new car. No dice. Not honored for that car. :-(

I've seen several versions of dealers doing the "car in the dumpster" bit. The most impressive was a pair of Suburban-sized SUV's sticking out of one.

My Caddy has the full-up engine data display so you can check average MPG, instant MPG, amount of fuel used, range, etc. Very nice stuff. However, GM couldn't seem to be inclined to put in a setting for "vent" on the climate control console. Even if your interior and exterior temperatures are the same, it still wants to run the air conditioning. The car isn't a bad vehicle – it just hit 77,777 miles – but it is old and parts and seals are failing. I just put $600 USD into getting the ignition rebuilt and then the transmission starts to hide fluid somewhere.

I'd heard – somewhere – that this plan was based on the very successful German program.

Wyatt

I hate these 'scrappage' schemes. Perfectly good cars being crushed – where is the sense in that?

I especially hate it when they try to justify it by saying it is 'green'. Yes, of course – save the planet by chucking stuff away!!!

If the car industry needs business that bad, if you walk into a showroom and ask for a massive discount you will get it anyway.

I'd be for it if I 1) had a clunker with stinky milage and 2) thought that the money to pay for the program grew on trees. As it is, I have cars with decent MPG (because it's cheaper to get around) so no soup for me.

The same scheme is running n the Netherlands as well. Car has to have been registered in your name for something like 6 months, and in running order. I think the bonus is €1,000.00 EUR but several brands double that. Our car would qualify, I guess, but our bank account doesn't.

"I especially hate it when they try to justify it by saying it is 'green'. Yes, of course – save the planet by chucking stuff away!!!"

I completely agree. Do you nkow how much energy you need to build a new car? A lot!

My car isn't that old – 2003, however, I'm going to run the thing into the ground. It might not get good mileage, but I rarely drive the thing anyway. So, here's to the purchase of a green vehicle in 2019! (god willing)

I was in the midst of trying to get on the bandwagon with this scheme, supposed to go sign on a new car Monday. I guess I will wait for the rounnd two the president was talking about this morning.

I think the money ran out when they realized people were buying Japanese and Korean cars instead of those from Detroit.

Most Japanese cars sold in the US are made in the US.
However, NOT by the UAW, which may be the real sticking point.

Stay away from the PT Cruiser; when we were looking at a used car, we were stunned to learn how much these things drop in value in a single year compared to other models in their class. We could only conclude there is something seriously wrong with those cars.

Of the three, go with the Matrix. It was one of our top picks, based on reliability, fuel economy and price. It's highly recommended by Consumer Reports, too. (The PT Cruiser got pretty much panned, and has been discontinued.) We ended up getting a 2006 Honda CRV because we wanted more cargo space and liked that the safety ratings (it's a great car, too). But the Matrix is still a sweet little machine.

Oh, and take a look at a used Pontiac Vibe— it's the same working guts as a Matrix; only the body panels and interior style are different.

We already have a PT Cruiser – an 04 with Turbo – so it is pretty much a known quality. Interestingly enough is that all three cars we own; the Cadillac, the PT and my son's Ford Exploder all get the same mileage.

I'm going to check whether Toyota is indeed offering $4K for GM product trade-ins and that might decide things.

The Honda Fit was on the list until I found out that it was pretty universally panned as "the vehicle Honda got wrong." Used cars don't qualify – else I'd be down at the Hertz used car dealership picking up yet another discounted vehicle.

Wyatt

Bought a Toyota Venza his week, designed in Ann Arbor, MI, built in Kentucky.

We have a Matrix (a 2004) and it is getting passed to son #1 as soon as he decides to become a contributing member of society, get a job and move the heck out. The car has been trouble free, and is a great little car.

Having said that, I just bought a '81 'Vette two weeks ago. I figure with all you 'going green' some one needs a loud emission spewing gas guzzling tire spinning V8 hot rod so you can feel smug. It will most likely get handed off to son #2 when he graduates next year. The wife's '08 'Vette gets almost 24 MPG on the highway but just does not have the ROOAARRRRR of the older one.

They've extended the program, with another $2 USD billion.

It's a good program for the relatively small number of consumers that fit the requirements.

It's not really being done primarily for "green" reasons, but as an economic spur for the auto industry.

Stay away from the PT Cruiser; when we were looking at a used car, we were stunned to learn how much these things drop in value in a single year compared to other models in their class. We could only conclude there is something seriously wrong with those cars.

That's a false logic. Resale values are primarily based upon supply and popularity, and don't matter even a little unless you're planning to sell the car shortly after you buy it. There are plenty of perfectly good cars that depreciate rapidly.

Not only that, but rapid depreciation is actually something of a boon, since your taxes decline faster.
-Kle.

"If the car industry needs business that bad, if you walk into a showroom and ask for a massive discount you will get it anyway"

Very true. We traded in my wife's 1995 Toyota Camry on a used 2008 Mazda Tribute four months ago. They're so desprate to sell that we knocked the price from $18,000 down to $12,000 and got them to throw in a discounted extended warranty.

The dealership was hedging on the extended warranty so I told them, "If you won't throw the warranty in for free that tells me you have no faith in your product." (It was a Mazda dealership). The thing is you have to be prepared to walk away from the deal. When they were hemming and hawing over the warranty I told them thanks, but that's a deal breaker and walked out. They called me 2 hours later and offered the warranty at 75% off.

'We just used the British version of the scheme to trade in my son's old car. We get the new one, he gets ours. '

How?

I thought the purpose of these deals was to SCRAP the old car, not pass it on to the next generation.

How?

They trade in their son's old car.
They get the new car.
Their son gets their old car…
-Kle.

They sold those PT Cruisers in Britain. We had some at work a couple of years ago. What a piece of cheap, shoddy, inert crap!

What a piece of cheap, shoddy, inert crap!

You may rest assured that we feel the same way about most European mass-market cars, too.
-Kle.

I never claimed most of them were any better. Most stuff from the French car makers fall apart as soon as you look at them!

Been reading the monthly increase in the number of trade-ins due to the program is 45,000 more cars, making the monthly trade ins 245,000 vice the historically trended 200,000.

The real cost of the program is in the increase in trades it has yielded; that additional 45,000 cars. $1.03B for 45,000 cars. Program has cost taxpayers $22,000+ dollars per car traded-in over the historically trended.

And yes, I realize that "historically trended" is kind of fishy in this economy – but no matter how you slice it, it's an extreme waste of tax dollars.

And now it's been infused with even more of my unborn grandkids debt.