This IMO is the smart and sensible way to do these transactions.
It takes all the emotionalism and sense of agita out of the process. If there's any doubt about qualifications or paperwork simply allow the process to go forward, then complete the transaction.
Why would you be mad at anyone? The rules were finalized on Monday and your vehicle didn't make it. As long as there was a cutoff someplace somebody was going to be shutout.
It was the auto industry that wrote the rules. If you're angry then picket in front of GM or Ford or Toyota or Nissan. BTW this has nothing to do with anything 'green' except in the press. It was a bone thrown to the Greenies by the auto industry and the military and intelligence communities. By cloaking it in something green it hides the real secondary purpose. USE LESS FUEL, IMPROVE NATIONAL SECURITY.
You might also want to send a nasty email to the Pentagon or the NSA and complain about being shutout.
WHY DID OUR GOVERNMENT LET THIS PROGRAM RUN THE WAY IT DID.? THE CASH FOR CLUNKERS PROGRAM SHOULD BE FOR DOMESTIC CARS ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FORD HAS A LOT OF CARS THAT BEAT TOYOTA AND HONDA ON GAS MILEAGE AND QUALITY. MAYBE WE SHOULD OUT SOURCE THE GOVERNMENT TO INDIA JUST LIKE THEY ARE DOING WITH OUR JOBS..
Looks like you're a victim of CARS... the dealerships are jacking up the prices because of the CARS rebates from the government; since you can't take advantage, you get hosed. It also doesn't help you're trying to buy in July (the first month of a quarter) when dealerships aren't as eager to sell as they were, for example, in June, or will be again in September, to meet their quarterly sales goals. Best advice: If you have to buy NOW, start talking with the $17500 dealer; it's NOT a particularly good deal, but at least it's a start. You're probably paying about $16100-16200 for the car, plus Taxes, Tags, and Title (bringing the price to the $17500). Realistically, you can do a bit better, but it depends on how long you want to wait. If you wait until late September, rebates should be larger, and dealers more motivated, and you might be able to get out for $16500 or even less OTD; I did in May, without a trade in, though it was with Virginia taxes, not MA.
Exactly.
CARS is really screwing people over badly.
I will bet anyone here that you'll be able to get as good or a better deal 4-5 months after CARS expires, even without a clunker trade in, than you will now with one.
This doesn't just relate to Hyundai, but all manufacturers and dealers.
I love how the manufacturers are advertising the highest CARS rebate as if it's something everyone qualifies for, too, to get to a really low advertised price, when in reality, very few people will qualify for the $3,500 or $4,500 rebates.
This whole sordid mess is only getting more people into the showrooms with false expectations, and for those buying, they're getting screwed for the most part, especially if they're trading in a qualifying clunker that has a used car value of more than a grand (and especially more than two grand).
Worst program ever, allowing dealers and manufacturers to essentially get more customers in the door, and for those who do have qualifying clunkers, the dealer and manufacturer pocket most of the 3,500 or 4,500 rebate because of the lowered manufacturer and dealer rebates and incentives.
THE CASH FOR CLUNKERS PROGRAM SHOULD BE FOR DOMESTIC CARS ONLY
It does make you wonder about the agenda of our Congress. They should have done the same thing they did with the hybrid program. When a maker reaches a certain level the giveaway ends. Giving a tax credit is fair way to go. Then you are returning the tax dollars to the people that pay taxes, you and I. As some here like to believe, the rules of this program were NOT written by GM, Ford, etc. Congress handed the concept to the agencies. They have muddled through making more people angry than happy with their changing mileage calculations and purchase criteria. Will the dealers get paid in a timely manner? That is also doubtful. So a month from now the dealer calls the purchaser to tell him he missed the cutoff and is on the hook for an additional $4500 or the deal is off.
This whole sordid mess is only getting more people into the showrooms with false expectations, and for those buying, they're getting screwed for the most part, especially if they're trading in a qualifying clunker that has a used car value of more than a grand (and especially more than two grand).
Worst program ever, allowing dealers and manufacturers to essentially get more customers in the door, and for those who do have qualifying clunkers, the dealer and manufacturer pocket most of the 3,500 or 4,500 rebate because of the lowered manufacturer and dealer rebates and incentives.
Lots of people going to dealerships looking to buy vehicles??? BINGO. Program is a success. Dealerships and automakers generating additional profits???? BINGO. Program is doing exactly what it was written to do.
Again for the hundredth time herein. This legislation was written by and for the auto industry to stimulate volume and generate additional revenue and profits. It's working perfectly if your comments are true. You personally have the choice of participating or not. It's completely voluntary.
Will the dealers get paid in a timely manner? That is also doubtful.
I think they probably will get paid in a timely manner. The first few might take a little longer. The federal government has a pretty good system for distributing payment. I work for a non profit and we were recipients of a federal grant where we had to submit vouchers as we spent the money. The paperwork was daunting, but once we had our ducks in a row, payment came quickly (it's all electronic...submission and transfer of funds).
Just another example of our government's efficiency. Just wait and see what they will do with healthcare! (Have you ever had to deal with Medicaid, Workman's Comp, the INS, or the IRS!!!
So I thought this program was all about getting old, polluting, gas guzzlers off the road for newer, higher MPG vehicles but why all the restrictions? Under this program if you own a 1990 passenger car that gets 12 mpg and I want to "upgrade" to a class 2 p/u that gets 20mpg you can't. Secondly, they have put the full size suburban in the Class 1 category w/ the explorers and mini vans when it is basically the same engine, drive train, frame etc of a 1/2 ton chevy pickup, which is a class 2. So again, if you have a suburban that you use like a truck that get 13 mpg, you can't upgrade to a new p/u that gets 20mpg. makes no sense, and by the way, this legislation is 130 + pages long and actually admits sveral times that the program was 'rushed" thru and they didn't really have time to sort out the details or do their due diligence. Seems to me a govermrnt norm these days. heck, I think my golfing buddies and I could have cut this down to 10 pages over a weekend and been simpler and more effective
Just another example of our government's efficiency. Just wait and see what they will do with healthcare! (Have you ever had to deal with Medicaid, Workman's Comp, the INS, or the IRS!!!
Again, I feel the government is very efficient at releasing funds that are due. Ever receive a tax refund...way faster with the federal than our NYS. How about the stimulus checks that the governement decided to send out under the Bush administration? Fast and easy. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I don't feel that our federal government is all that bad at distributing payment...NYS is another story! Healthcare...I wouldn't touch that one with a 10 foot pole!
so far nobody has explained how they could legally do that without any kind of initial provision
I would read the fine print on your contract with the dealer. At least a couple of our sales people have told us their dealerships have a clause that protects them if the deal falls through with the Feds.
I will bet anyone here that you'll be able to get as good or a better deal 4-5 months after CARS expires, even without a clunker trade in, than you will now with one.
I have to say, I'm very pleased with the deal that we received. It's several hundred dollars lower than the Edmunds TMV "what are others paying". If people either started early working their clunker deals or have extreme patience doing it now, they should come out ok. Dealers are still in competition. Do not be at their mercy clunker traders.
Serves us right for stepping up in January and buying something. We really didn't need to buy, but we liked the '09 Mazda 3.
We got a very nice deal, but the subsequent CFC, combined with writing off the sales tax screwed over those who helped out earlier this year.
What a crock. We had a'95 Nissan Pathfinder that qualified perfectly, but sold that two months ago privately for $1000.
Do we like the '09? Yeah. It's great. Are they jacking up prices on the '10s? Probably, but we would not even mention the CFC portion until we ironed out the deal. Are there some sour grapes? You bet. If we include the tax write-off, we could've saved almost 5K on a '10.
You personally have the choice of participating or not. It's completely voluntary.
This is only partially true. As a taxpayer, my participation was mandatory.
Don't get me wrong - I'm happy for dealerships that are making money and sales due to this program. I'm happy for consumers who are getting good deals. But I personally believe that this is only "frontloading" sales that would've happened eventually - meaning, when this program ends, will auto sales come to a screeching halt?
I'm also terribly disappointed with the way the program was written and is run by the government. I rarely blog, but I did on this one: Deception is 9/10 of the Law
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name. 2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h) Review your vehicle
I have the same kind of deal as you. I called the dealership to find out if the paperwork had been put through yet since I still do not see them on the cars.gov dealership list. After talking to different people there I'm told that they have not yet received their official account code from gov to start processing deals. I would like to find out if other dealers are having this problem and what is the delay by nhtsa.
But I personally believe that this is only "frontloading" sales that would've happened eventually - meaning, when this program ends, will auto sales come to a screeching halt?
Ding, ding, ding .... we have a winner!
Same thing happened after 9/11 --- our president wanted all of us to get out and spend money, so GM started their "Get America Rolling" promotion, or something similar, with 0% financing. Other manufacturers jumped on board as well. Car sales went through the roof.
But, when the incentives ended, sales took a nose dive. Many of these sales were to people who would have bought anyway, but did it early to take advantage of the deals being offered.
I see the same thing happening here - yes, there will be a nice bump in the sales numbers for the next few months, but I don't think we're going to see the sales pace return to 15+ million sales per year for quite some time.
The financial person that we met with at our dealership on Monday said that we were the 2nd at their dealership to be approved. He said that he was able to go into the system, put all of the information in on our trade and once it came back approved he was able to complete the deal. It sounded to me like they would not do anything until that happend. My husband was all hot under the collar thinking they were jerking us around because they originally said we could pick the car up on Friday, then moved it to Saturday, then the said Monday if they had everything in order. I'm just glad that we went with the larger dealership, they really seemed to have it together.
I think the most important factor of this program is how to determine the eligibility of a clunker. This should be very obvious even *before* the program is signed into law. I just don't understand how the people in charge of this program can be so insensitive in knowing this.
Let's consider this scenario: a person commits a crime and the law says he should get a life in prison punishment. After the person serves one year in prison, the court detects a mistake in his sentencing and now he will get a death penalty. Is this fair to the person?
I have to say, I'm very pleased with the deal that we received. It's several hundred dollars lower than the Edmunds TMV "what are others paying". If people either started early working their clunker deals or have extreme patience doing it now, they should come out ok. Dealers are still in competition. Do not be at their mercy clunker traders.
I also got a great deal but, this is because we have dealers in competition with eachother. In many smaller or rural towns there is only one dealer and they have to travel hundreds of miles to find another dealership. The internet might work for them, but they would have to get their clunkers to the better priced dealers who are located far away. Competition isn't always possible.
I do think this program is making a lot of people buy that either wouldn't have, or wouldnt have bought new atleast. Until my vehicle was disqualified, I was planning on dropping 20k or so on a new car. I just purchased a used truck last month so I had no intentions of purchasing a new car as well. I had sworn I would never waste the money buying new, but the extra 3500-4500 off with a vehicle I was going to scrap for a few hundred bucks was a clincher.
Will I be buying a new car now- absolutely not. It will be interesting to see what happens to the used car market now. This program should have more people who would have normally purchased used vehicles buying new, and should leave used dealers with a lot of stale inventory and with new cars selling cheaper it should drive down the value of used cars even more. So maybe come September and the end of the sales quarter between leftovers and used cars, as others predicted, maybe i'll get an even better deal than I would have now...
If the couple is still married how does it matter? The wife can become a co-owner if she wants.But-Any specific reason why the wife wants to have it specifically in her name when her hubby automatically qualifies for the CFC program?
I think the best deals out there with CFC right now is to buy ant Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge vehicles.They have rebates upto 4500 in addition to the 4500 clunker.So that`s a total 9000 off on a new car. And Dodge cars sell for invoice or less and hence are a screaming bargain right now with dealers desperate to unload 09 and 08 cars. Toyota and Honda sealers would want more than invoice for their cars.Hence less of a bargain. So for example, you can get a 16k Dodge for 16k-9k=7k depending on the vehicle you select.That`s a heck of a deal.I would never buy any domestic new as they depreciate horribly,but this offer from Dodge could be too good to pass for a lot of folks. Just MHO.
DO NOT USE THE "ELIGIBLE VEHICLE LIST" ON EDMUNDS.COM FOR CHECKING CATEGORY OF NEW VEHICLE. THEY LIST THE 2009 GMC CANYON WITH THE 5 CYLINDER AS A CATEGORY 2 TRUCK...IT IS NOT, AS PER THE CARS.GOV SITE. ONLY USE THE CARS SITE...THANKS EDMUNDS!
Not so sure about the comment above on Honda. I bought an EX AWD 09 Element (or in the process, still waiting for CARS to come back with approval) for $100 less than the Edmunds TMV. I basically told the salesperson I hate negotiating, so give me a real offer and that I was deciding between three dealers. No problem. Visiting with the salesperson and GM afterwards, they indicated they had lots of the Insight Hybrids that they were hoping to unload under the program, as they bought a ton and they haven't been moving due to cramped rear seat.
The dealer submitted my paperwork in the system yesterday (gather the system crashed on Monday afternoon, and it took them five hours to get the first deal into the system. They've been really great about the process, but final delivery is held up until they know that it's going through and approved. Be nice if there were some real info as to how many deals have been submitted, if it looks like there's enough funding for a while, etc. Hoping to take delivery by Saturday before I go on vacation.
After this ends, in addition to the sales drop off due to "front loading", many potential buyer will wait around to see if there is going to be a C4C II. Just like many buying now have been waiting months to see if there would be a program and what it would actually end up being.
I agree with the Chrysler being a good deal no matter what the dealers pull. $9000 off MSRP ain't bad. You can "force" them to give a btter deal by buying their newspaper ad vehicles or bringing in a "discount coupon" you get off the internet. I had one for $250.00. The $9250 was easy without ANY bickering. Bought a different vehicle so I never found out how low they would go but it was a good start no matter what crap the dealer pulls.
You will more likely get ripped off IF you won't compromise on what you want. If you are dead set on a Rav4 or CRV and won't consider the others, you will most likely pay more. Facts of life.
But I personally believe that this is only "frontloading" sales that would've happened eventually - meaning, when this program ends, will auto sales come to a screeching halt?
Same thing happened after 9/11 --- our president wanted all of us to get out and spend money, so GM started their "Get America Rolling" promotion, or something similar, with 0% financing. Other manufacturers jumped on board as well. Car sales went through the roof.
But, when the incentives ended, sales took a nose dive.
I would say this very different for two reasons: 1. current annual sales are around 9.5 million, FAR short of the 12 million attrittion rate in the U.S. That rate is also FAR FAR short of the post-9/11 sales rate. And...
2. the whole program will only authorize 250,000 vehicle sales, or 0.25 million. Not much compared to the replacement rate shortfall we are currently experiencing.
If they continue the program with further legislation and funding, and keep doing so ad infinitum, we may eventually (like the middle of next year) be pulling forward sales, but I don't think that's possible this calendar year.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
We were made aware of the new category parameters on Friday, 7/24. We immediately got to work and updated the categories for the vehicles and pushed the data to the site so that our Cash for Clunkers calculator would be correct. We are still updating some of the older pages that were download lists or files.
It has to be registered in the owner’s name for the 12 months before trade in. I can’t get cash for clunkers as put my Bronco which I owned since 1989 into my wife’s name in February to be able to transfer plates from her car that the engine failed. I saved sixty dollars and lost 4500.
Which is more American the Ford Fusion made in Mexico or the Honda Accord made in Ohio? I am going with the Honda as I don’t care where the profits go and feel the Honda represents more employed blue collar workers.
I have a perfect clunker which would get the full $4500. Having just bought a new car a month ago I don't need another one. However, my son could use a new vehicle.
So here's my thought. I turn my old POS truck in for the rebate and then immeadiatly gift the new car to my son.
The rules say you have to have owned the clunker for a year but I havn't seen anything requiring you to keep the new vehicle.
Any opinions? :confuse:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Right, but the two of you can buy a new car TOGETHER and still get the rebate. Only one of the buyers' names has to be on the title of the clunker.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name. 2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h) Review your vehicle
Doesn`t matter what you do after you buy.Infact a lot of people are doing the same thing--trading clunkers in ,getting new cars for their kids and then gifting them or you can even sell it to your kid back..[You sell it with your own check/cash ]
My deal was entered into the govt system on monday but is still listed as pending. Has anyone had, seen or heard of a transaction being approved by the cars system yet??
Worst program ever, allowing dealers and manufacturers to essentially get more customers in the door, and for those who do have qualifying clunkers, the dealer and manufacturer pocket most of the 3,500 or 4,500 rebate because of the lowered manufacturer and dealer rebates and incentives.
I can't speak for all brands but for the new car brands I sell on a regular basis(Volvo and Saab) all incentives either stayed the same between June and July or went up.
Saab stayed basically the same across the board.
Volvo more then doubled some of their incentives. The S60 had only 3,000 or so dollars on it now it has 7,500 or 5,000 dollars. Every other vehicle went up by at least a few hundred dollars. All of the owner loyalty money stayed the same and some of the conquest cash that was limited to owners of certain brands became market allowance money that could be given to anyone.
In summary you don't know what you are talking about.
I haven't seen any evidence of manufacturers cutting back on incentives. They all seem to understand that this is a big opportunity to grab market share--which could translate into future sales as well as current sales.
On the other hand, there are a lot of anecdotes involving dealers who either offer less of a discount than they otherwise would, or try to nickel and dime C4C customers in other ways.
The main purpose of it is to help the automakers and dealers move iron. It's intended primarily to boost sales by about 10%. The law was created by the auto industry for its own purposes...sell more units....preferably profitable units.
The secondary purpose is to get 1 million old gas guzzlers off the roads and kill them. This is being driven by the 'quiet hand' of the US Govt.
Every other consideration is of minor consequence.
Yes as gagrice notes we have an addendum to the contract that states that if the conditions change or the documentation is incorrect or false then we have the right to recind the transaction and bring everything back to the conditions before the paperwork started.
All funds are returned, The trade is put back in the hands of the owner with the original tags on it. The title is returned to the original owner. The new vehicle is never delivered or is returned by the purchaser. All finance contracts are cancelled.
The buyer must sign this addendum or we will not go any further.
The original poster never said anything about dealers decreasing their discounts he just said rebates and manufacturer incentives. Those come from the factory not the dealer.
Well if the supply of certain new cars starts to try up then yes I can see dealers starting to offer smaller discounts. That is how supply and demand works. I can see some of the early dealers screwing up the scrap value thing as that really was confusing but I guess most of them have it figured out right now. I don't care about 100 or 200 bucks of scrap minus the 50 dollar fee but if someone wants 500 dollars scrap value on top of the C4C rebate I would most likely pass on the dea.
Of course the dealer keeps the 3500/4500 of should I say is reimbursed due to having given up initially for the customer. Is that any different then giving a rebate up then being reimbursed from the factory? Hyundai however has not lowered Incentive or Rebates but in some cases raised them. Chrysler LLC has agreed to match the $4500?? If anythying the manufactuer that lowers its incentives is only costing them business for those who dont have clunkers. Thats too bad. I personally do not like this program at all. Its the reason our household taxes are going up. And I dont even have a clunker.
Comments
It takes all the emotionalism and sense of agita out of the process. If there's any doubt about qualifications or paperwork simply allow the process to go forward, then complete the transaction.
It was the auto industry that wrote the rules. If you're angry then picket in front of GM or Ford or Toyota or Nissan. BTW this has nothing to do with anything 'green' except in the press. It was a bone thrown to the Greenies by the auto industry and the military and intelligence communities. By cloaking it in something green it hides the real secondary purpose. USE LESS FUEL, IMPROVE NATIONAL SECURITY.
You might also want to send a nasty email to the Pentagon or the NSA and complain about being shutout.
Exactly.
CARS is really screwing people over badly.
I will bet anyone here that you'll be able to get as good or a better deal 4-5 months after CARS expires, even without a clunker trade in, than you will now with one.
This doesn't just relate to Hyundai, but all manufacturers and dealers.
I love how the manufacturers are advertising the highest CARS rebate as if it's something everyone qualifies for, too, to get to a really low advertised price, when in reality, very few people will qualify for the $3,500 or $4,500 rebates.
This whole sordid mess is only getting more people into the showrooms with false expectations, and for those buying, they're getting screwed for the most part, especially if they're trading in a qualifying clunker that has a used car value of more than a grand (and especially more than two grand).
Worst program ever, allowing dealers and manufacturers to essentially get more customers in the door, and for those who do have qualifying clunkers, the dealer and manufacturer pocket most of the 3,500 or 4,500 rebate because of the lowered manufacturer and dealer rebates and incentives.
It does make you wonder about the agenda of our Congress. They should have done the same thing they did with the hybrid program. When a maker reaches a certain level the giveaway ends. Giving a tax credit is fair way to go. Then you are returning the tax dollars to the people that pay taxes, you and I. As some here like to believe, the rules of this program were NOT written by GM, Ford, etc. Congress handed the concept to the agencies. They have muddled through making more people angry than happy with their changing mileage calculations and purchase criteria. Will the dealers get paid in a timely manner? That is also doubtful. So a month from now the dealer calls the purchaser to tell him he missed the cutoff and is on the hook for an additional $4500 or the deal is off.
This whole sordid mess is only getting more people into the showrooms with false expectations, and for those buying, they're getting screwed for the most part, especially if they're trading in a qualifying clunker that has a used car value of more than a grand (and especially more than two grand).
Worst program ever, allowing dealers and manufacturers to essentially get more customers in the door, and for those who do have qualifying clunkers, the dealer and manufacturer pocket most of the 3,500 or 4,500 rebate because of the lowered manufacturer and dealer rebates and incentives.
Lots of people going to dealerships looking to buy vehicles??? BINGO. Program is a success. Dealerships and automakers generating additional profits???? BINGO. Program is doing exactly what it was written to do.
Again for the hundredth time herein. This legislation was written by and for the auto industry to stimulate volume and generate additional revenue and profits. It's working perfectly if your comments are true. You personally have the choice of participating or not. It's completely voluntary.
I think they probably will get paid in a timely manner. The first few might take a little longer. The federal government has a pretty good system for distributing payment. I work for a non profit and we were recipients of a federal grant where we had to submit vouchers as we spent the money. The paperwork was daunting, but once we had our ducks in a row, payment came quickly (it's all electronic...submission and transfer of funds).
so far nobody has explained how they could legally do that without any kind of initial provision
Again, I feel the government is very efficient at releasing funds that are due. Ever receive a tax refund...way faster with the federal than our NYS. How about the stimulus checks that the governement decided to send out under the Bush administration? Fast and easy. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I don't feel that our federal government is all that bad at distributing payment...NYS is another story! Healthcare...I wouldn't touch that one with a 10 foot pole!
I would read the fine print on your contract with the dealer. At least a couple of our sales people have told us their dealerships have a clause that protects them if the deal falls through with the Feds.
I will bet anyone here that you'll be able to get as good or a better deal 4-5 months after CARS expires, even without a clunker trade in, than you will now with one.
I have to say, I'm very pleased with the deal that we received. It's several hundred dollars lower than the Edmunds TMV "what are others paying". If people either started early working their clunker deals or have extreme patience doing it now, they should come out ok. Dealers are still in competition. Do not be at their mercy clunker traders.
We got a very nice deal, but the subsequent CFC, combined with writing off the sales tax screwed over those who helped out earlier this year.
What a crock. We had a'95 Nissan Pathfinder that qualified perfectly, but sold that two months ago privately for $1000.
Do we like the '09? Yeah. It's great. Are they jacking up prices on the '10s? Probably, but we would not even mention the CFC portion until we ironed out the deal. Are there some sour grapes? You bet. If we include the tax write-off, we could've saved almost 5K on a '10.
This is only partially true. As a taxpayer, my participation was mandatory.
Don't get me wrong - I'm happy for dealerships that are making money and sales due to this program. I'm happy for consumers who are getting good deals. But I personally believe that this is only "frontloading" sales that would've happened eventually - meaning, when this program ends, will auto sales come to a screeching halt?
I'm also terribly disappointed with the way the program was written and is run by the government. I rarely blog, but I did on this one:
Deception is 9/10 of the Law
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Ding, ding, ding .... we have a winner!
Same thing happened after 9/11 --- our president wanted all of us to get out and spend money, so GM started their "Get America Rolling" promotion, or something similar, with 0% financing. Other manufacturers jumped on board as well. Car sales went through the roof.
But, when the incentives ended, sales took a nose dive. Many of these sales were to people who would have bought anyway, but did it early to take advantage of the deals being offered.
I see the same thing happening here - yes, there will be a nice bump in the sales numbers for the next few months, but I don't think we're going to see the sales pace return to 15+ million sales per year for quite some time.
Let's consider this scenario: a person commits a crime and the law says he should get a life in prison punishment. After the person serves one year in prison, the court detects a mistake in his sentencing and now he will get a death penalty. Is this fair to the person?
I also got a great deal but, this is because we have dealers in competition with eachother. In many smaller or rural towns there is only one dealer and they have to travel hundreds of miles to find another dealership. The internet might work for them, but they would have to get their clunkers to the better priced dealers who are located far away. Competition isn't always possible.
Will I be buying a new car now- absolutely not. It will be interesting to see what happens to the used car market now. This program should have more people who would have normally purchased used vehicles buying new, and should leave used dealers with a lot of stale inventory and with new cars selling cheaper it should drive down the value of used cars even more. So maybe come September and the end of the sales quarter between leftovers and used cars, as others predicted, maybe i'll get an even better deal than I would have now...
The wife can become a co-owner if she wants.But-Any specific reason why the wife wants to have it specifically in her name when her hubby automatically qualifies for the CFC program?
And Dodge cars sell for invoice or less and hence are a screaming bargain right now with dealers desperate to unload 09 and 08 cars.
Toyota and Honda sealers would want more than invoice for their cars.Hence less of a bargain.
So for example, you can get a 16k Dodge for 16k-9k=7k depending on the vehicle you select.That`s a heck of a deal.I would never buy any domestic new as they depreciate horribly,but this offer from Dodge could be too good to pass for a lot of folks.
Just MHO.
The dealer submitted my paperwork in the system yesterday (gather the system crashed on Monday afternoon, and it took them five hours to get the first deal into the system. They've been really great about the process, but final delivery is held up until they know that it's going through and approved. Be nice if there were some real info as to how many deals have been submitted, if it looks like there's enough funding for a while, etc. Hoping to take delivery by Saturday before I go on vacation.
IMHO, EDMUNDS.COM should take down their own list to avoid adding more confusion for buyers.
You will more likely get ripped off IF you won't compromise on what you want. If you are dead set on a Rav4 or CRV and won't consider the others, you will most likely pay more. Facts of life.
Same thing happened after 9/11 --- our president wanted all of us to get out and spend money, so GM started their "Get America Rolling" promotion, or something similar, with 0% financing. Other manufacturers jumped on board as well. Car sales went through the roof.
But, when the incentives ended, sales took a nose dive.
I would say this very different for two reasons:
1. current annual sales are around 9.5 million, FAR short of the 12 million attrittion rate in the U.S. That rate is also FAR FAR short of the post-9/11 sales rate. And...
2. the whole program will only authorize 250,000 vehicle sales, or 0.25 million. Not much compared to the replacement rate shortfall we are currently experiencing.
If they continue the program with further legislation and funding, and keep doing so ad infinitum, we may eventually (like the middle of next year) be pulling forward sales, but I don't think that's possible this calendar year.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
So here's my thought. I turn my old POS truck in for the rebate and then immeadiatly gift the new car to my son.
The rules say you have to have owned the clunker for a year but I havn't seen anything requiring you to keep the new vehicle.
Any opinions? :confuse:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Has anyone had, seen or heard of a transaction being approved by the cars system yet??
joe
I can't speak for all brands but for the new car brands I sell on a regular basis(Volvo and Saab) all incentives either stayed the same between June and July or went up.
Saab stayed basically the same across the board.
Volvo more then doubled some of their incentives. The S60 had only 3,000 or so dollars on it now it has 7,500 or 5,000 dollars. Every other vehicle went up by at least a few hundred dollars. All of the owner loyalty money stayed the same and some of the conquest cash that was limited to owners of certain brands became market allowance money that could be given to anyone.
In summary you don't know what you are talking about.
On the other hand, there are a lot of anecdotes involving dealers who either offer less of a discount than they otherwise would, or try to nickel and dime C4C customers in other ways.
The main purpose of it is to help the automakers and dealers move iron. It's intended primarily to boost sales by about 10%. The law was created by the auto industry for its own purposes...sell more units....preferably profitable units.
The secondary purpose is to get 1 million old gas guzzlers off the roads and kill them. This is being driven by the 'quiet hand' of the US Govt.
Every other consideration is of minor consequence.
All funds are returned,
The trade is put back in the hands of the owner with the original tags on it.
The title is returned to the original owner.
The new vehicle is never delivered or is returned by the purchaser.
All finance contracts are cancelled.
The buyer must sign this addendum or we will not go any further.
Well if the supply of certain new cars starts to try up then yes I can see dealers starting to offer smaller discounts. That is how supply and demand works. I can see some of the early dealers screwing up the scrap value thing as that really was confusing but I guess most of them have it figured out right now. I don't care about 100 or 200 bucks of scrap minus the 50 dollar fee but if someone wants 500 dollars scrap value on top of the C4C rebate I would most likely pass on the dea.