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What response did you get when you called the hotline?
The clunkers traded in had to have been driven enough to justify paying insurance premiums during the past 12 months. Would you insure a car that you don't drive?
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Take your guess anywhere from under $1B to over $10B - winner gets a free clunker!
Depends. I can add extra cars to my policy all day long for about $300 yearly apiece, as long as it's liability-only. I'm sure there are people who pay less than that. I'm sure to many people, $300 per year isn't much for insuring a spare car.
PL/PD and comprehensive is so low it not worth calling my agent to put flip it between storage and driving status.
Yes, it depends on how penurious one is.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
But you DO drive it! :shades:
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Obviously, you did not get my joke about having zero income and buying a house. Do you really not think the IRA would question that?
Reply back if you must, but I won't respond. This thead has turned from stupid to absurd.
I called the hotline and they said that if you report a missing car through their eligibility interface it will be added within the next 12 hours. Somehow I don't believe that.
CARS Eligibility Interface
Guess that depends on your state and how little you drive the car. Here in Maryland, if you don't have insurance, you have to turn in the tags and the car can't be kept on the street. If you want to get new tags, I think you need to get it inspected to get a new registration. Normally, an inspection is needed only when you register a vehicle in Maryland for the first time or the title changes hands (resale).
In my case, I still keep my '92 Sentra and '87 BWM insured, which I alternate between driving daily. Each one is less than $300/year for insurance. Less than one month's payment for a new car is the way I look at it.
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Yes, but it was speculation. We have no data whatsoever to support the contention that any particular fraction of C4C trade-ins weren't driven "much."
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Now PLEASE back to C4C, this is the only real decent thread on the board right now.
Agree.
There is no global view of the total deals done so far.
The last data point is
"Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) ...
157,000 dealer applications for funds totaling $664 million, as the agency works through a backlog that reached hundreds of thousands of online submissions, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters yesterday".
There seems to be a huge queue in the pipeline. Will the government honor all the deals in the queue if the additional $2B is not enough?
The uncertainty is bothering both the buyers and the dealers. I wish the government will take steps to address this uncertainty.
Don't look now but the professor called you cheap. :P
As far as driving my clunker "much", for the last two years I have averaged less than 1000 miles on mine. Don't need it much but when I do, nothing else will do.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
If there is anyone in this forum who ACTUALLY traded in your clunker, how long did it take for the government to approve?
If you are a dealer, what has been your typical turn-around on getting approvals from the DOT?
Joel, if YOU offered me a maintaince plan I would consider it because you are an honorable person and from what I can tell your store is honest too.
The trouble is with the less honest stores that offer fluff.
That reminds me, my last car buy didn't come with that offer, just the EW.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
My C4C submssion (98 Dodge Dakota - 16MPG, 146K miles) was sent into the Feds on Monday 07/27 at about noon.
(Or at least, the dealer started TRYING to submit me about noon. I did not ask when he was actually able to get it submitted)
I remained "pending" for about a week.
The dealer got my official approval about 9AM on 08/03.
Picked up my 2010 Toyota Camry V6 that night, and the dealer now has my Dakota locked up pending destruction)
(They have about a week to destroy the engine now, per the new C4C rules)
NOTE: I was the about the 5th submission by the dealer on 07/27, and was the 3rd "approved". The first 2 approvals came back on Saturday 08/01.
Hope this helps.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are nearing an agreement to be finalized tonight on debate and vote procedures, said Don Stewart, a McConnell spokesman.
The agreement would address when the bill would be considered, how much time would be allowed for debate, and how many amendments would be permitted, he said in an interview.
Any amendment offered by Republicans is certain to be voted down by the Democratic majority, Stewart said.
“An amendment could say, ‘Puppies are great,” and they’ll still vote no,” Stewart said. “They don’t want the program delayed.”
To reach the president's desk this week, the Senate bill must be identical to the $2 billion extension of the $1 billion program that was passed by the House last week.
Any Senate changes to the House bill would have to be voted on again by the House when it returns from recess after Labor Day.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said that the program likely would be suspended if the Senate didn't pass the House bill before the Senate recesses at the end of the week.
Reid’s office refused to predict the timing of the Senate vote or say whether Democrats planned to vote down all Republican amendments.
“We still do not have an agreement,” Reid spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle said in an e-mail. “We are working to get one and hope to be able to do so.”
There is "a significant majority" that wants to move forward with the legislation, Reid said today on the Senate floor.
He also said that, without an agreement with McConnell, he would file a motion for cloture of debate, which would postpone any possible vote at least to Friday.
The original $1 billion funding for the program was exhausted last weekend when about 250,000 deals had been completed, LaHood said. The $2 billion addition would keep it going through September.
LaHood has refused to say how the administration would fund deals agreed to this week if the Senate doesn't pass the extension.
LaHood and Reid, the leader of the 60 Democrats in the Senate, have expressed confidence that the Senate would pass the House bill this week.
Two pro-environment senators, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have reversed themselves and said they would vote for the extension because of fuel-economy gains shown by the program in its first week.
A number of Republicans other than Collins remain more critical of the program.
McConnell has criticized the administration for failing to anticipate the high volume of consumer interest. Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Jim DeMint of South Carolina have said they will vote against an extension because of its cost.
Both Reid and Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday that the legislation will pass the Senate. Graham didn't indicate how he would vote. LaHood also predicted that the legislation would pass.
The Obama administration has pushed the Senate to vote this week on the $2 billion extension that passed the House last week. The Senate breaks at the end of the week for a recess until after Labor Day.
Top sellers and top trade-ins
Top 10 vehicles sold under the cash-for-clunkers program, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.
1 Ford Focus
2 Toyota Corolla
3 Honda Civic
4 Toyota Prius
5 Toyota Camry
6 Ford Escape
7 Hyundai Elantra
8 Dodge Caliber
9 Honda Fit
10 Chevrolet Cobalt
Top-10 clunker trade-ins
1 Ford Explorer 4-wheel drive
2 Ford F-150 pickup 2-wheel drive
3 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4-wheel drive
4 Jeep Cherokee 4-wheel drive
5 Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2-wheel drive
6 Chevrolet Blazer 4-wheel drive
7 Ford Explorer 2-wheel drive
8 Ford F-150 pickup 4-wheel drive
9 Chevrolet C1500 pickup 2-wheel drive
10 Ford Windstar minivan 4-wheel drive
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
Were you sucessful in getting it listed?
But there does appear to be a procedure in place for those whose vehicles ARE qualified on the basis of EPA mpg but somehow do not appear on the list.
Were you sucessful in getting it listed?
I called and the representative said that just because the car's not on the list doesn't mean it doesn't qualify. Clearly the 1999 Suburban K1500 should qualify. It meets every requirement except being on the list.
He took my information and said I would get a call back clarifying the situation.
It's not really an exception. The car meets all of the criteria.
But just as there are many legitimate cases such as yours, there are also the people who (a) don't understand why EPA mpg should be used when they never get 18 mpg, or (b) don't understand why a car that's been off the road for eight of the last twelve months isn't eligible, or (c) think they have some special circumstance that justifies some other variation.
I think working the CARS call bank must be about as much fun as going door to door working for the census bureau, or working as a bill collector.
have you ever seen the number 10 clunker trade in?
Its from Ford...you can put in all your info and it tells you whether you get 3.500 or 4,500 back. I saw some people with questions and whether their car qualifies.
Hope this helps!
We're still clunkin' away tho, with somewhat more caution.
Top 10 vehicles sold under the cash-for-clunkers program, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.
1 Ford Focus
2 Toyota Corolla
Corolla is #1 now.
"GM Has Sold the Most Cars Under ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Program
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, has the most sales under the “cash-for-clunkers” program, according to Transportation Department data released today.
Detroit-based GM sold 18.7 percent of the cars purchased under the plan. Toyota Motor Corp., based in Toyota City, Japan, had the second-most sales with 17.9 percent and Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co., was third with 16 percent. The agency released data on the each automakers’ share today, a day after providing a list showing that four of the top five models sold were made by foreign automakers.
Toyota’s Corolla is the top model purchased by “cash-for- clunkers” buyers through today, surpassing Ford’s Focus, which had been number one, according to the data.
..."
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=akjL3wiDVfnU
page 25 the rule states that a category 1 truck is “a non-passenger automobile. This category includes sport utility vehicles, medium-duty passenger vehicles, small and medium pickup trucks, and small and medium passenger and cargo vans.”
The footnote for medium-duty passenger vehicles states that it is defined in 49 CFR 523.2. 49 CFR 523.2 (http://law.justia.com/us/cfr/title49/49-6.1.2.3.7.0.1.2.html ) as well as the glossary link from the cars.gov web site (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/carsglossary.htm) defines Medium Duty Passenger Vehicle (MDPV) “A vehicle with a GVWR greater than 8,500 lbs. and less than 10,000 lbs. that is used primarily for transporting passengers. These vehicles are designed to seat 9 or fewer passengers behind the driver or designed with a seating capacity of 12 persons or less”
By the definitions and rules my van should be a category 1 vehicle.
Why can't Ford sell the Fusion? They are selling the Focus like crazy.