I Traded My Clunker For $3500/$4500, and Bought A...

hpmctorque

If you took advantage of the C4C program, tell us about your experience, including...

* Year, make, model, mileage and condition of
your trade-in.

* Year, make and model of your new vehicle.

* Any details about the transaction that you
think could be of interest to others.

hpmctorque

Has any Edmunds discussions participant traded their clunker in yet?

stephen987

I'm waiting till the NHTSA rules come out on the 23rd. Then I'm looking to ditch my '94 Dodge Ram pickup for either a Fit or a Soul.

anythngbutgm

link title

So far, Hyundai has been the only automaker in the U.S. to accept early trade-ins under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), or Cash-for-Clunkers (CFC), program. Most are waiting for the U.S. Department of Transportation to finalize the program's rules and regulations by July 24th, but Hyundai decided to start early since the program covers all transactions dating back to July 1st.

Nearly a third (32 percent) of the trade-in models reported by dealerships were Ford vehicles, followed by Dodge (23 percent). Lexus, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz are among the other brands delivered as "clunker" trades,

:shades:

fintail

I'd expect a lot of neglected old luxobarges will meet their fate via this program - cars with prohibitive costs of reclamation that aren't worth much anyway.

A worn old 1990 LS, XJ, 7er, S etc isn't worth $4500, can burn a lot of gas, and costs a fortune to fix.

I want to feel sorry for any old W126 being scrapped, but I can't with any logic - removing the problem cars will make the genuinely nice ones that much more special.

stephen987

Fintail, I had one of those old W126 sedans--an '83 300SD--and it was a terrific car when it was working properly. It was too good to scrap, as there was zero rust, but it was still pretty expensive to maintain. I see a lot of them around town in far worse shape, and some of those genuinely should be parted out to help save those that remain.

fintail

I had a W126 300SE, the I6. It was in spectacular condition, but was heading for 200K miles when I sold it around 4 years ago, and it had some minor needs. I got about 5 grand for it, so it would be on the border of being worthy of a clunker cash-in, and that small engine with the big car wasn't the most efficient combo...so it might meet the mpg limits. But I would feel guilty if I scrapped it, it just wasn't a heap yet.

I see a lot of beater W126 around, as they can take a lot of abuse before they finally die. No worries about their fate, as you say, they can be parted out, and the beauties will survive. I am not worried about many legit special interest cars being hit by this scheme.

stever

One of the local Mazda dealers is taking trade-ins and treating them as clunkers. We did a test drive but didn't pursue the car.

Dealers in Anchorage are sitting on their hands. Sales haven't been too bad up there anyway and they are afraid of getting stuck and not getting reimbursed. Cash for clunkers program idles in neutral (Anchorage Daily News)

bhill2

Yeah, I'm in preparatory mourning over the '85 380SE that the missus and I bought, gently used, in '91. It has over 250K on it now and still runs almost like when we got it, and I swore that I would be buried in it. But I know that we are flirting with a potential wallet-flattening repair any time now and I think the C4C program may be our way out. It's just so hard to say goodbye.

fintail

I get sentimental with old cars, so if I had something that long...I'd have a hard time parting with it. Is it an airbag car? I assume it has ABS.

With those miles it would have to be amazingly perfect to be worth a penny more than the clunker trade in value, so if one looks at it via logic only, it might make the most sense.

tomcatt630

I read somewhere of a customer who used the 'clunker incentive' and traded in an early 90's Blazer for a new Equinox. Said the Blazer was worn down and needed a new car.

This may work for old SUV's, but there really are not that many old 'gas hog' cars around these days. Some politcos still think any old car gets 8 mpg as some 1974 era cars did, but by late 1980's most cars could get over the combined 18mpg threshold for the 'clunker bill'.

bhill2

You are right about the logic, Fin. As far as the safety devices go, ABS is a yes, airbags is a no.

Actually, I'm glad about the airbags; I lost most of the hearing in one of my ears to the sound of 2 fully-sized, fully-powered airbags going off inside an XK8. The irony, of course, is that both I and my passenger (aka wife) were wearing our seat belts and would have been fine without the bags.

fintail

I know airbags appear randomly on US market 1985 W126...I don't know if they were optioned that way or simply made it to the lots. Things were pretty prosperous then, and I think those cars were selling as soon as they hit the dealerships.

Strange about the Jag, sorry to read that. Sounds like some faulty engineering. If it had been a pre-Ford Jag, they probably wouldn't have gone off

bhill2

Oh, I don't think it was a defect. US standards dictate (or at least did) that the bags deploy with enough power to protect an unbelted (i.e. idiot) passenger. Two of them going of in an enclosed cabin the size of the one in the Jag produced a prodigious noise and change in cabin pressure. I think that's what did it. The insurance company seems to have thought that too, they made me have my hearing checked by their expert before they paid damages, but didn't pursue an action against Jaguar to recover.

british_rover

Yup that fits with what how the old style airbags worked. As airtight as a XK could be, assuming it was a coupe and all the door/window seals were in good working order, I bet that pressure wave was enormous.

At least the second gen and multistage airbags don't work like that anymore.

fintail

Wow, that stinks. I wonder if the same happens when the airbags in an old MB deploy.

I remember sometime in the 90s MB sought out the earliest airbag model they could find still registered, it was an early 1980 production date W126 - they bought the owner a new car and crash tested the old car to see what would happen. It functioned as designed.

tomcatt630

Can this thread please go back on topic???? I'd like to see what kind of deals, or who is planning to use this program.

fezo

You might have to wait a little for the thread to go back on topic - technically teh program doesn't start for another week.

I do hear dealers now advertising the program - so far Ford and Hyundai around here.

anythngbutgm

Yeah, I believe Hyundai is calling it a "Government rebate" at the moment since the program doesn't officially exist yet.

stever

Well, the rules aren't in place but the effective date of the program was July 1.

"While the CARS Act makes transactions on and after July 1 potentially eligible for credits under the CARS program, interested dealers and consumers may want to wait until all of the detailed issues that must be addressed in the implementing regulations are resolved and the final rule is issued. Issuance will occur around July 24." cars.gov

anythngbutgm

Got a guy here at work with a 2003 Tahoe that is looking forward to the CfC campaign. Apparently, last years gas hikes and multiple repairs have scared him into a Hyundai Sante Fe. I can't believe he's getting 13mpg with it, what a pig! Amazingly, the dealer caught on to, and lowballed his trade to 3500 dollars trade so a few more weeks....

I didn't even realize Hyundai was offering the program before yesterday! :surprise:

gagrice

His 2003 Tahoe would not be accepted in the C4C program anyway. It must have been totally trashed to only bring $3500 in trade. Smart dealer will probably make a couple grand on the trade in.

100chuck

Well here's my deal
2009 Ford Escape XLT FWD MSRP: $24,975 Sun and Sync package(4 cylinder)
Taxes Fees and plate transfer 1459.00
Rebate on 2009 Escape -$1000.00
Ford Rebate and special financing -$1500.00 0% Financing for 36months
Z-plan discount -$2364.00
Trade-in Value 96 Taurus SHO -$4500.00
Total out the door $17,070.00 or $474.17 per month.

jayviking

Just put a down payment on one yesterday
heres the breakdown:

18,736 car
670 destination
1625 NYS Sales Tax
230 Registration fees
199 Dealer fees

total= 21,463 - 4,500 CFC = $16,963

***The C4C program has been delayed till Monday the 27th, so I can't pick up the car till Monday

Oh the dealer is giving me the credit AFTER sales tax is applied....Does anyone else have a dealer that is applying the rebate to the MSRP?

hpmctorque

What did you trade in?

stephen987

I had what appears to have been the archetypical clunker, a '94 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. Close to 150k miles, running but with a transmission that slips occasionally. Lots of other things that would've had to be done (brakes, tires, etc.) if I wanted to bring it up to my standards. Definitely not worth putting any money into it unless I had no other choice. I barely used it--it was a "third car" in a two-driver household. EPA combined mileage is 13mpg.

So I sold our second car ('99 Civic) and C4C'd the truck. These two actions, combined, gave me a lot of up-front leverage on a new car. I would've looked seriously at the Ford Fiesta had one been available (especially if Ford could bring us the DIESEL!) Most of the larger compacts (new Civic, Focus, Cobalt, Corolla, Elantra et al) are good solid cars, but they didn't much appeal to me. The only one that did (Mazda 3) was hard to find with a stick--plus I didn't want the bigger engine, and that's standard equipment on the hatch version in the US. (One automotive area where our friends in Canada have greater choices.)

So I settled on a Honda Fit Sport 5MT, and so far I'm very happy with it. It's fun to drive and more economical than anything I've ever owned. The dealership folks were friendly but not particularly helpful--they knew they had a high-demand car, and they weren't interested in negotiating. The dealership was so packed that salespeople didn't have room to work--they were working deals on any spare surface they could find, including the service desk and the coffee table in the waiting room. They led with Edmunds TMV, but then proceeded to try to tack on a bunch of additional things, including (get this!) a $500 "road hazard warranty" on the tires and wheels.

I politely but firmly declined the add-ons ("but sir, I don't know how to take that out of the computer" he protested) and we eventually came to an amicable resolution. The deal took longer than necessary but I have what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay.

hpmctorque

Congratulations, Steve, and thanks for sharing your experience.

nortsr1

Sierra Chevrolet 4x4 pickup (%.0 Liter V/8). He purchased it 5 years ago for $4500.00 (approx 110.000 miles on it) (Original sticker in the glove box showed approx. $19,000.00 total MSRP). He then used same for snow plowing (it came with it) and ran that sucker for approx. another 50,000 miles).
He traded in (CFC) for a base Kia Spectra that had A/C, AM/FM/CD radio and floor mats. No power windows or cuise control. It had a $3000.00 rebate so he got CFC $4500.00 and the $3000.00 rebate. OTD was approx. $9200.00 due to the 7% NJ sales tax and approx. $250.00 for tags, etc.
He went from 9 mpg to 34 mpg. plus the 5 year 60,000 mile warranty. The Chevy dealer next door had one customer and the Kia dealership was very very busy.

hudy1

I traded in my 1999 Ford Windstar with too many problems to list for a 2009 Hyndai Elantra GLS, automatic, Popular Equipment Package, Mats, and Cargo Net. MRSP was $17735 and with discounts of $4500 and $3000 and $1147 it cost $10088 (plus tax and title)!

stephen987

I rented one of those for about a week last year. It seemed very solid, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

thammer62

I also rented the Elantra for a week about 6 months ago and was really impressed with the quiet ride and composure of such an inexpensive car. The South Koreans are really coming into their own with Hyundai and Kia. Think of where they were just 5 years ago. I predict 10 years from now they will have a reputation that Toyota enjoys today.

stephen987

I predict 10 years from now they will have a reputation that Toyota enjoys today.

What was the old Avis slogan--"we're #2, so we try harder." I agree that Toyota and Honda need to watch their backs. I was very impressed with the assembly quality of both the Hyundai Elantra Touring and the Kia Soul I test drove recently. The ET was particularly tight--it had the feel of an old Mercedes, you know, back before MB became so preoccupied with gadgetry. You could feel how tight the tolerances were in everything from the steering to the windowshade-type cargo cover.

All that was missing from either one was a bit of mechanical joie de vivre. And I'm sure that will come, as soon as those models get their own version of the Sonata's engine/autobox combo sometime in the next couple of years.

driver33

Traded: 1994 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 5.9L Auto Bought new Oct. 1993, had 99,000 miles. Low miles but lived a hard life towing wise. 9 Ft. cabover camper + boat was most of the miles. Trans ws going as was front end. Leaky front axle seal-900.00 repair. 11MPG Worst brakes of any vehicle I ever owned.
Bought: 2009 Nissan SE 4cyl. Auto Power Group, Bedliner, Floormats. Rated at 19MPG been getting over 21.
MSRP ws 23,075.
CU rebate $650.00, Nissan Rebate $3,000.00, CFC $4,500.00
OTD 14,350 @4.99

shophappily

that's a very good deal for EX-L. Congrat. Which dealer did you, can you email me @ shirleyshopping@gmail.com. thanks

fezo

I predict 10 years from now they will have a reputation that Toyota enjoys today.

You mean people will say their engines sludge? :P

stever

Only GMs sludge. Toyota's gel.

Only Jeeps have death wobble. CR-Vs have harmonic tingle.

D3 cars require repair. Toyondas go in for maintenance.

Get with the program, Fezo.

shophappily

when you traded in the clunker, how did the dealer do the math?
invoice $$ + destination + fees + dmv, then minus 3500/4500
or
invoice $$ - 3500/4500 +destination + fees + dmv
thanks

fezo

Gee, I've got some studying to do.... :surprise:

wabeno

More patriotic people like you and our country will be finished. I hope you are proud of yourself :lemon:

stephen987

More patriotic people like you and our country will be finished. I hope you are proud of yourself

Yeah, don't you know you're supposed to begin each morning with "I pledge allegiance to General Motors"?

It amazes me how many people who have never logged onto Edmunds before are coming out of the woodwork, not reading anything that's already been posted, and then disappearing. Sort of "drive-by commenting," without any danger of actually learning anything.

By the way, most Honda Civics sold in the US are built in the US. All Chevy Aveos are built in South Korea. Which one is the more "patriotic" choice???

:P

andre1969

You mean people will say their engines sludge?

Either that, or in 10 years people will carry on about how arrogant and snot-nosed Hyundai dealers have become. :shades:

gagrice

More patriotic people like you and our country will be finished. I hope you are proud of yourself

That is not a real nice way to introduce yourself to the Forum. I am not a fan of the program. I would not think of questioning someone's patriotism for taking advantage of C4C.

andre1969

By the way, most Honda Civics sold in the US are built in the US. All Chevy Aveos are built in South Korea. Which one is the more "patriotic" choice???

670 destination
1625 NYS Sales Tax
230 Registration fees
199 Dealer fees

Heck, I imagine the state of New York made more money on that Honda than Honda themselves did!

gagrice

I am sure all the taxes are more than any one else gets on any new car.

stephen987

I'm pretty sure wabeno won't be reading anything we post in response. This is a classic drive-by from someone who has probably been told to log on to Edmunds and register a negative comment regarding C4C--not someone who has taken the time to learn about the program and explore the possible positive and/or negative ramifications thereof.

In other words, a "remote con troll."

british_rover

You beat me to it.

Yeah you see tons of that on political type forums and blogs. It is a bit of a new thing to edmunds though.

Short version people are handed a list of websites to target and told what to do. They register with a real email address as required make a couple of negative, misleading or out right false posts then disappear.

smilinjackross

I trade in my 1999 Suburban with 223,000 miles on it for a Nissan Altima Hybrid. Went from 14 mpg to 34.

Nissan offered a $3250 rebate + $4500 for C4C + $2350 tax credit + sales tax is deductible + got it for below invoice so I think it was a good deal. It's fun to drive and I'm entertaining myself trying to keep it in "EV" mode so I use less gas.

I have a long commute and my gas bill will be more than cut in half. I think it is the right move for me at this time.

doidoadiesel

and who takes advantage of cash for clunkers. Lots of Republicans in the House and Senate were against it - I wonder if the same is true of constituents? As for me I am registered a Democrat and traded my wrecked, rusty, and abused 15 year old 4Runner for a brand new Camry. Any Rupublicans taking advantage of C4C or is it just us Democratic Socialists?

gagrice

They almost had to pay you to take the new car. It don't get much better than that. I am kind of half way hoping I can pull some sort of deal like that on a new Golf TDI. It is pretty slim chance it will get done. Those were some serious miles on the Suburban at 13 MPG. When I sold my 98 K1500 in 2005 it only had 45k on it.

100chuck

Need to modify my deal:
2009 Ford Escape XLT FWD MSRP: $25,270 Sun and Sync package(4 cylinder)
Taxes Fees and plate transfer 1459.00
Ford Rebate and special financing -$1500.00 0% Financing for 36months
Z-plan discount -$2364.00
Trade-in Value 96 Taurus SHO -$4500.00
Total out the door $18,365

dmdcash

Middle of the road Repub here enjoying the crap out of my Hyundai Sonata, 30+ mpg with my 30 miles each way travel to work. Huge difference over my 14 mpg Explorer. Gee, I save roughly my car payment each month in gas. Yet I'm sure some know it all will see it differently.