The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) which replaces what the House and Senate referred to as the ”Cash for Clunkers” program will start in Late July. 

Dealers will get a briefing memo in the coming weeks by the NHTSA and outline how they will register for the CARS program.  Dealers calling www.cashforclunkersfacts.com have indicated that they have not received any confirmation of the logistics or payment terms to date.

This should be no surprise since the President has not signed the wartime spending bill. However, consumer interest has started to percolate and many are ready to purchase a new car.   The traditional Fourth of Julycar sales would have had  blow-out numbers this year from the CFC vouchers if the program was in place.  It looks like the Fourth of July celebration for car dealers will be late this year.

Consumers calling dealers for specific answers are finding that local dealers are in the dark as much as themselves.  This website has been helping thousands of consumers get answers but we don’t have all the answers…yet.

Dealers Bear Additional Liability

Without any firm rules or processes for the CFC trade-in and payment plan in place, car dealers will have to bear the bulk of the liability until the Federal agencies managing the Cash for Clunkers program give better clarity.

Some of the concerns expressed by car dealers emailing our staff this week include:

• How long after the sale will dealers be paid for the voucher credit that was given?
• What database will all dealers use to qualify a car’s mpg rating?
• What do you do if a car is not listed in the government’s EPA database?
• What does a dealer have to do to confirm/insure that a car was properly disposed at the scrapyard?
• Will spouses be able to share title ownership on trade-ins?
• What is considered drive-in condition?  Will registered but recently disabled cars qualify?
• How will we know when funding for the program has run out?

Stay tuned for the latest updates by signing up for our email alert system.

Fleet Moderization

Get ready for yet another buzzword rearing its head:  Fleet Modernization.  

So we have had “Cash for Guzzlers”, “Cash for Clunkers” and now CARS.  What’s next?

• National Clunker Memorial Gallery
• Links
• Archives