We have just received confirmation from the NHTSA media relations group that the official dealer registration letters should be mailed Friday. 

If the letters are sent First Class mail they should arrive in dealer mailboxes by Monday July 20th, giving dealers 4 days to be register.  The details of the registration process where not made public.

The spokeperson for the NHTSA also confirmed that the timing of the letters will not delay the start of the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). The official start date has been confirmed by the NHTSA to be Friday July 24, 2009- so dealers should be checking their mailboxes on Monday and get registered early in the week.  This answers the question raised in yesterday’s news article on dealer registration delays.

This will be good news for consumers who have been told to wait to purchase a new car under the CARS program until the NHTSA publishes the final rules.  There are a number of unresolved questions regarding the rules of the bill which will be determined and published by NHTSA lawyers who have carefully studied the wording of the bill.

The Continuous Headache

From emails and comments posted on the Cash for Clunkers SPEAK-UP forum, consumers are hoping for clarification on the “continuous” insurance and registration requirements.  Many consumers have written to say that due to car  repairs or cash shortages, their clunker, which they have owned for years, has a small gap in the last 12 months for registration or insurance. 

Consumers are hoping that the rules will accommodate hard hit Americans that can show long term ownership and normal use of their clunker that would excuse a recent “short term gap” in insurance or registration.  Right now, the letter of the law would state that they would not be eligible.

Consumers who qualify for the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) are urged to contact their insurance companies to get a letter that states their vehicle was continuously insured for the past 12 months to streamline the paperwork process at the dealership.

Additional Funding Will Be Needed

Consumers who are locked out of the CARS program are encouraged to join an online petition.  The petition will ask Congress to change some of the wording on the program if additional funding is requested.  This website predicts that the $1 billion in funding will be gone by Labor Day weekend.  Details can be found on: http://www.nocashforclunkers.com