A word of caution for consumers and dealers who are participating in the NHTSA CARS program.  Over the past month, numbers have been changing on the federal government’s www.fueleconomy.gov website according to consumer complaints.  

This website is being used by the NHTSA to qualify vehicles for the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).  All official instructions for the program tell consumers that this website is the sole basis for qualification.  But can the site be trusted?

Consumers are writing to us to document that their cars that qualified as recently as a week ago are now disqualified.  Dozens of consumer compliants are being reported so it would seem that there is some truth in these reports. 

If this is the case, this creates even more confusion about the controversial CARS program.  The changing data would also create a liability for car dealers making deals based on this data.  That would be devastating for car dealers caught in the middle of a data change.

Consumers Are Frustrated

A consumer wrote in to www.cashforclunkersfacts.com to say ” My car a 1991 Lexus ES250 V6 automatic was checked by the dealer with 18 mpg combined last Monday using the fueleconomy.gov. Based on that a new car was ordered. Today using the NHTSA Updates Fuel Economy Website for CARS the combined mpg has been changed to 19 mpg combined. The combined mpg number at the fueleconomy.gov also changed to 19 mpg combined.”

Scott also posted his frustration on the Cash for Clunkers forum: “I went to Fueleconomy.gov again to look up my 1991 Camry v6 automatic. If you look up the original old window sticker mpg numbers (18/24) and then use the converter they have on the site to update the pre-2008 MPG numbers to the new 2008 calculations you will get (16/22) which is not what the CARS calculator is showing. 16/22 is what fueleconomy.gov had listed up to July 24th which allowed me to Qualify for the money. As of July 24th the numbers 16/23. I hope they fix this”

Bob added to the conversation “I had my 93 Camry wagon V6 auto. go from qualifying at 18 mpg combined Thurs. July 23, to not qualifying Sat. July 25. We found this out as we filled out paperwork at the dealer for the purchase of a new 09 Pontiac Vibe. What gives?”

Jim added that data changes cost him $1,000: ” My clunker’s mileage also increased. Yesterday it was 17 mpg and today it’s 18! (Its a 1997 Mercury Villager.) I still qualify, but the deal I made last week will now only net me $3,500, not the $4,500 I’d budgeted. If I had known last week, I’d have chosen a different new car with one extra mpg!”

Based on these  consumer complaints, we hope that the NHTSA comes out with some damage control information to give consumers and dealers confidence that the website can be trusted.

Advice for Consumers and Car Dealers

We advise that once you have verified your car on www.fueleconomy.gov , that you print out the page before you go to the dealership.  For dealers, make sure you print a copy of the list and date and time stamp it.  This will assist you in case after you make the trade, the mpg number change and the website does not show the car as qualifying anymore.

If you have had a similar experience, share your specific data below.