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Cash for Clunkers Deadline Looms
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced yesterday (Sunday) that the Obama administration will suspend the Cash for Clunkers program this week if the senate does not approve the additional $2 billion in funding.
LaHood believes the initial $1 billion in funding the bill received will be completely exhausted this week.
According to the Associated Press, LaHood stated, “Any deal that is made (Monday) or the next day and that is in the pipeline, … the dealer will be reimbursed and the car buyer will be reimbursed.”
Running On Empty
Earlier this week, many began speculating that the original funds were nearly dried up, given the record number of sales that took place in the first few days of the program’s start.
Dealers across the country were also reporting that their most popular fuel efficient models had nearly all been purchased and were concerned with the probability of receiving additional shipments. A Ford dealer in Boston wrote in to say that they were completely out of Ford Focus, Escape and Fusion models.
Some lawmakers have mixed feelings regarding rushing to inject the bill with more money. Some feel that the decision needs to be more thought out while others are certain that adding funding to the bill will only further stimulate the economy and lagging auto sales, something that has been needed for quite some time.
Monday morning on CNBC, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn said that he would support the $2 Billion in additional funding if it came out of the previously approved $121 Billion stimulus spending bill. He stated that if the $2 billion would be new debt he would not support the measure.
It is not certain whether or not the Senate will approve the additional funding for the Cash for Clunkers bill. Monday looks like the best bet for consumers who want to lock in their Cash for Clunkers deal. With inventory and cash flow running on empty, this could be the last we see of the Cash for Clunkers program for quite some time.
Shop Monday If You Can
We are urging consumers to act quickly in order to take advantage of the program. Brian Pasch, CEO of the Pasch Consulting Group, reminds consumers that there is also uncertainty on how long the extra $2 billion in funding will extend the CARS program. Pasch says, “With this in mind and inventory levels dropping for popular models, shopping on Monday makes the most sense.”
Dealers will most likely be staying open late on Monday to fulfill as many Cash for Clunkers deals as possible until time runs out. According to Dave Wilson, CEO of Preston Automotive in Maryland, “We will be open late Monday and we will stay open until the last customer leaves to get everyone in before the deadline.”
The Wall Street Journal today also said that Chrysler would be droppingits popular double rebate program since dealers are running out of cars. We checked the Chrysler website this morning and the double rebate program was still showing as active.
Consumers are encouraged to visit the only official destination for information on the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) at http://www.cars.gov for the latest updates on the program.
37 responses on “Cash for Clunkers Deadline Looms”
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Do you have to the hard copy of the title at the time of the sale, or will a printout from DMV suffice until the title is received in the mail?
My Kia dealership in upstate New York stopped making clunkers deals on Friday July 31st. I tried to make a deal over the weekend and today and they wouldn’t process it even though the govt. says they will honor anything through today. So forget about “shop Monday if you can.”
we’ll see…i just wish there was a way to call in and get an update as to what is going on with a specefic rebate…I’ve called the cars.gov hotline numerous times, it is pretty much a complete waste of time and that’s if you can even get through to someone. Harry, money may have been gone before the 27th, but the gov’t vowed to honor all transactions placed in the system through this weekend…again, we’ll see.
The program is retroactive to July 1st. Hundai has been taking in clunkers for several weeks. Also any deal that qualifies since July 1st is still rebatable. The money was probably gone befor July 27th.
I’m with you Joe, I just spoke to my dealer again this morning and he claims that they still haven’t had 1 approval back from the gov’t yet. The more posts and blogs I read online, the more i see the same thing happening to a lot of people. He said it might be a couple more days…
Harry p -> “No way they willl run out of fuel efficient cars.”
Have you read the story below?
http://www.cashforclunkersfacts.com/bill/dealers-run-out-of-cars-for-clunkers-program
I picked up my car (Pontiac G5 XFE) last Monday from a medium-sized dealership. It was their last one.
-> “I don’t understand the other dealers….They were almost begging me to take it home right then”
Here’s why dealers are nervous. Some have 25+ clunkers sitting on their lot, but the govt website is so unstable, they have only submitted applications for 3 or 4 of them. The govt owes some of these dealers $100K…and some are starting to get concerened.
Even the NADA is advising its member dealers NOT to close any more clunker deals until the funding issue is settled. They recommend taking deposits only until a voucher approval can be obtained from the govt.
SPY,
I don’t get it. How hard could this really be or is it just another Gov’t thing that only the Gov’t can do? I would really like to get my car.
I don’t understand the other dealers. I went in Thursday and they wanted me to take the car home right then. I had too much stuff in my car to swap over, but said I would be back Friday. They offered to follow me home and bring my old car back. They were almost begging me to take it home right then, even the credit union had not been notified. Around Chattanooga there are tons of cars waiting and no buyers.
No way they willl run out of fuel efficient cars. Looking around here there must be a total of 3000 28 or better mpg cars. Hondas civics are lined up for blocks. Same with Hundai, and nissan. I did a Nissan Sentra trade for my 96 olds and got the full 4500.00. The first billion went fast because it was retroactive to July 1st.
Joe P -> “Assuming the $2 billion is allocated…how long will Cash for Clunkers last?”
Scroll down this page and look at the numbers I posted. Even with $2B of additional funding, the average dealer will only end up with 38 CARS cars vouchers total. Many dealers exceeded that last week!
There’s no way CARS lasts until September. Get in before they shut it down again (or it collapses).
On Friday I went to a dealer that wanted to make a clunkers deal but he was going to hold on to the vehicle until the voucher came back. I left the dealership because buying a car means taking it home.
Two days later, I found another dealership who, without hesitation, sold me a car through the clunkers program.
Never let the dealership con you into buying a vehicle and not giving it to you when you sign the contract.
Assuming the $2 billion is allocated and the big, first rush is over, how long will Cash for Clunkers last? Into September?
i think this is the best thing for the American car industry. this also probably saved the car industry.
Harden -> “…And to think that they are debating whether or not to put an additional $2 billion into the program.”
It’s turned into a circus. Officials should not be out there telling people to make deals. This program needs to be stopped immediately until someone can say exactly how much money is left!
This is an example of how much the government doesn’t have a clue. LaHood thinks the first billion will be exhausted this week. Also said that all deals made by today will be reimbursed. There are dealers on this website that were reporting over 100 deals prior to last weekend. Don’t be surprised if the total that needs to be reimbursed to dealers for deals made through today exceeds $7 to $9 billion. And to think that they are debating whether or not to put an additional $2 billion into the program. What a joke!
Joe, I’m in the same boat as you. We went to finalize the paperwok on Friday and there were 25 new cars in the sold lot of the dealership waiting to be approved for the C4C program. They will not give out the car until they get approval from the gov’t. Waiting to see if we can get our new car today…
LaHood stated, “Any deal that is made (Monday) or the next day and that is in the pipeline, … the dealer will be reimbursed and the car buyer will be reimbursed.”
Is that the date(monday) on the Bill Of Sale or when the dealers enter it into the CARS system?
Even WITH $2 billlion of additional funding, the CARS program is probably days away from going broke (again)…
Take a look at the numbers:
…..$3,000,000,000 of funding
…..$4,000 average CARS voucher
…..20,000 registered dealers
…..Average number of vouchers per dealer –> 38
The average dealer probably had close to 30 deals done in the first few days!
BOTTOM LINE: CARS will be out of money within days!!!
please let me know if my car passes
We made our deal on 7/27/09 and as of 8/1/09 our dealer has not had a deal go through yet.