Cash for Clunkers: Obamas plan to get new car sells up

[YoTa_BoX]

http://www.abcactionnews.com/content/financialsurvival/tampabaystories/story/Cash-for-Clunkers-Will-your-car-qualify/19nbc3jgBEqoeflxhlQgMg.cspx


The "Cash for Clunkers" program is finally becoming law. Once President Obama signs it, thousands of car owners may be eligible for a voucher for as much as $4500, that they can use toward the purchase of a new car.

It's potentially a great deal, if you qualify. Unfortunately, theres a good chance your old car won't.

Who is Eligible

Own a beat up minivan? How about a pickup truck with a rusted bed? Or a truck that has sat in your yard for years? If so, you -- like Teresa Galloway -- may be wondering if your vehicle qualifies for the new cash for clunkers program.

Teresa, who we found filling up her old Chevy at a Shell station, told me "it all depends how much they'll give for an old car."

Teresa tells me she'd love to get $3,500 or $4,500 for her 1994 Chevy Corsica, but says if she can use it only to buy a new car, it won't help her.

"For a used car, maybe. Not a new car, no," she said. Unfortunately for Teresa, it doesn't apply to used cars...as the goal is to boost new car sales.

What Qualifies, What Doesn't

The ideal vehicles the government considers clunkers and would like to give you cash to get rid of: the millions of mid 90's SUV's still on the road...along with fulll size pickup trucks from the 80's and 90s, many of which get only 13 mpg.

You can receive a voucher for $4,500 if your new car gets 10 miles more per gallon than your old car. If your new car gets between 2 and 9 miles per gallon more, then you qualify for a $3,500 voucher.

The key provision: The old car must get 18 mpg or less, according to the EPA. Click here to find out your car's average gas mileage.

* For that reason, most small and midsized cars won't qualify. No Ford Escorts, Chevy Cavaliers, Dodge Neons, Toyota Corollas, or other small cars commonly considered "clunkers" need apply: their EPA mileage numbers are too high.
* In addition, it must be a 1984 model or newer, which prevents junking "classics," like early Mustangs and Camaros.
* One other caveat: The car must have been insured for the past year, which prevents scavengers from running to salvage lots and turning in junkyard cars for money.


As for Teresa, it turns out the EPA says her Corsica gets 20 miles per gallon, so it doesn't qualify.

[ShooterMcGavin]

bleh, another gimmicky plan...

[Corolla_TC]

this kind of shit pisses me off. just like the house credit. i built a new house last year and got the tax credit to pay off some credit cards on this years returns. i got 7500 but have to pay it back. if you buy or build one this year, you get 8000 and dont even have to pay it back!

[TSiFTW]

Give away more money that we don't have and will have to pay back in taxes. Nice job crackhead President.

[ShooterMcGavin]

this kind of shit pisses me off. just like the house credit. i built a new house last year and got the tax credit to pay off some credit cards on this years returns. i got 7500 but have to pay it back. if you buy or build one this year, you get 8000 and dont even have to pay it back!
lol no such thing as a free lunch yo. someone else will have to pay it back or maybe your kids or your grandkids.

[Corolla_TC]

im not pissed about having to pay it back. im pissed that people that buy a home this year don't have to pay it back. they are pretty much giving away home loans so people are going to buy a home, get the tax credit, and then lose the home cause they couldn't afford it in the first place. i just don't like all this money obama is giving away.

[preferredduck]

im not pissed about having to pay it back. im pissed that people that buy a home this year don't have to pay it back. they are pretty much giving away home loans so people are going to buy a home, get the tax credit, and then lose the home cause they couldn't afford it in the first place. i just don't like all this money obama is giving away.


im sure there are aot of people who are planning this. why not a free 8 grand and a place to live for a year or more.

[lauren]

well thats sweet that they are just going to handout 4500 to the poor out of tax money and my parents get stuck with paying 30k for my car and in a couple years im going to have to start paying for? this government gives out money like crazy to the poor, its frustrating for those who work hard...this is why i hate politics lol and that 8k tax credit is bs too!

[Total_Blender]

and my parents get stuck with paying 30k for my car


its frustrating for those who work hard

Its even more frustrating for those of us who don't have parents who can drop $30k on a car for us... :screwy:

[EJ25RUN]

This is a terrible idea.

For one, it is designed to encourage "green" car sales but it is a fact that it is more enviromentally friendly to keep an old car on the road rather than to destroy it.

It won't work and all its gonna do is motive these people that shouldn't have been able to buy cars/houses in the forst place to think they can.


Isn't this working backwards? Seriously, they give you more than the car is probably worth (lose of govt money), pay the crushers and everything else to get rid of your car (loss of govt money), you buy a new car, cant pay for it, it gets repoed, and money lost again to pay the banks off.

Great plan. :rolleyes:

I give it till 2011 before it is gone.

[Vteckidd]

YAY

More Government control! SWEET

[tony]

well thats sweet that they are just going to handout 4500 to the poor out of tax money and my parents get stuck with paying 30k for my car and in a couple years im going to have to start paying for? this government gives out money like crazy to the poor, its frustrating for those who work hard...this is why i hate politics lol and that 8k tax credit is bs too!

You know what, I may catch shit for bashing you but who cares, you are fucking dumb. I'm amazed how people who don't pay taxes have such strong opinions on other peoples standard of living and the aid that they receive. Furthermore those who obviously have no understanding of the social aspect of this economy.

I came up in a household where seriously there were days I didn't know if I was coming home to anything to eat.. my mother was one of these "poor" people you talk about and I assure you our meaning of "frustrating" is MUCH different than a household that buys $30k cars for their children.

I left @ 18, and was dropping more on turbo kits than I'm sure a lot of you silver spoon fed mf'ers have ever sent to the IRS because I WORKED for it, no help. But I have never forgotten where I came from and the struggle that those under me continue to face.

Do I care about this plan? No, it sounds frivilous but I can appreciate what is trying to be accomplished here. I hate on nobody who is able to buy a house and contribute to this economy regardless of how they got there.

[BanginJimmy]

Its even more frustrating for those of us who don't have parents who can drop $30k on a car for us... :screwy:


We actually agree on something.

[BanginJimmy]

You know what, I may catch shit for bashing you but who cares, you are fucking dumb. I'm amazed how people who don't pay taxes have such strong opinions on other peoples standard of living and the aid that they receive. Furthermore those who obviously have no understanding of the social aspect of this economy.

I came up in a household where seriously there were days I didn't know if I was coming home to anything to eat.. my mother was one of these "poor" people you talk about and I assure you our meaning of "frustrating" is MUCH different than a household that buys $30k cars for their children.

I left @ 18, and was dropping more on turbo kits than I'm sure a lot of you silver spoon fed mf'ers have ever sent to the IRS because I WORKED for it, no help. But I have never forgotten where I came from and the struggle that those under me continue to face.

Do I care about this plan? No, it sounds frivilous but I can appreciate what is trying to be accomplished here. I hate on nobody who is able to buy a house and contribute to this economy regardless of how they got there.

This sounds very conservative of you. I almost got the impression that you believed that people could succeed without the govt doing it for you.

And I have absolutely no idea what they plan to accomplish with this bill except to hand out money to more poor people. No one else is driving these types of cars unless they want to, or just have things they want more than a new car.

[Total_Blender]

And I have absolutely no idea what they plan to accomplish with this bill except to hand out money to more poor people. No one else is driving these types of cars unless they want to, or just have things they want more than a new car.

I don't think much of the money from this is going to go to poor people. In order to qualify, you have to have the credit to buy a new car.The program doesn't apply for the purchase of used vehicles. So anyone who uses the program will still have to have sufficient credit to purchase/finance a new vehicle. Granted, a $4500 down payment will help some for buyers with no credit/bad credit, but even buying an $8k Versa or Aveo (I think those are the 2 cheapest cars on the retail market) theres still a balance of $3500 that the purchaser would have to finance.

Another thing about the program is that to trade in a vehicle under the program, you have to have proof that you've owned/registered/insured it for at least a full year, so its not like people will be buying $500 beaters just to turn them in for the credit.

I see this program as more of a stimulus for the auto industry (as a whole) than for the consumers. Sure, people who qualify for the program and are able to buy a new vehicle will benefit greatly, but the real winners are the car manufacturers who will be getting the sales they wouldn't usually get in a time of recession... especially GM.

[SampaGuy]

The point is definitely not to give money to the poor. It is to stimulate the automobile industry and to replace inneficient cars on the road. The regulations are strict enough.

This had huge success in Europe, when Germany started doing it the UK vowed to never do something that stupid. They have their own program going on now! It works. It is not something Obama pulled out of his ass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrappage_program

[tony]

This sounds very conservative of you. I almost got the impression that you believed that people could succeed without the govt doing it for you.



Although it seems like I lean left I am just as adamant about people getting off their ass and doing something rather than wait for the government as I am about Conservatives understanding that poverty does not = lazy.

You know who makes up a good majority of the poverty line? Single mothers, are they lazy? No way, a lot of these women are stretched thin between working and taking care of home and if there are programs out there that can lighten the burden I'm all for it.

[nsany(atl)]

this is just a test program to see if they can get in a program like Japan where it is not feasible to keep a car over 5 years old b/c of how high the taxes on it are.

[Total_Blender]

this is just a test program to see if they can get in a program like Japan where it is not feasible to keep a car over 5 years old b/c of how high the taxes on it are.

Why do newer cars have a higher ad-valorem tax than older ones then? Since I tend to own vehicles older than 1990, I hardly ever pay taxes. And if I do they are never more than $15 a year or so. Granted, thats at the state/local level, but still, if there really was an agenda to keep older cars off the roads the opposite would be happening. Other than the taxes you pay at the time of purchase I am not aware of any federal tax on vehicles... they make their money off of vehicles through the taxes on gasoline.

If anything, the emissions exemptions for vehicles of a certain age make it easy to keep old cars.

[BanginJimmy]

You know who makes up a good majority of the poverty line? Single mothers, are they lazy? No way, a lot of these women are stretched thin between working and taking care of home and if there are programs out there that can lighten the burden I'm all for it.


As I have stated numerous time, I believe a welfare program is an absolute necessity. The problem is in the way it is administered. When people are allowed to make their living off welfare and make no attempts to ever get off it, I have a serious problem with it. It's one of those things, 1 bad apple spoils the bushel.

If you havent done it yet, check out my thread called "Political Crew". I would love to hear your ideas.