Lately, the media has been a buzz with all the talk of the Cash for Clunkers legislation or also know as Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).
On June, 24 2009, the time of writing this post, President Obama had signed the legislation into law. The full details are not available at this time. We have some of the high points that are known.
Cash for Clunkers Main Points
* Lease or purchase or new vehicles only will qualify.
* The Trade-In vehicle must be less than 25 years old on date of the transaction.
* Trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less M.P.G.
* Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured for the full year before trading-in.
* You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase.
* Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
These are some of the main details. More can can be found at the official Cash for Clunkers or Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) website at www.cars.gov . This is only OFFICIAL government website at this time.
You can also find your trade-in mileage ratings for your trade-in at www.FuelEconomy.gov . You will want to know your combined fuel ratings to see if you can qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program.
Beware of Cash for Clunkers Scam
It has been reported that people have set up scam websites in order to attract potential customers and obtain personal information from them under the false pretense of getting them qualified for the Cash for Clunkers Program. These scammers have used websites and toll free phone numbers to get people to call them and then they say that they need to get you qualified. They ask for all your information including your Social Security Number. The next thing you know, your identity has been stolen. You are the victim of a scam.
There is no reason to have any qualification process or to give your information out to anyone. The Cash for Clunkers program or Car Allowance Rebate System will be handled by the dealer that you purchase or lease you new car from. The dealer will take care of all paperwork and allowances with the government. Participating dealers will have to be signed up and approved.
There are also websites that have set up that are asking for you to sign to get Cash for Clunkers updates as they become available. These are strictly sites for gathering information in order to solicit and sell you a car. These sites try to make you believe they are legit, but they are scams.
The only website that you should go to for information is www.CARS.gov they will have all the detaills as they become available. This is a federal government website for the program and not a scam website.
To protect yourself from the Cash for Clunkers scam do not give any information to anyone expect the dealer that you buy or lease your new car.
Some reports state that the Cash for Clunkers program is also know as The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) or Car Allowance Rebate System.