Everybody seems to be wondering what is going on with the Car Allowance Rebate System (C.A.R.S.) or as many know it, Cash for Clunkers. The Secretary of Transportation came out and said that they will guarantee that all qualifying cars sold through the weekend of August 1, 2009 and they will be approved and paid.
Then the weekend was over and many of the dealers are getting mixed signals from a variety of sources that they usually depend on for auto industry information. Some dealers are continuing to sell cars in the Cash for Clunkers program, while other dealers are not. Many of the professional associations are saying to hold off until the Senate passes the additional two billion dollars that was already approved by the House.
The official website of the Cash for Clunkers program says it is still going, you can find the website at www.Cars.gov . Many of the dealers are concerned about getting paid, based on lack of credible information and very limited or poor access to the dealer website for loading sales and getting reimbursed.
$2Scrap Cars from Cash for Clunkers What if Cash for Clunkers Spent Too Much?
What happens if all the dealers finally get all their sold and clunked cars put in to the system and they have spent more than they have budgeted for the Cars Allowance Rebate System? Well, that is exactly the question that dealers are asking, but there is no answer.
Who is going to take the $3500 or $4500 loss?
We all know that the car dealer is not willing, or can they afford to take that kind of loss. So, then the car dealer is going to go back to the buyer and tell them they are responsible for the money that the Federal Government did not pay the dealer under the Cash for Clunkers program. Then the buyer is going to say that they would not have bought a car if they were not getting the $3500 or $4500. So now they want to return the new car and take their clunker back. Oops, the Clunker got scrapped or crushed! Car scam or what?
Now what does everybody do? No trade in clunker, it was scrapped, no money from the Cash for Clunkers Program, and a New car that is now a Used car. Sounds pretty ugly, there will be a whole bunch of very upset people, car buying scams on the dealer or customer.
I guess we will just have to sit and wait to see what happens. In the mean time they are some car dealers that are still taking in cars under the Cash for Clunkers program and other dealership that have stopped taking them in for fear of not getting paid and ending up between a rock and a hard place.
If you have a Clunker that you are ready to trade in, you might want to wait a little while and see what happens with the Senate voting on extra money and what the official word might be. You can still go to www.Cars.gov to see if you car can qualify for the Car Allowance Rebate System (C.A.R.S.) and decide what you might want to do. Be careful of car scams.