Anyone have problems today with "Cash for Clunkers" ?

Sorry to hear that. I went in today for one that was on hold for me for two days. I was waiting for the CARS program to start. It went pretty smooth, no complaints.

 

How far is the next dealership?

 

????

No one has any?
Or, no one you called?
Why are you giving up?

 

My biggest pet peeve with the whole thing is that the dealership I have a deposit on a Prius with says he won't process any CFC trade-ins until Monday once they have their approval and everything is setup. I totally understand he's doing things 'by the book', but in the meantime it looks like hundreds, maybe thousands, of dealerships across the country have begun selling cars under the program and customers are driving their Prius home with the $4500 credit.

I wouldn't mind it so much if there were more funds in the program, but as crazy as it sounds, I really think the funds might dry up on Monday. There are ads all over the TV since yesterday from dealerships mentioning the CFC, and LOTS of people mentioning they're planning on participating...

Ugh. Monday can't come quick enough. I never thought I would say that

 

I would be nervous, too. I did my deal yesterday and picked up my '10 Prius III that I ordered 3 weeks ago. At the dealer, they had over 40 clunkers on the lot. There are a LOT of people using this deal.

It is going to be VERY PAINFUL for the slowpokes who show up 2 days after the money runs out. Yikes.

 

The dealership I got mine from had over 30 clunkers coming in yesterday and today. I was peeved they didn't give me the scrap value, I called and made hollow threats. They agreed to give me $150 back for my "trouble."

 

You really think over 200,000 clunkers are going to be traded in in a matter of a couple of days? Or is this what the dealerships are putting out there to cause panic for others to "buy now"

 

I hope it all works out for you.

 

I don't think any dealerships are jumping up and down to get everyone to do this now. It's a ton of work/effort and lots of money at risk ... and no one knows how many cars will be traded as clunkers. They can count all the old cars registered and co me up with millions, but how many of the millions will qualify along with their owners qualifying?
Car must have continual registration with proof of that. A year of continual insurance. A clear title. A good registration that had no lapse. Then, the buyers have to be able make a good judgment as to their car purchased - not everyone's focusing on Prius, LOL. I sold Matrix, Tacoma, Camry, and Corolla + Prius too. Our store's sold many different models that qualify. The lure of the $3500 - $4500 can also mean a new car payment to folks who are not using the clunker enough right now to justify a payment.

How will anyone know? It's a crapshoot.
It was sorta fun and crazy to be ambushed like Custer and the Indians again for two days straight, but that said, it's not US pushing it ... it's the buyers afraid their golden goose egg will go to someone else.

Procrastinate at one's own risk. It works out sometimes, and sometimes, it doesn't.

 

Do you know what gets me? I purchased mine on 6/22 and the very next morning in the paper they announced plans for the CARS program. I missed out completely! I traded in a minvan with 17mpg for a prius. I easily met all of the qualifications (reg, ins, title) and am SOL.

So, for those of you who are even in the running for the rebate - at least you have a shot. I have nothing, but a trade in that was valued at far less than it was worth.

 

I understand this is a big financial commitment, but at the same time. The law clearly states that you COULD get reimbursed for the cars as long as the purchase was made before July 1st. So if the dealer do their work with proper papertrail, I don't see how it is a problem.

I had my loan and insurance setup on Friday, then the dealer pushed it back. I will be pissed if they push it back further again as the car payment on my old car is due.

 

I had absolutely no problems with this program when I went in to buy my Prius.
Originally I was a little worried that mentioning the "cash for clunkers" would cause a hiccup in negotiations, so I made no mention. Over the week, through emails and phone calls, I was able to talk my dealer down to a hundred over invoice price.
Came in today and mentioned I had a cash for clunkers, and they said "no problem". Went on in with the paper work. I don't take delivery till Monday for some special handling requests with my car .
All in all it was a relatively painless process, except the 1 1/2+ hr it took to process the forms and documentation (probably because it was all new).

 

Well, the official Act stipulates that in no way can the incentive impact the 'sale price' of the vehicle. Any dealership playing those games is, in a way, breaking the law...

 

wow $100 over invoice? They are having trouble keeping the Prius in stock in New England

 

Could be. See my posts in http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...02-when-will-cash-clunkers-run-out-money.html.

In August 08, 1,244,993 light vehicles were sold in the US. Assume that August 09 will be down only 30% vs. last year (we're running down 34.6% YTD). Obviously, not all the new vehicles purchasers will have clunkers to trade in, but run some numbers and I think you'll see that the money will probably run out quick.

 

Dianne, I did Cash for Clunkers Friday and have the new Prius. However, I did have a lapse on registration during the year. I had not paid it, unknowing it had expired.

Will I get a call back for this or am I in the clear? Is it up the dealer to check this or the gov't?

Thx. I'm only a little nervous. It wouldn't change anything but some additional money.

***Just to be clear, I did pay it AFTER it had expired, so it was a registered vehicle at the time of turning it in. It's just it hadn't had a "continuous" registration.

 

Signed everything today for a Red model IV w/ solar, car expected for delivery Monday. My dealership had already taken in 9 clunkers today and had them sitting in the back of the lot. Here's the rub - they are so naive about the clunkers program, that not only did they not offer me scrap value, (which, imo fairly ought to be only $50) but they didn't even ask me to sign the clunkers form from the official rules published friday (appendix A page 125, nor did they ever fill out page 122 and show it to me (what it is I'm signing). So, these 10 clunkers represent $40,000 of dealer revenue "on hold" till applications are finalized. They are going to have to call everyone (except me, I made 'em go pull page 125 and give it to me to sign) back to sign these forms if they want to be paid! I.E. - they think they are doing the program but they have no idea. If you read the rules (section 599.302-304 Dealer requirements for reimbursement), you will see that beyond the form they have the customer sign, they also need signatures from the scrapper certifying that they have taken in the clunkers.

Don't know how its going at all dealerships, maybe Diane can speak about hers, but unless a dealer already has a prearranged appointment with a scrapper to show up at his dealership Monday morning and officially sign off on these forms that the DEALER has to submit to complete their application to get paid, virtually no complete applications are going to be submitted to the Feds Monday. If they submit an application for review that doesn't have every little i dotted and t crossed, their application will be rejected and once the issues are fixed it can be resubmitted at the END OF THE LINE!

Reading the final rules from a dealers perspective is very informative. You quickly realize that the paltry 50 bucks they are "allowed" to keep of the scrap value isn't coming anywhere close to covering their expenses of complying with this program. Suffice it to say that getting the customers "clunker" and all their required docs in order is only the very first of many hurdles they are going to have to clear to get paid.