The US Government just released a statement that the Cash for Clunkers Program will end Monday, August 24th, at 8pm EST. So far, the Cash for Clunkers program has used $1.9 billion worth of vouchers and is on pace to use the entire $3 billion pot of money by early September.
The Cash for Clunkers Program has generated more than 457,000 new vehicle sales, sending just as many “clunkers” to the scrap heap. By all accounts, the Cash for Clunkers program has been a large success and has helped pump billions of dollars into the economy by creating new vehicle sales and thousands of jobs.
Is this really the end of Cash for Clunkers?
The Cash for Clunkers program was previously suspended when it ran out of funds, causing Congress to push for an emergency bill to add more money to the program. The program was originally funded with $1 billion dollars and was scheduled to run until November 2009 or until the money ran out – whichever happened first. However, many dealers stopped accepting Cash for Clunkers trade-ins when it was rumored the program was out of money, so Congress funded the Cash for Clunkers program with an additional $2 billion.
This time around there is a definitive ending time for the Cash for Clunkers Program, and program officials have stated they will honor all eligible deals that occur before the deadline. Since dealers shouldn’t have to worry about their vouchers being honored, there should be some good deals this weekend!
Cash For Clunkers to End – Trade in your Clunker before time runs out
If you are still trying to decide whether or not to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers deal, you need to make up your mind quickly. Obviously, you shouldn’t buy a new car if it will stress your finances. But if you were on the fence, now may be your last chance to get such a good deal.
How to take advantage of Cash for Clunkers:
- First, you need to verify your vehicle qualifies for the Cash for Clunkers program.
- You also need to be sure you meet other Cash for Clunkers requirements.
- Find an eligible new vehicle. You can get free new vehicle quotes at Yahoo! Autos
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Shop wisely. Buying a new car is a big event, so be sure to shop around and get multiple car quotes before signing on the dotted line. Since you may be in a time crunch, I recommend getting new car quotes over the internet for convenience and to save time.
More thoughts about the end of Cash for Clunkers:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Patrick,
I feel compelled to address your comment, “By all accounts, the Cash for Clunkers program has been a large success and has helped pump billions of dollars into the economy by creating new vehicle sales and thousands of jobs.”
The government doesn’t create demand as they produce nothing. They merely steered demand from one area to another. In this case, they pulled demand from the future to the present at the expense of taxpayers.
Many folks who bought a car and now face a car payment will probably cut expenditures in other areas such as dining, clothing, electronics, etc.
I am only throwing this out there because so many people think the government creates wealth through these types of programs. They don’t. They just squeeze the balloon at one end.
And, this comes from a guy who grew up in an auto town and has friends that work there.
I sure hope that this program does not get renewed or tried again. For any American that did not trade in a clunker, we just subsidized someone’s new car purchase. That is ridiculous.
Why not give a tax break to all Americans and allow them to decide where they want to spend the money? Why mandate that it be used to buy cars? This seems like intrusive government meddling and redistribution of wealth.
Kirk,
I agree – not to say that the Government isn’t trying, but its all smoke and mirrors – they will take an action and later on see something positive happen and assume it was a result of that action…
ChristianPF,
You are right. I would also add that they ignore the lost opportunity cost (lost spending in other parts of the economy or lost savings). And, if the action doesn’t work, they look for someone else to blame…usually the other party or that greedy capitalistic market.
Edmunds data already shows that sales have dropped 31% for autos since the height of cash for clunkers. They may get a short spike since it ends Monday, but then the lots will be empty.
What is really interesting is I have a friend who is a car salesman. He said that people were paying full sticker price for vehicles. The dealers wouldn’t budge since there were so many people shopping on the lots. So the savings from the clunker trade in was probably offset to a great degree by the lack of negotiating power with the dealer.