cash for clunkers

[Up In Smoke]

Being in the auto industry for almost 25 years you hear a lot of rumors.
there is one going around now that some of the less moral dealers
are telling customers that they do not qualify for the cash for clunkers voucher (4500.00)....BUT...
we will allow you 3500 for your trade, you make the deal and then the dealer
turns it in for the voucher and gains an extra grand.
again...i am not sure how true this is but if you plan to take advantage of this deal
be careful.

[Caribou]

How sad!  That would be biting the had that is feeding you big time because this has breathed life back into the auto industry somewhat.
I heard one dealer call the Glen Beck show last week and he said the dealership have not received a penny yet from the Fed for these rebates.
He said for his dealership it has been a hardship to make payroll and carry these rebates while they wait for the Fed to reimburse them.
I don't know how much there is truth in this.
Carolyn

[Habanero Smoker]

I applied on July 13th., and the dealer has not received my voucher so he will not release the new car I'm trying to purchase. A lot of the major dealers are going ahead and destroying the clunkers and releasing the new car prior to receiving the voucher. My dealer assured me that they do not get preference, it goes by the date of the application.

There are a few levels to this. There is a $3,500 rebate if you get less then 10 mpg more increase from the new car you are purchasing; that is generally if you are trading in a car. I have a SUV, so to get the $4,500 I only need to trade for a vehicle that only gets 2 mpg more, but I'm trying to trade a 97 Exploder (Explorer) for a 09 Focus which will give me around 12 mpg increase.

It a huge response to the program, and not enough employees to process the paper work.