Cash For Clunkers Program Suspended

By Marshall Zelingerm.zelinger@krdo.comFollow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mzelinger

COLORADO SPRINGS – Your chance to save a considerable amount of money on a new fuel-efficient car may have come and gone. The “Cash for Clunkers” program was suspended Thursday night. The Department of Transportation oversees the “Cash for Clunkers” program. $1 Billion was set aside to offer you a $3,500 or $4,500 government voucher (depending on your trade and if you meet the requirements).

“It made me realize that I could get rid of an old vehicle that I had, that I didn’t think was worth $4,500,” said new car customer Rene Chatham. “That was a big incentive to come and trade it in.”

Chatham tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 she hadn’t thought about buying a new car until she learned about the government program. It turns out she got a better deal without utilizing “Cash for Clunkers,” but she thought the offer was good until the fall.

“I would have been disappointed because on the websites everywhere it said November 1st,” said Chatham. “If they would have been saying it’s on-going until money runs out, then we could have assumed, it could end tomorrow, it could end next week, but giving you a three-month window gives you time to think about, shop around.”

According to the “Cash for Clunkers” website, the “program runs through November 1st or when the fundsare exhausted, whichever comes first.”

“It makes us a little nervous,” said Phil Long Ford General Manager Mike Cimino. “We thought it was a solid program. We still think it’s a solid program, but it’s been suspended so they can count how much money they have left.”

According to the “Cash for Clunkers” website, this is the criteria to qualify for a $3,500 or $4,500 discount:

Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements) Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-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. The program requires the scrapping of your eligible trade-in vehicle, and that the dealer disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in. The scrap value, however minimal, will be in addition to the rebate, and not in place of the rebate.

The $3,500 or $4,500 depends on how many miles per gallon your new vehicle gets compared to how many miles per gallon you got on your old vehicle.

“The dealership gets the allowance, the customer gets the benefit, so the customer has already here with the benefit,” said Cimino.

NEWSCHANNEL 13: “So, are you on the hook for any of this money right now?”

“Yes,” said Cimino. “You have 200 cars out and it’s $3,500 to $4,500 a car, so you can probably do the math.”

Based on how many sales Cimino says he’s had using “Cash for Clunkers” this month, the government owes Phil Long Ford about $800,000. The dealership still has “Cash for Clunkers” applications yet to be submitted for approval. Cimino says if you’ve already utilized “Cash for Clunkers” with his dealership, and have bought your car, you don’t have anything to worry about.