Cash for Clunkers... Booo.....

aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Initially, I was really behind this program, because it definitely seems like a way to get people interested in buying cars again, but I no idea they were killing the cars. Pretty much any car forum that has models from the late 80's 90's is livid now with the program. I personally am a huge Oldsmobile Aurora fan, my first car was one and am still active on the forum. Here's one being 'put down' because it was trading in under the Cash for Clunkers program;


You think with such a liberal, spread the wealth around government, as the one currently in power, they would have put the program to better use. While some of the cars being traded in are really bad beaters, there are many cars that still have years of useful life ahead of them, they just need a new loving home. I'm sure there are still some Katrina victims that had their old cars destroyed that could have used that Aurora...
 
bulldog123

bulldog123

Member
Because the reason they are removing these cars is to "SAVE THE EARTH". If they didnt they would end up back on the street and the car lots would be getting twice the money(some what). When I first heard of this program I thought they would end up in Cuba or Mexico. And that would defeat the purpose. And we all know the govt isnt about wasting money or doing things twice.
This is JMO, I have not heard the White House on this.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
What a waste...that was actually sad :(
Think of the people that can benefit from a donated vehicle
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
HEYYYY...I just got a news pop-up that the Govt...is going to suspend this program...LOL...maybe they thought the video was sad too...
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
Whats the big deal? Nobody is holding a gun to people's heads making them take part in the program. The whole idea was two fold, help spur auto sales and get older gas hogs off the street. This is one of the few spenduless type programs I think made some sense.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3098973
HEYYYY...I just got a news pop-up that the Govt...is going to suspend this program...LOL...maybe they thought the video was sad too...
Yep, the program has been suspended.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...uspended_N.htm
They have no idea how actual sales and clunker trade-ins they have. Response to the program as been quite surprising. The paperwork and processes for the dealers to get their money is so confusing. Dealers have to have the engines killed to get the money, but if the programs ends/something doesn't work out, they're left with a destroyed car and no money.
CK, yea pretty much, the cars have to be destroyed to prevent the dealers/auction houses/etc from getting 'double money,' the clunkers money and then them reselling the car. The idea behind the program itself is to get gas guzzlers off the road, and to help the ailing auto companies.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefraff
http:///forum/post/3098981
Whats the big deal? Nobody is holding a gun to people's heads making them take part in the program. The whole idea was two fold, help spur auto sales and get older gas hogs off the street. This is one of the few spenduless type programs I think made some sense.
Yea, I don't think it wasn't really a 'big deal' thing, it's was just that the program seems so wasteful. The are a ton of better uses that Aurora could have been put to use for then to have sand poured down it's throat. I think it's a bit more 'emotional' then it should be because Auroras are 'my' cars. I really like them. There are a lot of other forums that are livid too, there are camaro guys sad to camaros being put to death, 5.9L Limited Grand Cherokee's for jeep guys, etc..
We were thinking of trading our mom's old 2001 Suburban (she has an 07 now) in for a Pontiac G8, because with the dealer matching programs, it as a trade-in would be less amount. But the thought of having the Suburban killed for no reason is ridiculous. The truck did nothing but serve us and keep us safe for eight years and in no way shape or form deserves to be killed. It still has tons of life and would serve some one less fortunate.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/3099018
Yea, I don't think it wasn't really a 'big deal' thing, it's was just that the program seems so wasteful. The are a ton of better uses that Aurora could have been put to use for then to have sand poured down it's throat. I think it's a bit more 'emotional' then it should be because Auroras are 'my' cars. I really like them. There are a lot of other forums that are livid too, there are camaro guys sad to camaros being put to death, 5.9L Limited Grand Cherokee's for jeep guys, etc..
We were thinking of trading our mom's old 2001 Suburban (she has an 07 now) in for a Pontiac G8, but the thought of having the Suburban killed for no reason is ridiculous. The truck did nothing but serve us and keep us safe for eight years and in no way shape or form deserves to be killed. It still has tons of life and would serve some one less fortunate.
Did you know you can donate the vehicle to a church or charity and use it as a tax write off....(not full value) but better than it being trashed...IMO
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3099020
Did you know you can donate the vehicle to a church or charity and use it as a tax write off....(not full value) but better than it being trashed...IMO
We have donated three cars before
. Great thing to do.
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member
NOOOO! I was going out this weekend to trade in my daughter's 2000 Mercury Villager that she's beat to death learning how to park. With all the dent's she's put on it, I'll have to scrap it once it finally lays over and dies. Mechanically it's in good shape, but I couldn't get $800 on a good day for a trade. A local Dodge dealer had their Calipers on sale for around $15K. Dodge was giving Double CARS bonus for a total of $8K. I could've gotten a $18K car for seven grand.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Originally Posted by bionicarm
http:///forum/post/3099023
NOOOO! I was going out this weekend to trade in my daughter's 2000 Mercury Villager that she's beat to death learning how to park. With all the dent's she's put on it, I'll have to scrap it once it finally lays over and dies. Mechanically it's in good shape, but I couldn't get $800 on a good day for a trade. A local Dodge dealer had their Calipers on sale for around $15K. Dodge was giving Double CARS bonus for a total of $8K. I could've gotten a $18K car for seven grand.

Yea, that literally happened not too long ago on the Aurora board. A 1995 with 310,000 miles. Still ran, and everything worked (even a/c), but it was literally worth as scrap (esp. that big aluminum engine) then to sell it.
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/3099018
Yea, I don't think it wasn't really a 'big deal' thing, it's was just that the program seems so wasteful. The are a ton of better uses that Aurora could have been put to use for then to have sand poured down it's throat. I think it's a bit more 'emotional' then it should be because Auroras are 'my' cars. I really like them. There are a lot of other forums that are livid too, there are camaro guys sad to camaros being put to death, 5.9L Limited Grand Cherokee's for jeep guys, etc..
We were thinking of trading our mom's old 2001 Suburban (she has an 07 now) in for a Pontiac G8, because with the dealer matching programs, it as a trade-in would be less amount. But the thought of having the Suburban killed for no reason is ridiculous. The truck did nothing but serve us and keep us safe for eight years and in no way shape or form deserves to be killed. It still has tons of life and would serve some one less fortunate.
Most of the cars being traded in on this program are pretty much clunkers and 'smoke choakers' that had no business being on the road in the first place. A friend of mine is a Toyota manager, and she told me that people have been literally dragging POS cars and trucks onto her lot just looking for the opportunity to get rid of them. One guy was actually getting ready to take his old truck down to Port Aransas and stick it on a barge that they were using to takes old vehicles out to sea to create a reef.
The Aurora is 'your car'? I had to Google the thing just to remember what it looked like.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member

Originally Posted by bionicarm
http:///forum/post/3099037
Most of the cars being traded in on this program are pretty much clunkers and 'smoke choakers' that had no business being on the road in the first place. A friend of mine is a Toyota manager, and she told me that people have been literally dragging POS cars and trucks onto her lot just looking for the opportunity to get rid of them. One guy was actually getting ready to take his old truck down to Port Aransas and stick it on a barge that they were using to takes old vehicles out to sea to create a reef.
The Aurora is 'your car'? I had to Google the thing just to remember what it looked like.
LOL, but yea like I said, there are probably a ton of true clunkers that need off the road, but with the amounts being $3500 and $4500, there are good cars in the $2000-$4000 range (because the horrible market pushing resale values down), it's just better financially to do the clunkers (was) then a traditional trade.
As far as the Aurora being my car, yea, it was my first from 17-22. They're not that great of car, but they're very decent. At 17, who else had heated leather seats, sunroof, and a great V8 engine. I had her for 5.5 years, and had a ton of memories. Washed every other weekend/oil changed religiously every 3,000 etc. I really wanted to keep her forever, those "i wish I kept my first car' bits. But sadly coming back from the grocery store, some bags fell off the seat and I reached down to pick them, only to have a jeep stopped in front of me. I swerved into the ditch on the right, but got pulled too far down and I hit a driveway, which launched me through a telephone pole. Through it, not just into it. I walked away unscaved with only a sore neck. When the insurance came to pick her up days later, I asked the driver if I could load her, and she fired right up like nothing had happened. I never got strained once in that car, definitely more then a car for transportation from point A to point B.
Probably why I took the vid at the top a little hard... Need to go edit the "if I ever cried" thread...
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member

Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/3099061
LOL, but yea like I said, there are probably a ton of true clunkers that need off the road, but with the amounts being $3500 and $4500, there are good cars in the $2000-$4000 range (because the horrible market pushing resale values down), it's just better financially to do the clunkers (was) then a traditional trade.
As far as the Aurora being my car, yea, it was my first from 17-22. They're not that great of car, but they're very decent. At 17, who else had heated leather seats, sunroof, and a great V8 engine. I had her for 5.5 years, and had a ton of memories. Washed every other weekend/oil changed religiously every 3,000 etc. I really wanted to keep her forever, those "i wish I kept my first car' bits. But sadly coming back from the grocery store, some bags fell off the seat and I reached down to pick them, only to have a jeep stopped in front of me. I swerved into the ditch on the right, but got pulled too far down and I hit a driveway, which launched me through a telephone pole. Through it, not just into it. I walked away unscaved with only a sore neck. When the insurance came to pick her up days later, I asked the driver if I could load her, and she fired right up like nothing had happened. I never got strained once in that car, definitely more then a car for transportation from point A to point B.
Probably why I took the vid at the top a little hard... Need to go edit the "if I ever cried" thread...
I can relate. My first car was a '67 Malibu I paid $150. The rear deck lid had been pushed in, and was held down with a coat hanger tied between the holes where the lock was. That actually worked to my advantage when I went to the Drive-In with my buddies. They could hide in the trunk, and when I pulled up to pay, they saw the coat hanger twisted 10 times and said, "Forget the trunk check. Go ahead." When I parked, I just pulled my wire cutters out, open the trunk, and closed it again with one of many spare coat hangers I kept in the back. It had a small block 327 that could tear the tread off of any tire I put on it. Still wish I had that baby. I was watching the Mecum Auto Auction the other night, and a Malibu identical to mine sold for $32,000. Who would of figured.
 
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