Redirect that quote to Citigroup/BofA/AIG/Chase/Goldman but multiply that by 10.

 

Cash for clunkers gets another $2 billion

The House voted today to spend another $2 billion on the cash for clunkers program. The program offers rebates to car owners who trade in old gas-guzzling vehicles for more fuel-efficient ones.

 

brand spanking new fit in the driveway, 25% courtesy of cash for clunkers. glad its over!

 

Now you fully understand the meaning of Carpe Diem.

When an opportunity presents itself, seize the day. Grab that opportunity.

Can't do anything about last week, because it's past.
Can't do anything about next week, it's not here yet.

I bet you're exhausted. Rest up. And take a nice drive in the country this weekend. Don't fiddle with all the stereo stuff while driving, just get used to the feel of the new car. How it steers, brakes, accelerates. Be gentle, as the car IS a baby, it's all new.

Bring the owner's manual (ahhhh, the OWNER'S manual). Have a picnic maybe, while reading about how some of the things work. Learn how to make the seats go up and down. Your tire tools are probably under the passenger side back seat. You want to make sure you HAVE them.

Enjoy!

 

Now we have to wait for the Senate. And the pressure is really on them.

Favorite quotes from your article:
"We're telling the customer, 'We're the only dealer open on Northern Boulevard. You've got four minutes,' " he said.

and:
"Can you imagine the position we were in last night?" he said. "We had 176,000 missiles in the air and we're hearing it's cancelled."

and:
"I didn't sleep at all last night," Goldberg said. "I feel terrible. All of a sudden the money's gone. It's a little nerve wracking."

I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a few dealerships trying to stay open 48 hours over the weekend. With a similar pressure near midnight on Sunday (last day the government has promised to extend it).

If it's a huge response, I might even suggest having almost an assembly line set up for the program. Sort of like DMV with it's info booth at the beginning.

Everyone checks into the info booth to be sure they qualify. Most of us here could do that job, just by checking the computer on the Fuel Economy site. Lots of folks haven't done that.

And then the paperwork begins, with each person in the assembly line contributing a form or an assessment or whatever has to be done, in order, to move the people quickly through the preliminary parts.

For the salespeople, since they get commission, maybe this time the total commissions are pooled. So the person who is checking to be sure the car runs or checking the title don't get left out of making money for their contribution.

Because becoming an expert in all the forms is tough. But specializing in ONE form or ONE job is much easier.

 

That's funny. But also sad and true.

People have complained about this Clunkers program because it's the taxpayers paying for it.

You know what? I'm FINE with paying for more fuel efficient cars for many people, especially compared to paying for those banks, wall street, automakers, and bonus recipients.

I'm not fine with paying some individual a bonus when they already get a big salary. They're out of touch with the reality that the majority of people face every day.

Here's how to put them in touch with reality...have them all be assigned a clunker to drive for a year. Anyone who voted against the extension in the House, or who might vote against it in the Senate, make them drive a clunker.

Make an exec drive a clunker who just got a bonus of a million dollars. It's like they have no conception of small dollar values. They think in terms of millions and billions. While the rest of us may be thinking in 10's and 20's, so that a $4,500 opportunity is HUGE.

 

Congratulations! You got in under the wire of last night's confusion!

Any estimate on how many people were doing deals last night at your dealership?

 

Let us know what happens on that. How they issue the refund on the tax, or if you have to redo all the paperwork.

 

I am in CA, and am due refund when the deal completes as well.

I asked, and my dealer had an additional form (addendum) indicating that the dealership will refund the sales tax on the $4500.

The official sales contract is not modified to take account the sales tax refund. For bookkeeping purposes, the tax and original forms reflect taxes paid on full amount as 1 transaction, but then dealership will refund $4500x.0925 back in a separate transaction.

I think probably because of all the downstream processes including all the accounting software and possibly dmv/irs aren't setup for this exception.

 

Won't that be a bit of a headache at tax time if you plan to use the tax credit of the sales tax?

 

We did the whole deal, checking out cars online, test driving, deal negotiations, paperwork, payments, etc. from Wed-Fri this week, and driving the Fit Sport+Nav home Fri pm. But it wasn't easy. It was a zoo at the dealer, and lots of confusion about the processing of clunker deals. I was told I'd need to pay full price upfront (no netting of clunker rebate) to drive the Fit off their lot; I am now waiting to hear from the dealer that they rec'd confirmation from gov't and then they will credit me back the amount of the rebate. On pick-up day, I was a bit confused about their need for an "appraisal" of my clunker. They said that would be my trade-in value (non-negotiable) if the gov't nixed my clunker. At least they agreed to discount my net price by the amount of the trade-in (i.e., $4500 clunker rebate - $1000 tradein = $3500 refundable amount). You could almost smell the tension and confusion in the showroom floor!! Lots of floor traffic and lots of impatient customers. We also asked about the scrap value of our clunker - our sales rep needed the boss to come over on that one to explain about the minimal scrap value and the $50 deduct for the dealers overhead (message: "don't expect a single penny").

 

I am so angry and frustrated. I put down a deposit and signed a contract on July 18th for a Fit that was on the lot. We brought all the paperwork for a CASH program trade-in on a 1996 Chevy Suburban. The dealer said we couldn't take the FIT until he qualified the Suburban. That sounded fair enough, as it undoubtedly qualifies. I eagerly anticipated getting my car by the following weekend.

Now, two weeks later I still do not have it. He has not been answering my polite inquiries as to the status and I finally get thru to him yesterday--he tells me he "Couldn't submit it because [he] needs the Release of Lien on the car". I have this document at home and faxed it over--which I would have done at any time if he had bothered to to pick up the phone (or get on the phone when I called).

Is he allowed to hold my car hostage? Is he allowed to change the price after an agreement has been signed? Beyond my impatience to have my car, this situation is making me uneasy that I am to get royally &*$%!

 

Is he allowed to hold my car hostage? Is he allowed to change the price after an agreement has been signed? Beyond my impatience to have my car, this situation is making me uneasy that I am to get royally &*$%![/quote]

My impression, from this past week, is that the dealers are very nervous about getting stuck between the gov't and the buyer and being out of pocket by $3.5-4.5k. When I expressed shock at paying the full (not net) price of the car, my dealer said he could "hold my new car" (i.e., "hostage") until he got gov't approval for my clunker. And that was the day after I plunked down $17k to buy my new Fit (incl state taxes, fees, options, etc). I felt I had little leverage on the overall deal, and went ahead to post full payment. I'm now the one "holding the bag" if the gov't either reneges or disqualifies my clunker (which should totally qualify).

 

Called the dealership. They already had the paperwork redone for us to come in and sign. The folks in Finance said it's been a nightmare because (supposedly) the instructions from the gov't didn't arrive until Friday. When we went in to sign the forms, it was for $393 less sales tax. YES! Oh, and they gave us another $50 for scrap value of the clunker.
Steve
San Diego

 

Travis, you are the only person I've seen post, and there's at least 4 different C4C threads, about doing a C4C deal that DIDN'T get the $4,500 taken off the price of the car.

This just does not seem right. I really hope you have in writing that they OWE you the remaining $3,500.

And that they are holding off giving your "current trade in" a lethal injection.

Hope this works out for you, and you don't have any trouble getting your remaining money.

Stay on their case about getting your cash.

Be aware that there is a link to email complaints thru the cars.gov site.

And I just had a disturbing thought. They could tell you that "the government turned your deal down as a C4C deal, and all you're getting is the $1000 for trade in, and that they've sold your trade". Meanwhile, behind your back, they lethal injected your car, and turned it in as a C4C, and pocketed the $3,500 themselves. How would you know?

TaffetaWhite really has got a handle on the rules, and I think she's gonna go nuts over your story.

Hopefully she see's it and has some good advice.

Good Luck

 

You're welcome, guys!

 

Yay, Stevedee! That's very good to hear.

I have the feeling that a lot of things weren't covered too well...We can all read "The Rule" and see there is a lot missing. If we have questions, that means something in there wasn't clear. It's not that we're all missing the same parts. And by "we" I mean consumers AND dealerships.

My guess is additional instructions may have gone out. Maybe something clarifying a part that was being missed when deals are being submitted and rejected.

Someone somewhere is looking at the submitted deals at the government, and perhaps doing face palms and head banging on the walls, thinking everyone is stupid. The instructions were lacking in clarity.

Each state has different laws on the taxing, so maybe it took awhile for California to make it's rules clear. Or for dealers to learn what the rules were. We have a major problem with pollution in California, so you'd think the state government would be most eager to have Californians participate in the program.

Your deal is complete. Don't forget about the tax credit for your sales tax!

 

Probably a misunderstanding. The dealer can't do a thing with the deal until they have a free and clear title. A title with no liens. The dealer probably thought they said that, and you probably thought the dealer would let you know if they needed something else. So both the dealer and you were waiting for contact.

You tried to contact them? What happened? The person you wanted to talk to wasn't available?

Who has the Surburban?

Is the FIT you wanted still on their lot?

Do you have another dealership in the area?

Do you have the clear title in your hands? Or do they have it?

 

My impression, from this past week, is that the dealers are very nervous about getting stuck between the gov't and the buyer and being out of pocket by $3.5-4.5k. When I expressed shock at paying the full (not net) price of the car, my dealer said he could "hold my new car" (i.e., "hostage") until he got gov't approval for my clunker. And that was the day after I plunked down $17k to buy my new Fit (incl state taxes, fees, options, etc). I felt I had little leverage on the overall deal, and went ahead to post full payment. I'm now the one "holding the bag" if the gov't either reneges or disqualifies my clunker (which should totally qualify).[/quote]

Do you have a deal that shows you getting the clunker credit? The paperwork? If not, yeah, you are in hot water.

It's not the government that approves the clunker...it's the government that approves the rebate.

The EPA and government have already made it clear what qualifies in their program as a clunker. Right here:
CARS - Car Allowance Rebate System

Yes, there was some confusion when the EPA changed the mpg of some vehicles. That makes it real hard for dealers to know what is what.

As of right now, does your clunker show as a clunker? Yes or no?

Did the dealership process the vehicle as a clunker? Yes or no?

Do you have TWO contracts? Yes or no?

 

I was annoyed... was prepared to do a C4C trade today and my dealer would only accept it for cars on the lot, not ones they have to order. They only had 1 Fit on the lot and it wasn't the one I wanted.