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I never read what they did to the cars for Cash For Clunkers.

svtkev said:
The only thing that cant be resold is the engine block , and they have 6 months till the car has to be crushed.thats plenty of time to strip a car
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The topic is about having the dealers strip them down to what they're allowed to do. Which in those 6 months, they're going to make more having their techs stay with their normal job descriptions based on the fact of the labor charge per hour to work on customer car will net them more profit.

Also, how many people do you think are going to go into a dealer and opt for a used part versus a brand new one? I think the average consumer is going to turn a blind eye to the used part. Now the dealerships have an inventory issue with all the extra used parts laying around that aren't making them money.
 
i meant if they turned them over to salvage yards right away the salvage yard would have 6 months to strip it and these vehicles could provide alot of used parts
 
svtkev said:
i meant if they turned them over to salvage yards right away the salvage yard would have 6 months to strip it and these vehicles could provide alot of used parts
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I thought they had 180 days to get rid of the car from the JY?
 
Beans said:
Yep, i was watching that video of that Volvo on the first page, and thought to my self... thats nicer than my Mystique :(
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The video of that poor Volvo has been causing quite a stir on other boards as well actually. Someone on one of the other boards commented that technically it shouldnt qualify for the Clunkers program because of its mileage so why were they doing it?
 
Beans said:
Yep, i was watching that video of that Volvo on the first page, and thought to my self... thats nicer than my Mystique :(
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It seems on the surface that this may be true. In reality we know nothing about the cars' actual condition when traded in. It could have been a total lemon. It may have been crashed and repaired poorly. I believe Trdras quoted a trade in value for an excellent car at just over $4000.00. It may well have made economic sense to its' former owner to get ride of it for whatever clunker amount it qualified for. It isn't always the case that one mans' junk is another mans' treasure, sometimes it is still just junk.
 
Dyoel182 said:
But that S80 might qualify as junk but it wouldnt qualify as a clunker.
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Can you explain that please? I don't know what would or would not make this Volvo qualify. I have not studied the requirements as I plan to keep my Mystique and my Solstice for quite some time.
 
My friend that works at a Dodge dealership said they have to get 18 mpg on the highway. Something like that anyway.
 
PEN² said:
I'd have to think that the cost of paying a few tech's to take parts off the large amounts of cars being traded in for this isn't cost effective for them. They can make more money trading them off to scrap/junk yards and making those same few techs stay on their regular routines since most dealerships charge $70+ per hour in labor.
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they may charge 70+ an hour, but rarely if ever will the mechanics see that much.
 
oberthecat said:
Can you explain that please? I don't know what would or would not make this Volvo qualify. I have not studied the requirements as I plan to keep my Mystique and my Solstice for quite some time.
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The big requirement is that it gets 18mpg or less according to EPA ratings. Some dealers took in cars hoping they would qualify but got left holding the bag on rebate money. That's also why some dealers tried having people sign a waiver that they would reimburse the dealer if the car didn't qualify after all which the government is now warning people not to sign those things.
 
elraido said:
but all this is doing is taking cars that lower middle class could afford off the road.
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I beg to differ. It's giving more people the opportunity to reliably get to their jobs and, gasp, have a running vehicle that can carry them to their interview for a job in the first place. Not that I don't agree with you that these cars could go to lower income families who want to fix them up. But let's be real - how many average people fix their own cars?

Have any of you had an unreliable vehicle cause problems at your job or prevent you from getting one? The smearing of Democrats is such a bandwagon in this thread! Seriously? Politics? :laugh:

Our highways need breathing room for new reliable cars. America has too many 1989 Cavaliers in running order because people can't afford to trade what is otherwise a worthless vehicle. BUT - If the government gives them $4500 for an 89 Cavalier... people think twice and buy.

If I could get $4500 for my SE.. wait.. I might just look into that!
 
oberthecat said:
It seems on the surface that this may be true. In reality we know nothing about the cars' actual condition when traded in. It could have been a total lemon. It may have been crashed and repaired poorly. I believe Trdras quoted a trade in value for an excellent car at just over $4000.00. It may well have made economic sense to its' former owner to get ride of it for whatever clunker amount it qualified for. It isn't always the case that one mans' junk is another mans' treasure, sometimes it is still just junk.
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QFT ... 5chars
 
Pre98 said:
Our highways need breathing room for new reliable cars. America has too many 1989 Cavaliers in running order because people can't afford to trade what is otherwise a worthless vehicle. BUT - If the government gives them $4500 for an 89 Cavalier... people think twice and buy.
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The problem though is that 89 Cavalier wouldnt qualify because they changed it to be mileage based instead of age and emissions based.
 
Dyoel182 said:
The big requirement is that it gets 18mpg or less according to EPA ratings. Some dealers took in cars hoping they would qualify but got left holding the bag on rebate money. That's also why some dealers tried having people sign a waiver that they would reimburse the dealer if the car didn't qualify after all which the government is now warning people not to sign those things.
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Thanks, I did find a site that allows a person to enter their car to see if it qualifiws and a Volvo S80 is rated at 19mpg so as you state doesn't qualify. Neither do 2.5l 5spd Mystiques at 20 mpg. Looks to me like some dealers may have jumped the gun a little...... or a lot.
 
zorrex said:
Well that's just it. A lot of these "clunkers" are perfectly good automobiles that are completely paid off. Instead, people are getting "forced" into buying a new car and putting themselves into more debt. The whole thing is whacked out.
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Come on now, no one is forced to use the program. Who says "cash for clunkers program is in effect, now I have to trade in my vehicle, I don't have a choice." Doesn't happen, plain and simple.

On the plus side, more junked vehicles = more junkyard vehicles = more fun for me on junkyard trips!
 
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