As far as I understand the original owner of the car has to purchase the new car.

Would there be any way around trading in a used car that meets all the requirements that is owned by someone else (i.e. your parents) if they were involved in the titling process? I would assume that co-signing probably would not qualify me nor the car for the rebate.

7/21/2009 10:00:46 AM

They sign the title over to you, you trade what is now your car in, profit

Only issue there is you could concievably get dinged with highway use tax on the title transfer, but I don't know if that would apply here or not

7/21/2009 10:40:15 AM

has to have been registered to you for at least a year, so switching the title wouldn't necessarily work.

7/21/2009 10:51:03 AM

Ah shit you're right and I'm a dumbass.

Parents buy the new car, receive "rebate" and then turn around and immediately sell it to you for the discounted purchase price?

7/21/2009 10:56:05 AM

^that would prolly work. are you still charged tax/tags when the title changes between immediete family members? i think in some states you are not.

7/21/2009 10:59:30 AM

^i'm pretty sure you are in NC

7/21/2009 1:21:16 PM

Quote :

"Vehicles already titled within North Carolina have certain exemptions from the Highway Use Tax (HUT) such as: An insurance company obtaining a salvage title for a vehicle for which a total loss claim was paid. When transferring a title to a manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of resale. When making a name-change or name-correction to a title. If the vehicle is transferred by a will or intestacy. If the vehicle is a gift between a husband and wife, a parent and child or a stepparent and a stepchild. This exemption does not include out of state title transactions, only North Carolina title transactions apply. If the vehicle is transferred as a result of the distribution of marital or divisible property incident to a marital separation of divorce. To a handicapped person from the Department of Health and Human Services after the vehicle has been equipped by the Department for use by the handicapped. To a local board of education for use in the driver education program of a public school when the vehicle is transferred by a retailer and is to be transferred back to the retailer within 300 days after the transfer or transferred by a local board of education. To a volunteer fire department or volunteer rescue squad that is not part of a unit of local government, has no more than two paid employees, and is exempt from State income tax under G.S. 105-130.11, when the motor vehicle is one of the following: A fire truck, a pump truck, a tanker truck, or a ladder truck used to suppress fire. A four-wheel drive vehicle intended to be mounted with a water tank and hose and used for forest fire fighting. An emergency services vehicle. "

sounds to me like this should be a "gift". i think your dad is selling you a very expensive set of floor mats, right?

7/21/2009 2:25:02 PM

Alright so I just spoke with two random car dealerships:

First dealership stated that with their name associated with the car (I guess as co-signers) I could qualify for the rebate. I could not really make out what the guy was saying with his accent but he seemed positive I could get the maximum rebate.

The second dealership is apparently having a few other people ask this same question. The dealership stated they just received the details of the actual bill and could not tell me how I could get qualified. On the other hand they are taking the time to call the government (hot line/help center?) to get details of how I can qualify and will be calling me in a few days with details.

What other governmental rebates are happening right now? I've been hearing no sales tax and a refund/rebate by Obama for new car buyers.

[Edited on July 21, 2009 at 4:13 PM. Reason : durrrhhhh]

7/21/2009 4:11:34 PM

a titty bar with fat chicks what

7/21/2009 8:36:08 PM

what a load of crap

7/21/2009 11:09:21 PM

rip classics, the hippies have won

7/26/2009 9:26:25 PM

The law states the car has to be 25 years or younger, so most classics are exempt from this. Unfortunately there are a few cars (ie GNX) that are covered within those years, but hopefully the owners have enough common sense to realize that the car they have is worth more then 3500-4500 dollars.

7/27/2009 7:59:25 AM

My dad was actually gonna do this, as his '95 Toyota T100 has about 420,000 miles. Engine runs really well, however. He thought it had major head gasket issues or a freeze plug was eaten through because of the prodigious way it was losing water.

For the record, it's been block sealed twice; the head gasket actually did blow four years ago. Head sets and head work on that engine are really expensive, and it already had 275k at the time. So we block sealed the bitch and have had it break loose once. Did it again, no problems.

Now my dad was all ready to go dump the truck and get that 4500 dollar credit and go buy a new Ford Escape. I talked him into coming by the house where I replaced a 16 dolla heater hose. No more leaks. It was the original hose...or what was left of it (not much).

In all reality, ain't this a tax credit? You don't really see that full value, but rather a tax deduction? Dad's really thankful he doesn't have another car payment, as he's semi-retired, and between his social security and monthly disbursements from my grandparents' estate, he's not bringing in much money. The business just isn't there.

7/27/2009 9:20:16 AM

damn toyotas wont stop going eh?

7/27/2009 9:24:34 AM

Quote :

"In all reality, ain't this a tax credit? You don't really see that full value, but rather a tax deduction?"

the way i understood it was that the dealer gives you $3500 or $4500 (depending on mpg increase) for your trade-in, the dealer does all the paperwork, and the govt sends a rebate to the dealer.

it's really just a program where the govt pays the dealer for giving you more for your trade than it's worth.

[Edited on July 27, 2009 at 9:30 AM. Reason : http://www.cars.gov/index.php/how]

7/27/2009 9:29:32 AM

^^^
This is not a tax credit or deduction, but fyi:
Tax credit, reduces your tax bill by X. Or, increases your refund by X depending on how you look at it.

Tax deduction, reduces your taxable income by X, which reduces your tax bill by x * [your tax bracket]


However, in this case, its like ^ said. You take "clunker" to dealership, they knock off the 3500 or 4500 of the deal you made, they do they paperwork, and eventually get a check from Uncle Sam. There is a cap of 1,000,000,000. I guess that is how much ink is left in the printer

7/27/2009 9:44:06 AM

by the way, my buddy got 4500 for his old grand cherokee when he bought a new jetta

[Edited on July 27, 2009 at 9:45 AM. Reason : doing this cash for clunkers thing]

7/27/2009 9:45:26 AM

I wonder if there's a website that keeps track of how much money is left in the fund. I'm still thinking about getting a new car.

7/27/2009 10:45:58 AM

Friend of mine took advantage of this yesterday...no one would give him anywhere close to the KBB value of his Hemi-powered Durango, but this program made up the difference for the most part.

I heard that you had to hold the title to the car (owe nothing to the bank), but I dont see anything on the cars.gov site indicating this, or maybe Im just missing it? Id love to take advantage of this and get some more money off, but my car is 2 years from being paid off.

7/29/2009 1:19:03 AM

You can not owe anything on the car when you go trade it in.

The way it works is the dealer basically gives you a 4500 rebate off the car, then they get a transfer/check/refund from the government for the amount you qualified for. The car is then taken and scrapped. I just wonder if this will affect junk yard prices, because I'm sure the car can not be resold as a whole but I wonder if they can piece it out as long as the majority is crushed.

From what I've seen its lasting alittle longer then most people thought. I figure alot of people are not qualifying because of the combined mpg (18mpg) figures that are required. If you are in the market to buy Dodge (I believe) is offering to double you money on the spot, so in other words 7000-9000 off right on the spot.

The dealer told me what you will need: (1) proof of insurance for a year in some official form/letterhead from your insurance company; (2) at minimum two registration cards proving the car has been titled for at least a year; (3) year of car; and (4) one or two more forms. The dealer made it seem like there is a fairly decent amount of paper work to be done.

I personally have chosen not to attempt to do the cash for clunkers because of the pita it is going to be. With my car in someone else's name, the new car's title will be in their name, the payments will increase their credit, and my insurance will have to factor them in as while.

7/30/2009 6:39:11 PM

I did cash for clunkers today. I found a brand new 5-speed Civic EX that was left over from last year at a dealership. They said they just couldn't seem to move a 5-speed. I ended up getting roughly 40% off the sticker price between the dealer's discounts and the $4500 credit.

One of the benefits is that they deduct the cost of the trade-in from the sale price which saves you on taxes. In other words, if you buy a car at $20k they take $4500 off and write it up as a $15,500 sale. You are then taxed at $15,500; not at $20k. Taxes are only 3%, but that's an extra $125 or so that you save.

In addition, you can deduct the NC sales tax paid on the purchase of a new vehicle purchased before 12/31/2009 against your federal income taxes as part of the stimulus package that they passed this year. That should be a few hundred bucks more in savings.

It's a good time to buy a new commuter if you've been thinking about it.

btw, the dealer I bought from had an 08 Accord V6 with a 6-speed that I'm sure they'll cut you a good deal on. I happen to get a $100 referral bonus if any of you guys buy it and mention me. Shoot me a PM if you want more info or know someone who might be interested in it.

Quote :

"I wonder if there's a website that keeps track of how much money is left in the fund. I'm still thinking about getting a new car."

It's right here: http://www.cars.gov/

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 7:13 PM. Reason : l]

7/30/2009 6:57:17 PM

i'm guessing the 6th gear is the bottom right?

7/30/2009 7:17:48 PM

Clunkers program is already out of money. Ends at midnight tonight.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axu76hQpdRAA

It's complete silliness anyway. The mpg for clunkers should have been lower, and the requirement for the "new" cars should have been more stringent. Even so, destroying a running car uses far more resources and causes far more damage than will ever be gained by even a 15mpg increase. This was a government handout to dealers.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 8:42 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2009 8:41:08 PM

nvm

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 9:50 PM. Reason : late ]

7/30/2009 9:49:54 PM

I'll admit that I have a little bit of concern that the clunker program has run out of money and my car is already at the junkyard. They have to lock up the engine and transmission before shipping it to the junkyard, so it really is scrapped at that point. I'm going to be pissed if that dealer calls me wanting $4500 more.

7/30/2009 10:24:30 PM

Yeah, this has the makings of a complete fiasco.

I wonder how they lock the engine up?

7/30/2009 11:01:56 PM

They have some chemical that they pour in the engine oil and then they run the engine until it seizes. The sales guys didn't really know what it was as far as I could tell. The guy at the Acura dealer said they enjoyed timing the cars to see which would last the longest.

The Cash for Clunkers program is suspended as of midnight tonight according to most news sources MSNBC. If the dealer didn't fill out their paperwork and submit it before leaving today then I really might be in some trouble. Although it would be poor form for them to scrap my car without doing the paperwork first; blue book on my car was only about $1,000 so I'm pretty much SOL if they did.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 11:31 PM. Reason : l]

7/30/2009 11:15:33 PM

Destroying a perfectly good engine . WTF is wrong with the government?

7/30/2009 11:30:00 PM

Quote :

"Appendix B to Part 599 - Engine Disablement Procedures for the CARS Engine Disablement Procedures for the CARS Program THIS PROCEDURE IS NOT TO BE USED BY THE VEHICLE OWNER Perform the following procedure to disable the vehicle engine. 1. Obtain solution of 40% sodium silicate/60% water. (The Sodium Silicate (SiO2/Na2O) must have a weight ratio of 3.0 or greater.) 2. Drain engine oil for environmentally appropriate disposal. 3. Install the oil drain plug. 4. Since the procedure is intended to render the engine inoperative, drive or move the vehicle to the desired area for disablement. 5. Pour enough solution in the engine through the oil fill for the oil pump to circulate the solution throughout the engine. Start by adding 2 quarts of the solution, which should be sufficient in most cases. CAUTION: Wear goggles and gloves. Appropriate protective clothing should be worn to prevent silicate solution from coming into contact with the skin. 6. Replace the oil fill cap. 7. Start the engine. 8. Run engine at approximately 2000 rpm (for safety reasons do not operate at high rpm) until the engine stops. (Typically the engine will operate for 3 to 7 minutes. As the solution starts to affect engine operation, the operator will have to apply more throttle to keep the engine at 2000 rpm.) 9. Allow the engine to cool for at least 1 hour. 10. With the battery at full charge or with auxiliary power to provide the power of a fully charged battery, attempt to start the engine. 11. If the engine will not operate at idle, the procedure is complete. 12. If the engine will operate at idle, repeat steps 7 through 11 until the engine will no longer idle. 13. Attach a label to the engine that legibly states the following: This engine is from a vehicle that is part of the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). It has significant internal damage caused by operating the engine with a sodium silicate solution (liquid glass) instead of oil."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate
It sounds like this is the same block sealer(liquid head gasket fix) that zxappeal was just talking about.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 11:34 PM. Reason : Step 4 is a little late, haha.]

7/30/2009 11:33:34 PM

Quote :

"Destroying a perfectly good engine. WTF is wrong with the government?"

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 11:38 PM. Reason : ]

7/30/2009 11:38:26 PM

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 11:45 PM. Reason : Stop standing in the way of the future!]

7/30/2009 11:41:17 PM

wrt to the engine seizing :that book burning pic is right on... There's nothing "evil" about a car whose engine, as installed in the car being seized such that its mpg is less than 21 or 18 mpg.

hey, I'm ok with the government giving subsidies to encourage people to decide with their own wallet if that's enough to make them want to buy a new car, I'd prefer them paying us to drive cleaner cars than the traditional methods like CAFE (fining the manufacturers when their efficient cars don't sell in high enough numbers of americans because americans who buy american tend to buy v8s and trucks), but acting like the cars to be destroyed are somehow going to sneak back onto the market in large enough numbers to undermine the program is ridiculous. At most, it'd only be a few beaters.

Am I the only one who thinks it'd be easier to improve the outlook of the american fleet wrt to gas mileage by just taxing cars based on curb weight? An exponentially increasing penalty beyond 4000 lbs would mean a lot more people buying wagons instead of SUVs.

I was initially in favor of this plan, but the way that it refuses to either pursue a purely-mpg-improving or a purely-new-car-sales-boosting angle kinda offends me. This is less "two birds with one stone" than it is one blast of a shotgun causing two birds to get a "peppering" but still survive. My (future) inlaws have a 1987 4runner that is EXACTLY the sort of vehicle that the govt wants to get off the road, but they're thrifty people who know that depreciation is a better deal than this plan, and if they wanted to replace the 4runner with a ranger, the best they could do is like $11-$13k whereas the used market can already beat that. If the goal is to accelerate the rate of mpg improvement of the fleet, the government should have appreciated the effect of encouraging existing vehicle owners to move to a newer and more efficient USED car.

The focus on brand-spankin-new as being something entirely different from even-slightly-used makes me think of this as less of a boon to consumers and more of another aid to manufacturers, albeit by the more admirable method of rewarding those manufacturers that sell the most desirable better-mileage vehicles.

7/31/2009 6:13:11 AM

Quote :

""Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored.""

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32228179/ns/business-autos/

7/31/2009 7:47:01 AM

reading that procedure made me sad

i bet there's a 318 that was in great shape and would've been perfect for the durrkota sitting around locked up now sure, there are others in junkyards, but i hate the thought of just destroying one

7/31/2009 7:50:49 AM

I was looking at the metal pan I kept in the garage under the 325i when I got home yesterday. One end had drips of red transmission fluid, one end had drips of black motor oil and green coolant. I think there was some blow-by as well. I'm sure I could have kept it running for another couple of years for minimal money just as I have been doing, but it was going to happen eventually. I do feel that it's a shame to waste a car that drove perfectly fine though. I put probably 110 miles on it the day I traded it in and wouldn't have thought twice about driving it to the beach and back that day.

I pulled all the badges, the wheels, the stereo, and a few miscellaneous parts before trading it in though. I'm not looking for another e30, but I wouldn't be surprised if another one finds me.

[Edited on July 31, 2009 at 7:59 AM. Reason : l]

7/31/2009 7:57:10 AM

so sad

[Edited on July 31, 2009 at 8:01 AM. Reason : i would've pulled every part possible and only left what was necessary to get it to the dealer]

[Edited on July 31, 2009 at 8:01 AM. Reason : what'd you end up getting?]

7/31/2009 7:59:29 AM

Quote :

"I found a brand new 5-speed Civic EX that was left over from last year at a dealership. "

read...........

7/31/2009 8:08:10 AM

haha not sure how i missed that humongous post

7/31/2009 8:22:55 AM

It's ok. Nobody reads long posts.

All of us have to pay for this program as taxpayers. I figured I might as well get something out of it. Thx to all of you for helping to pay for my new car.

7/31/2009 8:57:42 AM

[quote]The focus on brand-spankin-new as being something entirely different from even-slightly-used makes me think of this as less of a boon to consumers and more of another aid to manufacturers, albeit by the more admirable method of rewarding those manufacturers that sell the most desirable better-mileage vehicles.

I think this plan was two fold: (1) a trail period of what could be a much larger environmental bill passed later by Obama (unfortunately it seems to ignore the logistics of environmental pollution through the building and disposing of old cars), the overall appeal is that cars that get less than 18mpg are being crushed and replaced by something that gets at least 20mpg combined; (2) this was a quick fix to up cars sales for a short period of time, again unfortunately most people probably did not buy from the manufacturers that needed it most (Ford, Chevy, GM, etc...) and that's probably why we saw huge incentives from those sellers

As far as the used car sales go, Dodge/Ford/someone was offering to give 3500-4500 toward the purchase of a used car during the Cash for Clunkers frenzy. So at least one dealership/company was trying to push some used cars mainly to those who probably could not afford 11-15,000 worth of debt in these hard economic times.

My main interest is to see how many of these cars stay out there and don't get reposed or turned back in. From what I seen through forums most people just used their 3500-4500 as a down payment without putting any of their own cash down. It makes me wonder how many people jumped on this band wagon without fully thinking the next 5-6 years worth of payments out.

Wonder why they could not savage some parts from these cars? Scrapping good used parts is strange and wasteful to me.

[Edited on July 31, 2009 at 10:10 AM. Reason : yep]

7/31/2009 10:08:45 AM

the government now has access to all your personal information just for going to that website (i'm sure they're already doing this anyway, but with this website specifically, you're giving them consent to do this)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHSWxn5V6yY

7/31/2009 11:47:09 PM

^disregard that, i checked into it some more. looks like fox news is just up to spreading fear once again.

i guess the old saying goes, don't believe anything you hear and half of what you see.

8/1/2009 10:04:23 AM

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 11:45 PM. Reason : Stop standing in the way of the future!]

Does make me sad. engines (plus the rest of the drive train) should be put to rest, but the remains of the car should live i someone chooses to pay for storage... ppl might think a [insert a model here] is a piece of junk, but it will be a good thin to restore/upgrade in the future

look at FJ40

8/1/2009 5:25:27 PM

john kruk has a clunker (Land Rover Disco) and is thinking about using this program.

What are your thoughts about a base Camaro LT or Genesis coupe? I think they'll both qualify for the program (both get 28/29mpg highway).

Which car is better?

8/1/2009 5:49:51 PM

^ Your post just inspired me to look at the Camaro.

What a terribly interesting looking car for the money.

8/1/2009 6:29:48 PM

shits on the suspenders for the time being

8/1/2009 6:38:09 PM

can you actually get a camaro at invoice though? i was under the impression that most dealers were charging like $5k markup

8/1/2009 7:51:20 PM

Quote :

"CASH FOR SPELUNKERS"

8/6/2009 9:02:58 AM

Quote :

"Rare Maserati to be crushed as part of Cash for Clunkers program In Colorado a man traded in a rare 1985 Maserati, with only 18,000 miles on it, as part of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. But like all "Cash for Clunker" trade-ins, the car will soon be crushed. The man said the engine frequently has problems and he's been trying to sell it for months. By trading it in, he got $3,500 for it, roughly the same as he was trying to sell it for. "Probably half our deals right now are Cash for Clunkers," Billy Mills, general sales manager for Go Subaru, said. Most of the clunkers Go Subaru has taken in through the program are predictable. Many are large SUVs and pickup trucks. Some are in pretty bad shape. "Ninety-nine percent of them are clunkers," Wes Guthrie, a salesperson at Go Subaru, said. "I took somebody's car in the other day that their door wouldn't shut anymore, and they were using a bungee to shut the door." Then there was the "clunker" a man drove onto the lot that surprised everyone. "I was like, 'Wow, that's a cool car,'" Guthrie said of the 1985 Maserati BiTurbo. The Italian sports car is in near-mint condition with its odometer reading a mere 18,480 miles. "It is kind of one of those cars where you go, 'Wow. Can't believe that one is a clunker,'" Guthrie said. But it is. It qualified for the program and the owner received $3,500 for it that he used toward a new Subaru Impreza. The interior of the Maserati is pristine, with all leather, suede and wood trim. The issues with the car were under the hood. "He said that he could drive it down the road for about 10 minutes, and then he had to call his mechanic," Guthrie said of the owner's experience. The Maserati owner had been trying for many months to sell the car without success. His asking price for the car was roughly the same as the $3,500 he got from Cash for Clunkers. "So he got what he was asking for it," Mills said. "He just got it from the government instead of a customer." While the Maserati stands out in the lot full of clunkers, it will suffer the same fate. The car will have its engine destroyed and the car will be crushed. "Its one of those cars where you go, 'Wow, I wish it didn't have to be crushed, but unfortunately it does,'" Guthrie said. "

Wow, just WOW

http://www.portfolioweekly.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=6EECC0FE471F4CA995CE2A3E9A8E4207&tier=4&id=6E19B6E84F144C16BED9278DA3C392D8

8/14/2009 1:17:51 PM

The BiTurbo wasn't that great of a car to begin with. He's a fool for not stripping it before trading it in though. He could have gotten big money for a lot of the parts in there. I'm sure someone else will get it between the dealer and the junkyard though.

[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 1:39 PM. Reason : l]

8/14/2009 1:37:51 PM