Cash for Clunkers: Victims of Their Own Success?
Nicolas Loris /
Cash for clunkers is working. Too well, in fact. The $1 billion program that offers $3,500 to $4,500 rebates to turn in your old vehicle to purchase a new, fuel-efficient one. The billion dollars is projected to run out much more quickly than previously thought, and while it’s a great deal for a new car, the program isn’t running too smoothly:
Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through the program and nearly $96 million had been spent. But dealers raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system, prompting the suspension.
A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by NHTSA, or nearly 13 trades per store. It raised concerns that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, auto dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.”