DISQUS

QueenZel · 3 months ago

My husband (commercial lender/banker) has been hearing tales of people who've been asked by car dealers to sign agreements guaranteeing personal payment of the amount of money they've been given for their clunker IF the government reneges on the deal.

joebafett · 3 months ago

I was wondering? normally when you trade in a car the newer it is and the better the condition the more money you can negotiate for the trade in right? Well if the purpose for "Cash for Clunkers is to remove higher polluting vehicles then the trade in value should increase the older the car and dirtier the exhaust. the system is backwards!

Proof · 3 months ago

[quote]tales of people who've been asked by car dealers to sign agreements guaranteeing personal payment of the amount of money they've been given for their clunker IF the government reneges on the deal.[/quote]At that point, I would suggest running, not walking, for the door!

José · 3 months ago

Although spending is a must to put things running again, I believe that spending money with new cars isn't probably the best option.
I know that the automotive industry is very important for the USA, but also is agriculture and construction.
My bet would be in the development of new industries to create new jobs and sustainable agriculture.
There must be balance in the economy, or what happened will continue to happen in cycles.

José

docdave · 3 months ago

proof, I think you forgot the impact on exports since many used cars find their way to 3rd world nations. /there goes our trade balance.

Kevin Delaney · 3 months ago

The unintended consequence that has me ticked off is that car companies are (theoretically) currently retooling to make a new breed of super energy efficient eco friendly cars that automatically stop for bunny-rabbits on the road while getting a hundred miles a gallon.

The artificial surge of the cash for clunkers program will have the economy car market saturated when GM's wondermobiles hit the market a few years from now.

In other words, the government is undermining the market of the government owned car company.

Fiberblend · 3 months ago

I think the main issue is that people are trading in perfectly good 'clunkers' in order to buy a new car which they can't afford. Isnt debt how we got in to this whole financial crisis anyway? shouldnt the government be encouraging us to only buy when we've got the money?

Randy-G · 3 months ago

[quote]* The cash for clunkers program has marginally increased the cost of a new car, with more dollars chasing the same amount of vehicles. While this may be good for car dealers, it is bad for the consumer.[/quote] Marginally? Dealers, well GM dealers, is what I have paid attention to, as I have been looking at a new impala have raised prices 3-4 grand over what they were in the spring. Great post Proof!

Randy-G · 3 months ago

But I still struggle with buying from a govt owned auto company.

Rabid American · 3 months ago

[b]CAVEAT EMPTOR![/b]

Who really couldn't foresee the increase in base price when the weasels got bailed out?

When you add to that an "incentive" to buy that amounts to $4500-, and Voila! A rationalization for an instant price increase!

To the buyer it appears that they are getting a "discount", the struggling retailer gets to double up on the margin......

Additionally, the buyer has shouldered not only the new car loan but also the tax increase to pay for it!

Everyone in the circuit gets screwed.......

[IMG]http://i37.tinypic.com/6p9buu.jpg[/IMG]

bill-tb · 3 months ago

Too bad we can't get the government to run a cash for Democrats.

How much can you get for a slightly used congressional clunker, not much, after seeing them in action at town halls, they don't seem to be too good at basic things, like thinking.

studakota · 3 months ago

The "rebate Nation", that's us. If we hadn't been so unwise as to relegate the production of TVs to China, as well as refrigerator/freezers, mixmasters,computers,"sham-wows",and what have you, we might be receiving a rebate on all those products, plus. Or perhaps we can get China, Japan, to directly give us rebates on the above. This illustrates the folly, and denseness, of our political leaders. They've increased the auto rebate, cause thats what it is,apparently not realizing that someone, the taxpayers, will have to pay for this. A sixth grade economics class, if there be one,as there should be, could, in a flash see the fallacy of the program, but our elected PooBahs can't. "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? a nation turns it's bamboozeled eyes to you" and other, noted, tightwads. I understand Sarah has been known to "pinch a penny or two". This is going to be the longest three plus years in our lives, I fear.

Buzz · 3 months ago

[quote]My husband (commercial lender/banker) has been hearing tales of people who've been asked by car dealers to sign agreements guaranteeing personal payment of the amount of money they've been given for their clunker IF the government reneges on the deal.[/quote]Cool, I started that myth a week ago.

Proof · 3 months ago

[quote]Too bad we can't get the government to run a cash for Democrats.[/quote]We could call it "Cash for Kleptocrats".

2+2=5 · 3 months ago

Fiberblend, had it right when he said
[quote]I think the main issue is that people are trading in perfectly good ‘clunkers' in order to buy a new car which they can't afford. Isnt debt how we got in to this whole financial crisis anyway? shouldnt the government be encouraging us to only buy when we've got the money?[/quote]

it's going to get the common man deeper in debt. of course, that may be their goal

zappatrust · 3 months ago

[quote]As has been repeatedly pointed out, the idea of handing a sizable portion of the nation's economy over to the guys who can't even run a used car program is mind boggling. [b]The idea that the life and death decisions involved in the nation's health care might be a tad more complicated than used car trade-ins, with farther reaching repercussions [/b]is the reason the Cash for Clunkers has been relegated to the back burner and people have taken up their torches and pitchforks to storm the townhall meetings of their elected representatives.[/quote]
That sums it up quite nicely! Lol...These lame asses couldn't orchestrate a two car funeral...good post!