Given all the news this weekend about the wild success of the Cash-for-Clunkers program I thought it would be a good idea to remind A Blue View readers why this is such a brilliant idea. I also thought sharing some tips on ways to not get ripped off by dealers if you decide to participate would also be helpful.
Here's a part of The Unexpected Brilliance Of The Threefer Idea: Removing The Clunkers Is Especially Helpful from 1 April:
Sometimes coincidences are amazing. Yesterday morning I posted about a bill in Congress that will provide multiple benefits by paying people to retire their old gas clunkers and buy new fuel efficient cars: A Threefer: Stimulate The Economy, Reduce Foreign Oil And Help The Environment (it's worth reading).
Later that afternoon, I got an email marketing piece that explained that upgrading old clunkers has a much larger impact on reducing pollution and dependence on foreign oil than improving performance of new, already efficient cars: it all has to do with thinking about mileage in terms of gallons-per-mile rather than the usual miles-per-gallon ...
The reality that few people appreciate is that improving fuel efficiency from 10 to 20 mpg is actually a more significant savings than improving from 25 to 50 mpg for the same distance of driving" ...
"For families and other owners of more than one type of vehicle, the greatest fuel savings often comes from improving the efficiency of the less efficient car"
And the warning, from ButAsForMeNews:
The cash for clunkers program gives opportunistic dealers and/or individuals
... THE CONCERN with these type of ads is with the following fact:
- a chance to bait-and-switch the consumer at best or to commit outright fraud in the worst of scenarios.
- a motive to increase prices on good MPG cars as a result of supply/demand.
- an opportunity to steal your identity through fraudulent websites.
“The law requires your trade-in vehicle to be destroyed. Therefore, the value you negotiate with the dealer for your trade-in vehicle is not likely to exceed its scrap value.”²
Therefore, some cars that qualify for the government program may actually be worth more than the voucher. You would be better off selling your trade-in to the dealer.
Check both to see if your clunker qualifies and learn its trade-in value.
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