By James Limbach
ConsumerAffairs.com
July 23, 2009
Car-shoppers would do well to get their bargaining skills in shape if they want to take advantage of President Barack Obama's "cash-for- clunkers," which is expected to begin within a few days.
Just to add to the confusion, Chrysler is offering $3,500 or $4,500 rebates, or zero-percent, 72-month financing, on most 2009 models -- in effect doubling the government's rebate.
The government program gives consumers a $3,500 or $4,500 credit at an auto dealership toward the purchase of a new vehicle when they turn in a low-gas mileage vehicle to be scrapped. The idea is for motorists to get rid of their older cars and trucks and replace them with newer, models that get better mileage.
To qualify for the program the trade-in vehicle has to meet minimum requirements including not being more than 25 years old, The replacement can't cost more than $45,000.
"It's important that consumers get full value for their trade-in," Jessica Caldwell at Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California, told Consumeraffairs.com. To that end, the Web site is making available a vehicle value calculator. It can be accessed by clicking the "cash for clunkers" icon.
The formula for all of this gets a little complicated. The car you're unloading must get 18 miles per gallon or less to qualify. If the car you buy gets 4-mpg- to-9-mpg better mileage than your trade-in, you get $3,500. An improvement of 10-miles-per- gallon nets you $4,500.
In the case of light trucks, the new vehicle will have to get at least 18 mpg. There's a $3,500 credit for a 2-mpg-to-5-mpg improvement, $4,500 for 5 mpg or more.
In addition, your trade-in has to be drivable, and you have to have proof that it has been insured and registered for the past year.
As you might expect, the program has brought forth an army of scamsters trying to make a quick buck off the bill.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is warns of official-seeming sites such as "Cash For Clunkers Headquarters," which claim to offer information on how to trade in your car. Sites that ask for personal information or offer a pre-registration opportunity should not be trusted, the agency said.
There's only one official site for the government, and that's NHTSA's CARS.gov website," said NHTSA press officer Eric Bolton. "Folks should go there and not rely on "cash for clunkers" sites on the internet as they are not official."
