[kelvin6]

Yes, the program does get some old polluting and inefficient vehicles off the road, but when I see pefectly fine even newer cars end up in the chopping block it just makes me sick. As a requirement to get the rebate, the dealership must disable the car's engine by draining the oil and pouring in sodium metasilicate, which is like a watery/glass substance to sieze the engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waj2KrKYTZo...player_embedded

What sickens me the most is that I personally seen some new cars end up in the junkyard due to the program. Cars that are worth more than the $4500 rebate and could've been put to better use, such as donated to a needy family or someone who needs a car.

The car in the video is a 2003 Volvo S80, and it appears to be a very nice car, much newer than mine... horrible death.

My tax dollars are going towards destruction of newer cars!?

[charat]

you can only get american cars right? my mom was like "LETS TRADE IN THE 240!" and iw as like "OH HELL NO!" and drove away.

[ZiGeNX77]

^ LOL

More info: You can trade in any car (of any make) as long as it meets certain requirements that is on this page: Cash for Clunkers FAQ

List of eligible cars


The Volvo trade-in is horrible. I would've bought it for that price!

[charat]

^ LOL

More info: You can trade in any car (of any make) as long as it meets certain requirements that is on this page: Cash for Clunkers FAQ

List of eligible cars


The Volvo trade-in is horrible. I would've bought it for that price!

i meant oyu can only trade it in for an american car right? lik ei cant trade in my 240sx for a honda but i can trade it in for a chrystler or soemthing right?

[anonymousfusion]

i think if your car is actually a clunker and worth less than the rebate then it's a good deal. and no, you can get non-american cars. i know someone who got a honda civic from the program. and my sis might trade in her 1990 mercedes for a honda civic.
i think this is a good temporary program, but there are obv. only a certain # of vehicles and people who are willing to trade in their cars. because not everybody is willing to pay the cash, even though it is cheaper, for the new car, plus their insurance would prob. go up because of the new car.

[ChingGoo]

you can only get american cars right? my mom was like "LETS TRADE IN THE 240!" and iw as like "OH HELL NO!" and drove away.

i dont think so.. my dad traded his 97 mpv for my lexus..
yes throwing away a 03 volvo or any car worth over 4500 would be terrible. but cash for clunkers is really putting a lot more fuel efficient cars on the road & helping our shortage of gasoline.

[G4nismo]

the public drained the Fed's $1 billion dollar budget supporting the "cash for clunkers" program in about a week. they just recently passed the requested $2 billion more from the stimulus package. i would give it about a month...
don't get me wrong, it has helped boost auto sales but the way its being run is highly inefficient and almost unorganized.
this kinda reminds me of the whole housing crisis we recently experienced, luring consumers w/ all those BS flashy sub-prime mortgage options, which ultimately lead to people defaulting and worthless CDO's. what if some of these people jumping on this program don't even have enough expendable expenses to support another big monthly payment?

As soon as the subsidy program ends, people will go back to NOT buying cars. In the long-term, it won't help the economy, industry, or environment one bit. It's just a lame ploy with an election year coming up for Congress.

[andyroxs]

the white house can say whatever crap they want, but this program is just stupid. what good was brought into this world by the destruction of that volvo. That things gotta still be worth more than 10,000 dollars.... the scrap metal it became cant be worth more than a few hundred dollars. Moreover thats not even much of a gas guzzler. How about taking the better and more efficient of these "clunkers" and selling them real cheap to people in poorer areas? Get real, Obama = =

[Trine29]

I think my biggest problem is getting these perfectly running old cars off the street when so many of these cars were made in one place; i.e. they have a small carbon footprint even though they're not as fuel efficient as a newer car.

I've got a old Volvo where literally every piece is labeled with "made in Sweden," and a REALLY old Packard that was definitely made in America. My Volvo gets maybe 20 miles to the gallon, and the Packard...I don't want to know. It's bad.

But because they were made in one place, I don't have to feel guilty about the shipping pollution where every part comes from a different continent. It's absolutely ridiculous. It makes me want to put a sign on the Packard saying my car is better for the environment than a Prius.

Not to mention that both of my cars are worth more than the paltry $4500 from the government.

[jphase]

i didn't know they killed the cars...

they could put all those clunkers to good use...by recycling? haha

what a waste of volvo.. looked like it was in good condition too

knowing this, i don't think i could trade my car in... its kinda sad =[

[Hax]

I was going to say how could this lead to something similar to the housing market because typically people do not buy things they can not afford. Just because you get a discount doesn't mean youll buy something you cant afford. Then I forgot that this is America we are talking about. People buy so much mini cooper they cant afford. Hooorah~

[felinius]

What sickens me the most is that I personally seen some new cars end up in the junkyard due to the program. Cars that are worth more than the $4500 rebate and could've been put to better use, such as donated to a needy family or someone who needs a car.

Then it's obvious that the people who got rid of the car probably couldn't get any buyers, said f-it and went ahead with the program. Who can afford to donate cars right now?

As soon as the subsidy program ends, people will go back to NOT buying cars. In the long-term, it won't help the economy, industry, or environment one bit. It's just a lame ploy with an election year coming up for Congress.

I think what the government is looking for is a SHORT-TERM boost to the auto industry. Apparently auto-makers are looking for more positive numbers this quarter due to the program. So this along with the decrease in the number of jobs let go should paint a picture for a better economy.

[Clix]

I thought it was funny when I was seeing if I could trade my car in without looking at the requirements. Being that the only two Acuras GM would accept for 1998 were the SLX and NSX. Even NSX shells cost more than $4500 so I hope no one traded an NSX.

[90th.degree]

I've seen that video of the Volvo posted on another forum, and a guy there said that those models "have transmission issues", even though I know those cars are extremely reliable. It's really sad that some people are willing to trade in a good car that would cost less to fix than to replace it.

[theLOSER]

i thought this was TOO good to be true.
Ehh, wella see.

My parents want to trade in our 'gold rusty' kakakak, that we had since 1990 & its rusty
and everything. hahaha , I guess it seems good.

[ghost]

We had a meeting with all the techs and were told the "SECRET TECHNIQUE" that we must use with the cars that are traded in...

While checking to make sure the vehicle is safe we must drain all the oil and fill it with a water/glass compound

Then run it till it siezes



I had to do it to 2 cars already that were worth more than 6k...

[-- CRYSTAL.]

this actually worked out really well for my dad. he had a 99 durango with a dead transmission. it wasn't completelyyyyy dead, but it broke down a lot. we got quoted for a trade in and it was 500-1000 so that 4500 was a really good deal. plus it was a major gas guzzler.

[kelvin6]

I remember I read somewhere some comparing this to the housing loan collapse...

Basically, this Cash for Clunkers has encouraged people to dump the car they already own (and probably have finished paying off) to go out to buy a new car which they sometimes can afford and sometimes cannot (back to paying off a car). Putting people back into debt for a car they now gotta pay off instead of keeping a car that already is paid off and in some cases (like these newer cars being destroyed) turning a good car into complete waste.

I looked up a list of cars that are eligible to be traded in for the cash for clunkers program and surprisingly my car doesn't make the eligibility list (1998 Volvo S70 T5), but that Volvo in the video does, because it technically gets less than 18MPG city (although it does better than 18MPH combined freeway/city and over 22+ MPG on the freeway).

[MPowerKai]

I've seen that video of the Volvo posted on another forum, and a guy there said that those models "have transmission issues", even though I know those cars are extremely reliable. It's really sad that some people are willing to trade in a good car that would cost less to fix than to replace it.

They do have transmission issues, the valve body was a bad design back then, I think they have fixed the issues with their new cars. The new trans from volvo is about 2500 and you would be looking at 10 hours labor.

Thats a reliable car though, that is a twin turbo model, very smooth ride and it definitely gets more than 18mpg mixed.

[vinn]

I couldn't buy my car because it was sold out due to the clunker program. The Government screwed me over.