This is the stupidest program that I have ever heard of....is anyone paying any attention to this President! You take a car possibly valued at nothing, pay the person $4500 and allow them to purchase only a NEW vehicle enticing them to go into debt when they possibly would not have done so unless they got such a deal for their vehicle in the first place.
Not only do you take cheap vehicles off the road that another person needing cheap transportation to get to and from work may need. You also take those old beast that families with several children may need to haul their brood around. Now you may not enjoy the gas guzzling monsters and think that eliminating these beastly vehicles off the road is enlightening. However. I DON'T.
I think that it is crazy that we think that we are helping the environment and or the economy, and if you think you are being "GREEN" think again. They place sand in the gas tank and seize the engine, the car is sold for scrap and even if the car is in excellent condition. Leather seats that could be parted out for instance are not being taken out. These cars are scraped whole. No parts are taken off the car no matter how great of condition it is in.
So why today am I so heated about this?....Just came across the wire the big winner in the Cash for Clunkers isn't America, oh no........drum roll, please da da da da... it is Japan!
This is insanity at it's finest. Have we had enough yet????????
The beneficiaries:
* Automakers. Although not as much as you might think, since the program is probably just shifting many purchases from the future to now.
* Public transport and bus companies. People who cannot afford to buy new cars will wind up taking more buses since they can't buy a used car to get around.
* Dealerships. Boosting sales and lowering trade-in prices is a great benefit to car salesmen.
* Rich and middle class people. Who can afford to buy a new car once they get the clunker cash.
* Nucur Steel. "One lobbyist for this bill was Nucor Steel. In Cayuga County, N.Y., Nucor turns scrap steel into sheet metal and other steel products. The clunkers are now becoming a subsidized feedstock for Nucor, which helps explain why Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has led the push for $2 billion extra in clunker cash," Tim Carney writes.
The sufferers:
* Poor people. Fewer used cars means higher prices for poor people. They'll have to ride the bus.
* Anyone who doesn't buy a car under the program. See your neighbor's flashy new SUV? You helped pay for that. Thanks!
* Auto-repair shops. Your local auto mechanic business depend son used or older cars, which the owners don’t take to the dealer for repair. Less old cars to repair means less business.
* Also, the parts dealers have fewer parts because the government is intentionally wrecking them.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705321251/Lee-Benson-Dealer-says-Clunkers-wont-help.html
Update 7:52pm
I just received word from a reputable source that some of the dealerships are getting stiffed on their "cash for clunkers" checks. Seems the fine print and details of exactly what must be met can be most difficult to understand and there have been some requirements that some dealers, holding the financial bag.
So these dealers are now being stiffed on their checks and therefore are left holding the bag. One Spanish Fork dealer, has to sell 305 cars in the next year to make the difference in lost cash after taking the cash difference on the cash for clunkers, what a mess.
