The governments website for Cash for Clunkers is now listing an official start date of Monday, July 27, 2009. Also see below Consumer’s Bill of Rights.
From the governments website www.cars.gov.
Cash for Clunkers Official Start Date 7-27-09
Cash for Clunkers Consumer Bill of Rights
New 2010 Camaro - Nice Ride!
Cash for Clunkers: Eligible New Cars by Make and Model
Specific trims aren’t listed; some versions of models on this list may not be eligible for the program based on lower gas mileage or higher price, but every model listed here has at least one version that qualifies. Check with your dealer on eligibility rules.
Be An Educated Buyer!!
It is being reported that we are seeing new car advertisements that are very vague on the detailed breakdown of the incentives subtracted from the new car price that is being advertising. Advertisements just state that the new car is$15,000 with all applicable incentives and government voucher. Do not fall for this. The dealership has no idea what someone is trading in and the car brought in under the Cash for Clunkers program may qualify for $3,500 or maybe $4,500 if it was an old SUV with a big V8. Negotiate the sell price of the new car first then subtract what is applicable for incentives and vouchers. First negotiate the price of the car without incentives. This way when you go from dealer to dealer to compare prices, and I strongly recommend you shop around, you will be talking apples to apples. No tricks, no cloaking the price and confusing the buyer. The potential voucher should have no impact on the base price in which the dealer is willing to sell the car to you for. There is no reason when you initially discuss a price on a new car that you need to disclose to the sales person that you are going to participate in the Cash for Clunkers program. Negotiate the price then talk voucher. You, the buyer, must maintain control of this process.
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR CASH FOR CLUNKERS?
While we are waiting for the July 27th kick off of Cash for Clunkers with the dealers, what should you be doing to prepare. In the process of negotiating for a new car the #1 thing you want to remember is that you must maintain control of all aspects of the process. That means going in prepared. Prepared fully understanding the “Cash for Clunkers” program and I hope this blog has helped in that. Prepared to fully understand what price range you can afford in the purchase of a new car. Prepared to fully understand what vehicles that are eligible in the Cash for Clunkers program fall into your price range. Prepared to understand what financing you will need. Prepared to understand what financing is available for you. In other words research, research, research. You want to be in full control at all times. Car salesmen are professionals and are trained on how to squeeze every bit of your hard earned dollars out of you. The more research you do and the more prepared you are the better you can protect yourself and keep from being taken advantage of.
A key step that you can begin today is preparing your financing. You are probably going to need a loan unless you have a rich uncle and then God Bless. The first step in getting a loan and controlling this process is knowing your credit score. Loan approval, the interest rate you can obtain, and how much money you can borrow depend on your credit score. Get started now and click on the following link to obtain your credit score.
Get Your Equifax Credit Report Now!
This blog will continue a series of comments on the negotiating process with the dealer. We are here to work the buyer’s side of the equation. Almost all the sites relating to the Cash for Clunkers program are working with the dealers. The consumer needs protection and hopefully me can help. If you have any questions please click this link – Contact Us.
A review of the CASH FOR CLUNKERS BILL
Posted on July 10, 2009 by jtgartner
Curious exactly how the Cash for Clunkers bill works? This handy chart and fact sheet provide all you need to know about trading in a beater Isuzu for a shiny new car.
At first, a look at the chart gives the impression there’s a lot of money to be made by trading in your old car for a new one. Unfortunately, the compromises in this bill make it unlikely many people will be able to utilize it and save a great deal. There are two factors working against making this a worthwhile proposition and they both have to do with the logic of the bill.
First of all, operable vehicles are required and there aren’t many people driving around with vehicles worth less than $1,500. Many old crappy cars, in fact, can still demand up to $2,500 on the open market. This means you’re going to get, max, $2000 for your trade-in. The least valuable qualifying cars, of course, are actually the more efficient compact vehicles, which makes getting the necessary 10 MPG improvement unlikely.
The second problem, stemming from the first, is quantifying the number of people who actually drive around in cars worth less than $2,500 and can actually afford a new car. Instinct tells us there aren’t many people. This means people taking advantage of the program will, typically, have to be excited by the prospect of saving $1,000 or $2,000. These people should already have been swayed by intense discounting from automakers in recent months.
This isn’t to say there aren’t people who won’t be able to get money from the program because, say, they have an old light duty truck and have been meaning to trade up to a newer car for a while. But the greatest number taking advantage of this deal may be people who can afford a new car and have, for one reason or another, decided not to buy one. These people will likely be lured in by dealers combining the $4,500 voucher with $2,000 in additional savings for big numbers like “$6,500 off a new Focus” that ignore the actual original value of the trade-in.
Kelley’s video explaining the Cash for Clunkers program is available below.
GM Plan Approved Will Strenghten Cash for Clunker Sales
Working through the weekend, Judge Robert Gerber announced his approval of the proposed GM Bankruptcy Plan yesterday. With this announcement, consumers may feel better about purchasing a GM car with their Cash for Clunkers rebate monies. According to Judge Robert Gerber the plan was the only way to preserve GM’s business. The plan will now allow GM to create a new company minus a truckload of debt.
According to Brian Pasch, CEO of the Pasch Consulting Group:
“From data collected on www.cashforclunkersfacts.com, Chevrolet cars and trucks are the 4th most popular brand on consumers minds who qualify for a Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). Consumer feedback shows that interest in GM vehicles will increase once the public has knowledge that their bankruptcy plan approval. The news may settle some fears that the company would not be able to stand behind a new car that a consumer would purchase starting July 24, 2009.”
Here is the full press release as posted on the GM media website. Download GM Press Release
NEW YORK – General Motors achieved another milestone in its reinvention last night when Judge Robert E. Gerber of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the sale of substantially all of General Motors Corporation’s assets to NGMCO, Inc., an entity funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In connection with the closing of the sale transaction, NGMCO, Inc. will change its name to General Motors Company and continue to operate under GM’s historic corporate and sub brands. The approval marks another step toward the launch of an independent new GM.
The new company will acquire GM’s strongest operations and will have a competitive operating cost structure, partly as a result of recent agreements with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Canadian Auto Workers (CAW).
The new GM will have lower leverage and a stronger balance sheet, which when combined with a lower break-even point, will allow it to reduce its risk, operate profitably at much lower volume levels, and to reinvest in the business in the key areas of advanced technology and product development. GM’s subsidiaries outside the United States will be acquired by the new company and are expected to continue to operate without interruption.
The new GM will be headquartered in Detroit and will be led by Fritz Henderson as president and chief executive officer and Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. as chairman of the board of directors.
“A healthy domestic auto industry remains vital to the global economy and we deeply appreciate the support the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments and taxpayers have given GM, and the sacrifices that have been made by so many. This has been an especially challenging period, and we’ve had to make very difficult decisions to address some of the issues that have plagued our business for decades. Now it’s our responsibility to fix this business and place the company on a clear path to success without delay,” said Henderson.
The new GM’s common stock will be owned by:
· U.S. Department of the Treasury: 60.8 percent
· UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust: 17.5 percent
· Canada and Ontario governments: 11.7 percent
· The old GM: 10 percent
Additionally, the old GM and the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust will hold warrants that are exercisable for 15 percent and 2.5 percent of the interests in the new GM, respectively.
The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust and the Canadian government each may nominate one member to serve on the board of the new GM. The retiree benefits trust has selected seasoned auto industry analyst Stephen Girsky. Also selected to serve on the board of directors of the new GM are six current members of the General Motors Corporation board, including Erroll Davis, Neville Isdell, Kent Kresa, Philip Laskawy, Kathryn Marinello and Fritz Henderson. The Canadian government representative and four additional board members to be identified by the U.S. Treasury will be announced at a later date.
Judge Gerber’s order includes a four-day stay before closing of the sale can occur. However, GM expects the sale to close in the near future. The new GM’s business is expected to be immediately operational and fully competitive, with an exciting line of new products, a smaller, more focused brand portfolio and the rationalization of its dealer network well underway. Current GM employees will be offered positions by the new company.
In connection with the closing, the current General Motors Corporation will change its name to Motors Liquidation Company. Retained assets will be wound down or sold. A new board of directors will oversee that process and the liquidation of the company under the supervision of the Bankruptcy Court.
From cashforclunkersfacts.com.
Bloomberg News
July 3, 2009
Hyundai advances cash to car dealers for ‘clunkers’ program
The government hasn’t yet finalized the rules of ‘cash for clunkers,’ which will give people credit toward a new car in exchange for an old gas guzzler.
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, is advancing money to U.S. dealers so they can immediately take advantage of a “cash for clunkers” program.
The payments cover new-vehicle credits for consumers until the federal government completes rules for the program this month and begins paying dealers, Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford said Thursday. Hyundai is the first manufacturer to extend such advances, he said.
Consumers can get credits of as much as $4,500 under the program to buy a new vehicle in return for handing in an older model with lower gas mileage to be scrapped. The government has a July 24 deadline to complete rules describing how it will reimburse dealers for the credits.
Hyundai’s action reflects efforts by manufacturers to boost car sales battered by a recession. U.S. vehicle sales in June fell 28% to about 860,000. It was the 20th straight monthly decline, according to Autodata Corp.
The manufacturer’s advances are “for the consumers’ benefit,” said Kevin Reilly, owner of a Hyundai dealership in Alexandria, Va. “There are lots of other things they want to do with their lives rather than wait to buy.”
Reilly’s dealership sold the first vehicle under Hyundai’s offer. Katherine Michon of Arlington replaced a 1995 Ford Explorer with an Elantra Touring, the automaker said in a statement.
Sales as of July 1 may be eligible for credits under the clunkers program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week. Still, dealers that make sales before the rules are finalized “bear the risks” of later showing that the sales qualify, the agency said on the program’s website.
The National Automobile Dealers Assn. recommends that dealers wait for the rules to come out before acting, said John McEleney, chairman of the McLean, Va.-based group.
“I just hate to see someone get burned,” he said. Dealers could be fined $15,000 per sale for violating the rules, NHTSA has said.
Hosford and Reilly said they were confident that retailers wouldn’t end up paying a price for the early sales because the criteria for qualifying vehicles are spelled out in the law enacted June 24.
Bloomberg News
July 3, 2009