CRASH FOR CLUNKERS?

In my continuing concern for the environment and "green" solutions for our basic needs I greeted with much interest and on this past Monday blogged about the much anticipated “Cash for Clunkers” program giving you some details and some websites to go to for further info. Well apparently it has been such a success that after only 6 days in operation it is either cancelled or on life support depending in which un-named source you care to believe. This morning the AP is reporting that the White House was assessing its options amid concerns the $1 billion budget for rebates for new car sales may have been depleted. Transportation Department officials called lawmakers earlier Thursday to alert them of plans to suspend the program as early as Friday. White House official said later the program had not been suspended and they were reviewing their options to keep the program funded and was working to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Originally the program was scheduled to last through Nov. 1 or until the money ran out. As of Wednesday the AP reported that 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through the program and nearly $96 million had been spent. But dealers raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system. A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by the government, or nearly 13 trades per store. It suggested that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, car dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.

The news programs have been rife with reports from dealerships of the vast success of the program with many dealers testifying, on camera, of their inability to keep up with the traffic in their showrooms and equally stating that even though they had originally thought that the program would be a bust instead it has been a boon to the car business which has been on the ropes for some months now and as we all know the government has had to step in to rescue both Chrysler and General Motors. An east coast Florida dealer reported selling 50+ Toyotas since Monday where he hadn’t sold 50 cars total in the last 3 months. Additionally there have been reports of confusion both from the dealers, buyers and the Government office in charge of the program with arbitrary changes to old EPA ratings on older model cars being changed after deals have been made. In this case dealers are demanding that the buyer either pay the $4500 or bring the car back.
I’m sorry to say if your plans were to race out this week end and trade the old buggy in on something new and economical you may have waited too long but watch the news and check with your local dealers for updates. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAKE A DEAL AND DRIVE OFF WITH THE NEW CAR UNTIL YOU KNOW AND HAVE CERTIFICATION THAT YOUR DEAL HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE TRANSPORTATION DEPT. There are desperate dealers out there that could easily mislead you to believe that your deal is done and then in a few days call you back with a demand for more money.
I will also try to give you any updates that I run across and will post them here and on our Twitter site @NBSUPPLY.