apparently the vikings of minnesota have taken part, i heard because of the brett favre deal they will be getting $4500. after signing that old clunker!!!!!

This is just another WELFARE PROGRAM started to get everyone addicted to the Federal Government Handouts.

careful sjraleigh210, your tin-foil hat is a bit snug.

Evansvillehousewife: What is a Gubment car?

This is definitely one of the biggest embarassments of the Obama reign. I have seen beautiful minivans, even corvettes, in good condition and low miles going to the scrap heap.
I fail to see how this will help ANYTHING. The real "clunkers' are still on the road, and no jobs have been created. Great monetary waste has been accrued though all the good parts and functional cars taken off the market. Not to mention, this will make good used cars harder to find, causing less of a private market and more dependence on the goverment owned car corporations.
That is the TRUE aim of this program- to make us dependent on the Gubment cars rather than being able to purchase used cars privately.
Obama scares me.

That is a link to the DOT.gov site disclaimer. The same disclaimer is given to almost all federal websites...not that big a deal.

I would if I had a job.

Sarah I am pretty sure that is only on the govt site where the dealers enter all the info, not the site consumers use.

sjraleigh210: Regarding your comment about computers, I have searched the government CARS site and cannot find anything related to your comment. Can you point me in the right direction ...

I was going to get a new car, but was laidoff before the weekend I was going to go shopping. I'm glad I didn't get stuck with a car loan and no job.

We're all involved in this program, like it or not. It is the taxpayer dollar being used.

This program has been run like any other government program. So bad in fact, hundreds of NY state auto dealers have pulled out of the program...

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=...

And to think other posters have said that keeping dealers from bankruptcy was one of the reasons for the program. Kind of hard to stay out of bankruptcy when the government is not paying you back.

I took advantage of the program and it was awesome!!

before you sign anything, read the fine print. the government may be able to intrude into your life.

Gm and Ford said they are going to increase production due to the "cash for clunkers" program so it seems there is some consequential economic benefit to the program besides the environmental benefit that was intended. But since most people are buying Toyotas and Hondas etc., the program, like most government programs, seems to have some unintended and undesirable consequences as well, in this case stimulating foreign economies with U.S. tax receipts. And as others have related, since the engines and drive trains of these "clunkers' must be destroyed the price of used parts will necessarily increase. We can also expect that prices for used cars, particularly the cheapest ones that the poorest among us can afford will rise due to a supply shortage. These government programs meant to address specific problems often do result in unforeseen hardships for many.

They do not junk the cars, only the engines. The clunkers are parted out by salvage yards. You will actually see a $100 credit on your invoice for the salvage fee. Who is getting the deal then?

I have a friend who is a mechanic at a dealership. He said that when the "clunkers" come in they put chemicals into the engine so that they seize up and then the cars are junked. Way to fill our landfills with junk. Some of these cars are in perfectly fine condition.

Finally, something that helps the lil fellas and not just the Wall Street Rockafellers...

we decided not to take part. We have a 95 transport that would be perfect. but we own a 97 passat diesel w/260,000 miles that get 43mpg city or hwy. and a 2006 ford escape that gets 23city/28hwy (4cyl,5spd). our daughter bought a used 08 fusion last fall, and WOW she gets upper 20's driving around, mid 30's on the HWY. it rides as good as her 95 bonneville SSE did

twerp, ,id do some checking around.. the world is full of junk cars. i think your being taken for a ride !

We just did Cash for Clunkers....trading in a big old Chevy truck for a Ford Focus. At $2.50/gallon we will be saving enough to make over three payments on the new car per year. The government decides the stats on MPG....they came up with 16 for the truck and 35 for the Focus. In addition to the $4500 from the government, we got a $2000 rebate from Ford and free financing for three years. I think that was a pretty good deal. Now we drive two cars that are much more efficient as we also own a (paid for) 2005 Escape.

This information taken directly from the Government website.

"The CARS Act requires that the trade-in vehicle be crushed or shredded so that it will not be resold for use in the United States or elsewhere as an automobile. The entity crushing or shredding the vehicles in this manner will be allowed to sell some parts of the vehicle prior to crushing or shredding it, but these parts cannot include the engine or the drive train."

Hmmmm seems to me that the engines are not the only thing being destroyed in this clunkers program. Just a few days ago I saw several different news stories, where the junk yards were talking about how they were going to be losing money on the program, because the cars had to be CRUSHED. Now how could parts be usable then? Just asking.

When something causes a sudden reduction in the supply of a particular commodity, it is only logical to expect shortages or price increases in that commodity. Here is some more anecdotal evidence:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/southsound...

I already brought a new 2008 Chevy Cobalt, which gets 34 mpg. Another thing upsets me the most, is the fact Wisconsin doesn't have a law reguiring insurances on all vehicles here in Wis. No wonder the insurances rates are so high.

In order to qualify, you had to have insured the car for the last year. This prevents people from buying junk-yard cars to trade in.

You aren't buying an "extra" car if when you have to trade in a car to get the deal.

I have no horse in this one, but it does strike me as something that helps the fairly well-off (or solidly upper middle-class). I can see even rich people purchasing third cars for their kids by buying some old clunker. If people are buying an extra car, then this certainly wouldn't help the environment.

There is no shortage of used cars or car parts. Only the engine is being destroyed on C4C trade-ins. The oil is drained and replaced with a sodium silicate solution and run until it seizes. The rest of the car can still be used for parts, including things like alternators, starters, etc.

If just the titles were invalidated, but the car still drivable, there would have been all kinds of fraud.

Well, if a junk yard salesman says its true than it must be true. Your evidence is terribly weak because it is anecdotal. I just bought a part the other day and it was cheaper than the last time I bought it. So, therefore cash for clunkers must not be causing problems.

No need on my part for a new car. My 2005 model is paid off and drives great.

Actually it was one certain part for my engine that I need to get replaced. My first quote was $200.00 just a few months ago, now the same part is $450.00 (part only, hubby does the labor) again the parts man said it was because of his rising costs due to the parts costing him more due to the clunkers program.

sorry darwin I haven't been paying too much attention to the Media stories on this. I just know that when I went to get car parts that they were quoted much higher than they were just a few short months ago...before the "cars" program. The reason, my parts dealer said that costs are rising due to the shortage(either real or perceived) of usable parts because of the clunkers program.
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That is my perspective on this...from first hand experience, not what the media feeds people.
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I had originally hoped the clunkers program would help the auto industry, and jump start the economy. But the reality is for me at least, finding reasonably priced parts to fix my so called clunker is becoming more of a headache. The government just should not have been so short sighted as to make these so called clunkers ruined for the parts. Yes by all means make it so they are not able to sell the whole car, but rather allow parting out so those of us who can not afford the "NEW" cars are still able to at the very least fix what we have.

twerp13, your direct from the media comments are short sighted to say the least. So, what is the effect? How much more is a car engine now than it was last year? Let me guess, you don't know you just repeated the same stupid comments you heard on television.

who can afford a new car... I can barely keep my "clunker" running. I am afraid, that the cars program is just going to make it that much harder for those of us who are lower income to have a car at all. Just think all of the clunkers engines are being ruined before going to the scrap yard, so when I need parts to keep my car running, I will have no where to go, and I will still not have money to buy a new one. How is that going to help my family? Cheap clunker cars are a necessity for those who are low income, or even first time drivers. I wish the government would have thought about those consequences before deciding that the engines had to be destroyed, after all they could have scraped the titles or something like that so the car parts would still be available for the rest of us.
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Besides I am happy with a older car, at least I don't have a monthly payment to worry about. Just as long as she runs and gets me where we need to go safely that is all I care about