Cash for Clunkers - Good or Bad Idea?

4110 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 11:42 AM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Legislation, Truck, Sedan, Wagon, SUV

For questions about how the program works or to discuss program details, please visit our discussion titled, "Cash for Clunkers - Does it Work for You?"

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#1534 of 4110 Re: Someone pays for it. [kdhspyder] by maryh3 Jul 10, 2009 (5:19 am)
Replying to: kdhspyder (Jul 09, 2009 3:47 pm) This is just naive and wrong thinking. Money always has and always will carry more weight. But when your corporations name is Haliburton or Exxon/Mobil the money isn't supposed to carry more weight, but if your name is GM it is --- right? And those 2 companies are sooooooooo darn profitable, and contribute so much in revenues --- whereas GM doesn't. Funny how that works. This has always been our history from the very beginning. Ever heard of Trust-Buster Teddy Roosevelt, Sherman Anti-trust Act, Clayton Anti-Trust Act etc. These acts enforced by US law are supposed to make competition fair so the big guys can't shut out the little guys from competing. Except that in this case the government itself is doing the enabling for the unfair competition. You focus on the UAW an easy whipping boy. Except that in Chicago the exact opposite is happening BECAUSE the Unions are not involved. They won't let big boy Walmart in to compete with the Mom and Pops. And they use the strong arm of the government to discriminate against Walmart and block them from opening stores. And could that possibly be because they won't unionize? The government SELECTIVELY follows the money and the big boy IF they grease the proper pockets only. For a government supposedly founded on the principles that men were equal and should have equal rights to compete -- there is something rotten in the State. There are all the suppliers to the B2 and all their jobs. Make the B2 disappear and all those jobs are gone too....at least at this time in these economic conditions. Not necessarily. People will still need cars. The suppliers will simply start selling more to Honda, Ford and Toyota instead of GM. Someone will have to pick up the slack. Why should they fail? Because they ran out of money, their creditors got sick of waiting for them to turn it around and the government has no business getting involved with the private sector and showing favoritism. Replies to this message: dtownfb (Jul 10, 2009 9:52 am)
#1535 of 4110 Scrap Value Received under Program by windsurferk Jul 10, 2009 (5:20 am)
My father is about to "trade-in" an old pickup and buy a new Prius. I'm trying to help him with the process and am wondering if anyone can help me figure out how much I should be able to expect to get the dealer to pay me for the scrap value of the vehicle. I know that the vehicle has to be destroyed, but on the Cars.gov website it says: "No. The law requires your trade-in vehicle to be destroyed. Therefore, the value you negotiate with the dealer for your trade-in vehicle is not likely to exceed its scrap value. The law requires the dealer to disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in vehicle." Surely the scrap value is worth something. I just don't want to hand that to the dealer. Thanks in advance. Replies to this message: kdhspyder (Jul 10, 2009 9:51 am) steve_ (Jul 10, 2009 9:56 am) kdhspyder (Jul 10, 2009 10:10 am)
#1536 of 4110 Re: Someone pays for it. [kdhspyder] by gagrice Jul 10, 2009 (5:29 am)
Replying to: kdhspyder (Jul 09, 2009 6:59 pm) Actually it's you who is in a very shrinking minority according to most polls. While polls can be made to say what the pollster desires. I think you are in the minority as of today. 37% disapprove of the President's handling of the job and only 32% approve. Guess which group I am in. You have already stated which group you are in. And it has been over 4 months since the stimulus was signed. BO's statement was the money would go first to shovel ready projects. When in fact 90% of the money spent according to USA Today is for Medicaid to the states and other social services. So tell me again about these jobs that are being created? Handing out welfare money is NOT creating jobs. Or how a C4C $billion will help more than a few car salesmen get rid of excess inventory. The stimulus package Obama signed in February includes about $499 billion in new spending, and to date, the Obama administration has allocated about $158 billion to specific projects and programs. Most of that money has gone directly to state governments, which then disperse the money to prevent school layoffs, repair roads and fund social services.
#1537 of 4110 Re: Tangential bit of information [kdhspyder] by maryh3 Jul 10, 2009 (5:44 am)
Replying to: kdhspyder (Jul 09, 2009 4:18 pm) I disapprove of anything obtained unfairly or illegally. The question is if it is to my personal advantage to buy from GM even though they violated fairness and fair trade policies -- would I buy from them anyhow? I don't know. But I can't say I blame GM, it is the government I blame because the government is supposed to be the enforcer of the fair trade policies, not the instigator of unfair competition. Does this relate to my ideas about the C4C? I disagree with it yet will take advantage of it? For me, I have a true clunker whose useful life is coming to and end (194K). It still bothers me that anyone will drill a hole into this engine but it would probably be going for a tradein value of $500 soon without this program. The dealer who takes it off me would probably just wholesale it for parts anyway. Since I dislike the government, I will take advantage of the program and screw the government that screws me. Replies to this message: gagrice (Jul 10, 2009 5:54 am) kdhspyder (Jul 10, 2009 9:59 am) dtownfb (Jul 10, 2009 10:06 am) dtownfb (Jul 10, 2009 10:03 am) hpmctorque (Jul 10, 2009 2:11 pm)
#1538 of 4110 Re: Someone pays for it. [dodgeman07] by british_rover Jul 10, 2009 (5:47 am)
Replying to: dodgeman07 (Jul 09, 2009 7:26 pm) As soon as you drop the Liberal Media line I have a hard time buying what you are saying. Of course it also means any news stories I post to try and refute your claim that things aren't getting better don't count because they are all from the Liberal Media and are just part of the agenda.... Clever move there no matter what I come up with it is just part of the Agenda of the Liberal Media to keep us from knowing the truth... President of Philly fed sees improvement towards end of 2009. I expect the housing sector will finally hit bottom in 2009 and the financial markets will gradually return to some semblance of normalcy. So my forecast sees the economy starting to slowly recover in the second half of 2009 and building up more momentum in 2010,” said Plosser, who was the featured speaker at the annual event, hosted by Lyons Companies and the University of Delaware Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship. Initial Jobless claims fall to lowest level since Jan. Sounds like good news to me. Yes the overall employment rate is still climbing but the rate is slowing and that is the first sign of an improvement. Plant closing for automakers skew results With both Chrysler and GM out of BK the numbers should be getting even better as they get plants back online that were shut down. I don't think we will see much improvement for this month but probably a little bit better for next month. Is Bloomberg liberal or conservative? Replies to this message: gagrice (Jul 10, 2009 6:06 am) british_rover (Jul 10, 2009 8:55 am)
#1539 of 4110 Move quickly [maryh3] by gagrice Jul 10, 2009 (5:54 am)
Replying to: maryh3 (Jul 10, 2009 5:44 am) If you plan to cash in a clunker I would get the wheels in motion before the rules come out. Get to the dealer you plan to use. The early bird gets the worm. If as some believe there will be an extension, my guess is it will be shaved down as was this one. This started out as $4 billion and ended up just under $1 billion. If there is a next one it will start in November and most likely have lower dollar amounts. Which would be better at getting the oldest junk off the road. Good luck getting a bit of your hard earned tax dollars back.
#1540 of 4110 Re: Someone pays for it. [british_rover] by gagrice Jul 10, 2009 (6:06 am)
Replying to: british_rover (Jul 10, 2009 5:47 am) I have to love your optimism. What I find interesting is when GW was President these same writers were wringing their hands and saying how bad the economy is. Now when their man is in the WH, it is looking up. I hope so. Not holding my breath. Your link does not reflect your spin: Georgia unemployment claims surge By AJC staff Friday, July 10, 2009 The number of laid-off Georgia workers filing first-time claims for state unemployment benefits jumped by 88,756 in June, an increase of 94.8 percent from June 2008. Replies to this message: british_rover (Jul 10, 2009 8:55 am)
#1541 of 4110 Re: Tangential bit of information [kdhspyder] by erniesdad Jul 10, 2009 (6:55 am)
Replying to: kdhspyder (Jul 09, 2009 4:18 pm) You really think Gov't Motors is going to have a successful IPO? Their labor costs haven't dropped to any appreciable extent. The same work rules that have made the GM workforce a font of labor unproductivity still exist. The jobs bank still exists, though they pretend it doesn't anymore, because they renamed it something else. The stock will be a turkey. If Gov't Motors had gone Chap. 11 from the beginning, the taxpayers would have been saved billions of dollars, the featherbedded UAW contracts would have gone out the window, and instead of being a wholly owned subsidiary of the US Government, we'd have a reinvented car company capable of being a world beater. Instead, we're going to see a company beholden to 535 congresscritters. Personally, I'm opening a pool to see how long until Government Motors starts building a factory in West Virginia named the Robert C. Byrd engine plant, the Jack Murtha windshield wiper factory, etc. Replies to this message: kdhspyder (Jul 10, 2009 10:45 am) kdhspyder (Jul 10, 2009 11:08 am) british_rover (Jul 10, 2009 11:18 am)
#1542 of 4110 Re: Tangential bit of information [srs_49] by steve_ HOST Jul 10, 2009 (7:27 am)
Replying to: srs_49 (Jul 10, 2009 2:44 am) It's taken me 30 years to forget and move on with Ford after the pos '78 Ford Fairmont they made I'm still holding a Volvo grudge dating back to '74. I'm irrational about some other stuff too. Scrap Value Received under Program Windsurferk, try the Cash for Clunkers - Does it Work for You? discussion. It's more nuts and bolts about the program than this one.