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Were you wrongly denied your CARS (i.e., Cash for Clunkers) rebate?

32 messages,  Last post on Mar 22, 2010 at 12:25 PM

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If you were wrongly denied we want to hear from you: clunkededmunds.com

Messages Page 3 of 4

#13 of 32 Re: dealer failed to process the application 4 weeks after bought the car [niteknight] by tidester

Sep 02, 2009 (9:17 pm)

Replying to: niteknight (Sep 02, 2009 7:41 pm)
Plus, the dealer told me that $4500 C4C is taxable income.
 
No, that is not true. The "Clunkers" legislation specifically states that the allowance/rebate is NOT to be taxed as income. Your dealer may be confusing it with a sales tax and whether sales tax is charged depends on which state you are in.
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#14 of 32 Very unhappy with dealer by grantnorris

Sep 03, 2009 (5:01 am)

On August 8 I agreed to purchase a new Nissan Murano in Pennsylvania and provided all paperwork for my '97 Explorer to qualify for the CARS program. I made a $500 deposit and got an invoice with a VIN number and $4500 trade-in credit. Delivery was promised on Aug 17. On 8/28 delivery was promised on 9/25, on 8/31 I was told that the car had be sold to someone else. Now the CARS program have ended the dealer is willing to sell me an equivalent Murano but without the $4500 trade in value for my Explorer. Can I enforce the original contract? How would I find out?

#15 of 32 Re: dealer failed to process the application 4 weeks after bought the car [niteknight] by joel0622

Sep 03, 2009 (10:28 am)

Replying to: niteknight (Sep 02, 2009 7:41 pm)
Were you fraudlent in your application?
.

#16 of 32 Re: Very unhappy with dealer [grantnorris] by tidester

Sep 03, 2009 (3:39 pm)

Replying to: grantnorris (Sep 03, 2009 5:01 am)
Was your Explorer scrapped?
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#17 of 32 Re: Were you wrongly denied your CARS (ie, Cash for Clunkers) rebate? [shelleem] by shelleem

Sep 03, 2009 (7:03 pm)

Replying to: shelleem (Aug 31, 2009 2:47 pm)
Wanted to pass on the rest of my story -
 
I provided the dealer with the phone # from the cars.gov customer service rep and also the input received here that there should be a way to cancel the two previous applications for the VIN # and resubmit mine.
 
 Finally heard back today that they felt had invested enough time trying to work through this and the vehicle had been sold to another party. I had signed the contract, provided all of the documentation, a $500 down payment on 8/1 and planned to take delivery when the rebate was approved.
 
In talking with the sales manager, I was able to gather a few more details - the first deal on this vehicle was submitted in the first few days of the program and was rejected soon after. The second deal came shortly after that and was submitted - these people backout of the deal on 7/31 or so but the dealer said that once this application was in the system and "locked" they couldn't cancel it. So the vehicle became available again but the application was still in the system - that's when I entered the picture on 8/1 - I purchased the vehicle, the dealer entered my application with a different VIN # (I guess to prevent the same VIN from being on 2 applications). He said that they were waiting for deal #2 to reject/release/whatever so that my application could be updated with the right VIN and be processed but the application on the second deal continues to hang out there "locked". It sounded like because of this my application was never in the system for the vehicle I intended to purchase as the program came to an end - but I was in the system enough that had I wanted to go somewhere else it wouldn't have worked because my DL# was already in the system.....
 
I really don't know what to think at this point - was the problem with how the program was administered and system limitations? was it how the dealer handled the multiple applications on this vehicle? a little of both? I just know I've invested alot of time, energy and emotion over the last month and don't have a new vehicle to show for it.

#18 of 32 press request by Kirstie@Edmunds HOST

Sep 04, 2009 (8:07 am)

A reporter is looking to speak to consumers were not satisfied by the customer service provided by Toyota (or Toyota dealerships) during the Cash for Clunkers (or CARS) program. Please send your daytime phone number to ctalatiedmunds.com by Friday, September 11, 2009.
Thanks,
Chintan
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com

#19 of 32 Re: Were you wrongly denied your CARS (ie, Cash for Clunkers) rebate? [KarenS] by sbeam

Sep 04, 2009 (11:54 am)

Replying to: Karen@Edmunds (Aug 25, 2009 4:46 pm)
Good Day,
 
I traded in a vehicle that met all the criteria for the cash for clunkers except that the vehicle had an 11 day gap in the registration due to problems incurred while updating the tag last year using the online service. I have had the vehicle for 8 years and it has been continuously registered except for the above mentioned, insured and driven. Prior to doing the CARS deal, we called the CARS hotline and explained the situation. The lady that answered our call after being on hold for 55 minutes was very courteous and said that we should be fine since the vehicle was insured with no gaps in coverage. After hearing this we went ahead with the deal.
The dealer was still wary and said that he was going to hold My new vehicle until after he received his check. After waiting for approximately 2 weeks and reading about all the problems and rejections in the news, I decided to call the CARS hotline again to put my mind at ease. This time my call was answered after only 30 minutes. The gentleman that answered had a much different answer. He said that a gap in registration of even one day would disqualify the vehicle. Mind you this is after the previous CARS hotline employee told us it would be ok and I purchased the new vehicle. The process and rules were so complicated that even the CARS program employees did not fully understand the rules.
Now the dealer and I are very nervous that my vehicle will be rejected.
 
Steve

#20 of 32 Re: Were you wrongly denied your CARS (ie, Cash for Clunkers) rebate? [KarenS] by dapplegray

Sep 04, 2009 (12:45 pm)

Replying to: Karen@Edmunds (Aug 25, 2009 4:46 pm)
Our dealer refused our car because according to the Texas Department of Transportation database our car was 6 days late being registered this last year.
TXDoT is in charge of collecting registration fees for the state. They in turn allow each county to collect these fees and transmit data back to TXDot. The counties in turn can subcontract out this task and in Travis County a local grocery store chain, HEB has this contract. So, last year, 2 weeks before our registration expired we renewed at our local HEB. We have a printed receipt showing the date and received the tags for the car from HEB. HEB in turn submitted their transactions on a weekly basis to the Travis County Assessor's office. The County Assessor's office in turn supplies this information to TXDoT. (Are you all still with me?)
 
We have owned the car we wanted to trade-in for 13 years and it has been continuously registered and insured for this entire time.
 
We approached a dealer in Dallas and struck a deal. I faxed over copies of our insurance and the latest receipt showing the car was last registered December 19, 2008. I also phoned the C4C 800# hotline and spoke to a representative who said the paper receipt was just fine and all the dealer needed for proof of continuous registration. Well, that ain't so...
 
Our dealer informed us that the Federal Government required them to use the TWIX report (I believe it is also called a few other things, (no that isn't a joke)) and according to our dealer our car was registered January 6, 2009. 6 days AFTER the expiration date. Now, they had in their hands my written receipt, but NO, they HAD to use the information from the TXDoT database. So even though Texas state law allows TXDoT to subcontract out their collection duties it in no way compells them to input the data into their system either in a timely fashion or based on actual transaction dates.
 
From what I can tell, based on the process described in the first paragraph, anyone renewing their registration with any type of subcontractor in the state of Texas will probably have their registration show being up to 3 weeks late. Ergo, No Go!!
 
I don't begrudge the dealer not wanting to follow through on the deal. They are running businesses not charities and it is not their fault that this program was so poorly planned and implemented.
 
The dealer told my husband that several other people had been denied because of this same issue, and they had not had any luck contacting anyone to get their information changed in the system.
 
My husband did go to our local TXDoT office, the day the C4C program ended. He managed, after much "buck passing" on the part of several employees, to find someone willing to actually fix the problem. Unfortunately, changing information in most databases requires a 24 hour wait, as most information is updated in the wee hours. So, although I have no way of checking at this point, we have been told that the information on our car has been updated to show the correct renewal date. The day AFTER the program ended. Cold comfort (unless the government decides to re-enact this crazy program again).
 
It would be nice if the "powers that be" could get together and figure out how to actually implement a program and share information correctly and accurately. If we had known early enough about the "electronic database" being the hurdle to clear, we could have gone to a dealer and had them pop the VIN# in and found out this was a problem and then maybe we would have had time to fix it.

#21 of 32 FYI by joel0622

Sep 04, 2009 (2:50 pm)

The people who answer the phone for the CARS hotline know NOTHING!!! They know absolutley NOTHING!!!!! They are people who have been pulled from other departments and told to sit there and answer the phone. I got one guy to admit that he worked the Dept of Homeland Defense and when he came to work that morning they told him to report to the CARS office.
 
take nothing they say to the bank.

#22 of 32 Re: Were you wrongly denied your CARS (ie, Cash for Clunkers) rebate? [dapplegray] by Sylvia

Sep 04, 2009 (3:26 pm)

Replying to: dapplegray (Sep 04, 2009 12:45 pm)
If you can email clunkededmunds.com as well, that would be great!

Messages Page 3 of 4

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