The Latest Cash for Clunkers Facts: The Clash Gets Its Sequel
While all the official facts show that Cash for Clunker car rebate
is a great success, it's referred to as Clash
for Clunkers, and met with criticism from various experts. Just
a week later - no expert opinion is necessary to notice some 'Clash
for Clunkers' facts:
The official facts on CARS:
- The Cash for Clunkers car sales program will remain open until
the close of business on Monday, August 24 (8:00pm EST).
- As of 6 AM on Thursday, , August 20 - more than 450,000 transactions
have been submitted by dealers, representing approximately 2/3rds
of the $3 billion allocated to the DOT to operate the CARS program.
- DOT has already reviewed and processed more than 150,000 Cash
for Clunkers car sales applications (approximately 30% of all
applications received), and has approved $140 million (less than
5%) in payments to dealers.
2. & 3. together means that 1/3rds of Clunker car rebate
applications were reviewed.
Automotive News
survey conducted last week shows:
- About 2/3rds of dealers have received no payment
from the U.S. government for their Cash for Clunkers car sales.
- Payment has been received for fewer than 3% of total clunker
stimulus deals.
- 11% of respondents clunker car rebate deals have been approved.
And yet the CARS legislation requires the DOT to refund dealers
for their clunker deals within ten days - which is obviously not
happening.
While the officials claim that many denials are caused by dealers
errors - the Automobile Dealers Association says that clunker stimulus
rejected applications are mostly caused by an inept bureaucratic
decisions for an untold number of reasons, including a blank field
in the 20-page application (The
Truth About Cars ).
The dealerships fronted cash to make the clunker care rebate deals
work, invested a lot more time than for a regular car sale to deal
with the paperwork-heavy (a 200 page legal file) program, and tried
their best to stay in accordance with the ever-changing Cash for
Clunkers car sales program rules. Yet very few received the payment.
Many a struggling business, who the program is supposed to help,
put all their cars out for the Clunker stimulus program, are not
getting checks so can't get new cars - some even considering closing
down. That's why automakers, recently including General Motors,
had to take measures to help struggling dealers compensate for the
government's late payments.
Additionally, some of the dealerships, fearing the government may
not reimburse the credits extended to buyers under the Cash for
Clunkers car sales program, started asking buyers to sign purchase
agreements: to pay back the credit themselves or return the new
car if the government denies the claim.
Yet DOT explicitly states that buyers are under no obligation to
sign such agreements (Car
Dealer Reviews). And consumer petitions for people denied access
to the CARS program are already filled in online (No
Cache for Clunkers).
While the Cash for Clunkers car rebates intention has been anything
but shifting the liability to either the dealers and/or the consumers
- the Clash for Clunkers facts remain: 89% of clunker deals have
been rejected, and the payment was received for fewer than 3% of
total deals - and the responsibility probably lies on all. But how
will it be solved? And when?
Is Cash for Clunkers truly a great success?
Probably not. But it could be easily improved. That's why many
experts, dealers, automakers and consumers alike believe that there
are various areas that should be further investigated thoroughly.
Find
More 'Clash for Clunkers' Facts
|
