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Dealers call clunker trades a success

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

(Updated 4:21 pm)

By Donald W. Patterson
Staff Writer

The Cash for Clunkers program has crossed the finish line.

The government’s $3 billion rebate program ended at 8 p.m. Monday, two weeks earlier than expected.

Since July, the program resulted nationally in the sale of more than 700,000 new, fuel-efficient vehicles. It took an equal number of gas-guzzlers off the highways and sent them to the scrap heap.

“It’s been wildly successful,” said Robert Glaser, president of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association in Raleigh. “It came on the heels of nine months where sales were down 40 percent. It came at a good time for North Carolina car dealers.”

Glaser said the program produced more than 18,000 sales for Tar Heel dealers, who are now owed about $75 million in rebates from the government.

“I think most dealers are ready to see the program end,” Glaser said. “They are out of cars; they haven’t been paid for the cars they have sold; and the federal government is running out of money.”

Early Monday, dealers across the nation had submitted vouchers totaling $2.58 billion. Because the Department of Transportation’s computer system shut down temporarily Monday afternoon due to heavy demand, dealers will now have until noon today to file their paperwork. They can get repaid for rebates of between $3,500 and $4,500.

The government did not extend the deadline for sales.

Many dealers stopped doing Cash for Clunkers deals last weekend because they didn’t want to miss the paperwork deadline.

“I couldn’t have done a lot more clunkers deals anyway,” said Pete Stokes, business development manager at Smith Stokes Automotive in Reidsville, which stopped the special transactions Saturday. “If you want to find a car that qualifies for the clunker program, I’m virtually out.”

Stokes figures the rebates increased sales about 50 percent.

Since July 27, Stokes has done 52 clunker deals and figures about 40 of them wouldn’t have happened without the government money. He says the program probably spurred another 15 sales in which customers wound up buying a new vehicle even though they didn’t qualify for the incentives.

At the four dealerships in the Van York Auto Group in High Point, the program produced 300 sales.

“I think it surprised the country and possibly the government how popular this program would be,” said Greg York, the company’s chief executive officer. “ The government wasn’t prepared for the process. I hope that improves and speeds up.”

York said he’s been paid for only 10 percent of the transactions.

“It’s been horribly administered,” Glaser said. “But I wouldn’t want the administrative issues to offset the fact that it has been tremendously successful. I think dealers would agree it is time to wrap this thing up.”

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com.

Accompanying Photos

Elise Amendola (Associated Press)

Photo Caption: Car dealers across the country watched their lots grow empty as crowds rushed to trade in gas guzzlers.

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Doug Johnson

August 25, 2009 - 4:20 am EDT

What happens to car sales now?
What happens when may who purchased the cars, can not make payments?
Seems the used car people are SOL.
No cars to sell.
Its been horrible administered? And you want Obama care?

Lakeshia

August 25, 2009 - 6:11 am EDT

Wonder how many of those who now have a new car and new car payments are among those who only yesterday couldn't afford health insurance for their family -

LinzyM99

August 25, 2009 - 7:04 am EDT

Apparently not many since there are 45 million people without health care, and only 700,000 cars were sold.

countryboy

August 25, 2009 - 7:30 am EDT

There will soon be a "car repossession meltdown" smaller in scale but similar to the mortgage meltdown. Just as the do-gooders and hand-wringers convinced those with no jobs...no income...and shady credit histories that they too deserved a three bedroom house with a two car garage, many who took advantage of the socilization of the auto industry and purchased a vehicle thanks to our tax dollars will not be able to afford it. This will be somewhat mitigated by the tight credit market, but is coming none the less. Perhaps THE administration will develop a "Cash for repossessed autos program" (C.R.A.P.), but most likely it will just bail them out.

Trog777

August 25, 2009 - 8:56 am EDT

So several hundred thousand people get new cars that I have to help pay for. Sure wish I could trade my clunkers for some of the much better "clunkers" being destroyed. But instead, via taxes, I have to help pay for others discounts on cars I can't afford. Super. Socialism at it's finest.

Panacea

August 25, 2009 - 2:33 pm EDT

If it were socialism, we would be buying the cars with the government, rather than with government money.

countryboy

August 25, 2009 - 7:47 pm EDT

Top Gear (the British Auto Program) has a hilarious show on why communism has never produced a good car. You may can find it on youtube.

taxfree

August 25, 2009 - 10:00 am EDT

Ignorance is bliss.......50% of the clunker sales were cash......98% of the non cash deals(financed) were people with extremely good credit.......it was a success, like Obama, or not.

Trog777

August 25, 2009 - 11:55 am EDT

Unless you're one of those buying, selling, or building one of these cars, I see no success. I see everyone else who is a taxpayer footing the bill, along with every other bailout, handout, subsidized, socialist program.

thirstytarheel

August 25, 2009 - 12:43 pm EDT

Hey Taxfree, where did you get the info about the financing and # of cash sales? Did you make it up? Give us sources! You must be one of those people who believe the same government that created medicare is also going to you excellent health care! I realize details confuse people like you. That's why Obama does not give any details when he's selling his wonderful health care plan. I guess we should just trust him, after all he's with the government and he's only trying to help us. How dare we should be critical of anything Obama and his cronies come up with.

oh good grief

August 25, 2009 - 11:27 am EDT

N&R, aren't you being a bit deceptive (or perhaps simply sloppy) in stating that the government’s $3 billion rebate program ended "two weeks earlier than expected"? Wasn't the Cash for Clunkers program orginally scheduled to end in October? That would mean the program ended two MONTHS earlier than expected.

countryboy

August 25, 2009 - 11:38 am EDT

Please provide your sources.

taxfree

August 25, 2009 - 2:13 pm EDT

Sources? The company I work for did over 300 CARS deals in the last 4 weeks, and being in the business for 29 years, I have many other contacts at other dealerships, that all concur with this statement. Why is this bailout any different than the medicaid, medicare, food stamps, fake disabilty, and all the others you and I have been paying for for years? Oh, I forgot, it actually helped "working Americans"!

countryboy

August 25, 2009 - 7:45 pm EDT

That's anecdotal. Please provide verifiable sources.

taxfree

August 25, 2009 - 2:16 pm EDT

And, by the way, I do not like or trust Mr. Obama, either.

mediaspeaks

August 26, 2009 - 7:28 am EDT

Lets see....car dealers call it a success, no matter the slowness of the payback. Car lots are out of cars. Car companies have added shifts to add more inventory. High fuel mileage cars have taken lower mileage cars off the road. Seems like a lot of success across many different levels.

Oh, I get it..... it's Obama's fault for all this success. Why don't you right wing hate mongers just admit to the fact you can't stand that a black man is President?

You will have another chance to get a different president in 2016. So, gripe all you want - and leave your little snide comments here for other hate mongers to see.