Cash-for-Clunkers

[DLS2008]

The cash-for-clunkers voucher plan is almost ready. Obama just has to sing the bill it's attached to and then U.S. Transportation Department has to set it up. If your vehicle meets the requirements (< 18 mpg combined, 1984 or newer, and been insured for a year), will you take advantage of the offer?

[OwinC]

No I will not. I would offer some of the owners cash to save restoreable vehicles.

 

Some of those so-called clunkers just need tuneups. so on and so forth.

 

My opinion of course.

[Phil]

I don't think it's a bad idea, save gas, cleaner air, boost economy, etc..., but I'm skeptical.

 

I do like that it is increasing awareness and that it's not heavy handed. (An incentive, not a mandate).

 

Most people drive older cars either because they are attached to them or, more likely, because they can't afford payments on a new car. I doubt whether fattening the trade allowance will affect that very much.

 

I've got a 99 Dodge truck that gets 11 mpg, but I need a workhorse truck, and newer trucks aren't that much better than it is for mileage. Also my truck is paid for, and I've sunk enough into it in repairs to guarantee I'll be driving it until the frame rusts in half.

 

So, no.

[greengiant912]

OMFG.... This really makes me mad... I just bought a new car about a month ago too! Gah! Then again my old car isn't exactly drivable...

[DLS2008]

OMFG.... This really makes me mad... I just bought a new car about a month ago too! Gah! Then again my old car isn't exactly drivable...

Keep an eye on this bill as it may be retroactive by a few months I've heard. It isn't for sure, but make sure you check it out in thorough detail if/when it is signed (which the bill it's riding on is a big one and will probably get signed).

[Crazy_Nate]

Trade-ins are limited to ve

[greengiant912]

 

Although I do have a soft side for older cars...I do like this plan... Mid 80's and on aren't really collectors cars that need to be restored, anyways

 

Depends on what kind of car.. I would love to own like a Buick Grand National! There are collector cars from the 80's. So don't say that!

[Crazy_Nate]

There are always exceptions...and differences in people's tastes

[Fight Game]

nvm

Edited June 19, 2009 by Fight Game

[LoArmistead]

No, I will not take advantage of it.

 

Firstly, it was inserted at the last minute in the war funding bill, under the radar, to try and stifle any debate on it - which seems to have become classic Democratic procedure the past few months. So much for "the most transparent government ever." This has been the least transparent congress in my lifetime.

 

But enough about those rascals, I don't like this idea for economic reasons. While I'm sure the politicians are enacting this plan with the best of intentions, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

The leftists have two goals with this plan:

1) to boost car sales for the government's car company - GM

2) to get gas guzzlers off the streets

 

Regarding 1, I'm sure this program will succeed in boosting car sales for GM, though I'd rather the company make cars that people will go and buy on their own volition, without having to take a government handout to do it. Also, this is an effort to make GM's balance sheet look good so the government can declare "victory" and pull out of the company, since the public is now miraculously starting to realize that the government has its rat claws in too many pots (never saw that one coming! ). Cash for Clunkers is only authorized for a year, and at this point it's only funded for 25% of its total $4 Billion cost, so they'll have to find the other $3 Billion somewhere else (the printing press, seeing as how we have no more money).

 

Regarding 2, I don't know how many of you do work on cars, but one of the largest sources of spare car parts for American muscle cars and trucks is the junk yard. Right now there is a healthy balance between junk yards and aftermarket parts producers that make it such that the aftermarket producers can usually operate their businesses in the US. Taking these traded in guzzlers off the streets and destroying them will decrease the availability of spare parts for enthusiasts to use, and will cause the production aftermarket parts business to boom, which will make more of them go into business making those parts. Right now a lot of those companies are in America, using former GM/Ford/Chrysler factory equipment to make those old car parts, but as their competition (the scrap yard) is taken away, and more people pursue the economic benefit of entering the aftermarket parts production industry, competition will force them to move their businesses overseas to decrease production costs... and there we have lost American jobs.

 

Now, I certainly don't mind that, but I bet some of the same people on here who are in favor of Cash for Clunkers are going to be the same ones bitching when the report comes out that more manufacturing jobs are moving overseas.

 

It will increase the cost of parts for poor people. For instance, when the exhaust manifold cracked on my Bronco a few years ago, the mechanic said he could order a new one for $200, or for $50 he could get one off a Bronco at the scrap yard. I opted for the manifold from the scrap yard, and it was in good condition and has served me well to this day. The poor people are the ones most apt to be stuck driving an older car that needs repairs more often, so raising the prices of parts for older cars is regressive in that, statistically, those with lower incomes will be the most affected by it.

 

The law doesn't think about the people with 12mpg vehicles that only drive 3,000 miles per year. Why should they be unfairly punished with their vehicle maintenance in place of a guy who drives a 24mpg vehicle 13,000 miles per year? The program involves the federal government picking winners and losers; not only is it very un-American, but it's also one of my pet peeves.

 

Out of principle, I don't support this because I don't like the government meddling in personal affairs, and Cash for Clunkers falls into that category. I am also against any wasteful government programs in this day and age, seeing as how we don't have any money, and the trillions of dollars we are wasting now is going to come back and bite us in the hind end in a few years in the form of inflation, and our kids and grand kids, and their kids, will be paying for this debt for their entire lives. None of them will have the opportunity to experience the same standard of living we had in the late 80s, 90s and early 2000s. For the rest of our lives, government will have to consume a disproportionately larger amount of the nation's productive wealth to pay for all this, which means less economic growth, fewer job openings, a stifled entrepreneurial spirit, higher taxes ... so think about that.

 

Edited June 19, 2009 by LoArmistead

[usaweapon777]

:thumbs-up: +1 took the words out my mouth... such a sad but true reality though

[Kash]

My car is about six or seven years old, has been fully insured since day one, and gets less than 18 MPG. I'll be getting a new car next summer, hopefully this deal will be in effect then so I can take advantage of what is essentially going to be a significant price reduction.