Do I like Cash for Clunkers? I would if I had a vehicle to trade in and I needed another car....
I have 2 vehicles I would like to get rid of. First, an old Ford Taurus that is rusting away but gets too much MPG to qualify. Second is a Dodge truck that I use to haul my race car around with. It qualifies, but I can't afford the $15,000 extra to get a new truck after the rebate. Besides, I ride a motorcycle or bicycle to offset the times I do use the truck.
So, I don't qualify, but are there some myths out there to debunk? Maybe.
1. This program takes valuable vehicles off the road. If you visited the local car dealer back lot and saw the trade ins for this program, you would not want to drive them. Most are old, rusty, trucks and SUVs. Very few good small cars are there. Either they get too good MPG or they are worth more as fuel efficient cars. There are some odd cars here in there, but you are not going to find a mint BMW there, because they are worth more than $4500!
2. If a guy trades in an old SUV that gets 12 mpg and gets another SUV that gets 18 mpg, he has still reduced his fuel usage by 1/3rd - not too shabby.
3. Does it take good cars out of the used car market? Maybe a few, but most of these cars were in too bad a shape anyway. Plus the used car market is already glutted. Plus this leaves better cars that get better mileage - The price may be a little higher, but will be more than made up for with better cars and mpg.
Could the program be done a little bit better? Yes, scrap the engines but leave the rest of the car for the auto recyclers. Make a sliding scale to is is better to purchase a high mileage car rather than a truck, and handle the pr and interface with the dealers better. Is it the best program, no, but as long as it goes away in November it will be fine.
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