It's a great time to buy a new car, and the deals are about to get sweeter, if you drive a clunker.
Cash for Clunkers will give thousands in cash to car owners who drive a clunker. It's expected to help a million drivers. A clunker is defined as any car built in 1984 or after that gets 18 miles per gallon or less.
Bob Kline of AAA is not ready to dump his clunker, even though the government is offering him thousands to trade that clunker for a new car or truck.
"I own a clunker and I can tell you personally that clunker takes me to the lumber yard and the dump."
Kline does not think that the government incentive will make up for the other costs of a new car.
"For me to invest $25,000 into a new vehicle and the additional expense of ownership and the depreciation of the taxes, (it) does not make sense for me to trade in my clunker."
Clunker trade-ins will either get you a $3500 or a $4500 dollar voucher, depending on how many miles per gallon better your new purchase is over your clunker. The goal now is to increase sales at car dealers, but that wasn't the original goal, according to one local mechanic, Jerry Holcom.
"It started out as a program designed for environmental concerns."
Holcom runs S&S Service Center, an independent repair shop. He worries about the impact
Cash for Clunkers will have on his industry. He depends on repairs of older cars since new cars get warranty work done at the dealer. These older vehicles coming off the road could affect his operation.
"These cars that get turned in they have to be crushed they can't be put back on the road again so that's going to really hurt our biz.”
There is also concern for the charities that are in the business of helping people who can't afford a car. Some owners may consider a car a clunker, while others note the car could have value and a charitable purpose.
Senator Sam Brownback no longer supports
Cash for Clunkers because stimulus money will not fund the program. There are websites eager to get you connected with participating dealers, as well as sites offering
answers to common program questions and
lists of eligble clunker cars.
