KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Imagine driving home in a brand new car, then learning a month later that the dealer who sold it to you wants even more money!
That’s exactly what’s happing to some drivers in the aftermath of the
Cash for Clunkers program.
Edmunds.com says several thousand clunker trade-ins are being rejected by the program, leaving consumers owing much more than they expected to owe.
Many dealers made clunker trades, giving consumers the discount promised by the Cash for Clunkers program, on faith that the government would pay out the $3,500 to $4,500 the program promised.
That government money is finally trickling into dealerships, but some are getting rejection notices.
Some rejections are due to paperwork errors and some are customers whose trades didn’t qualify after all.
Some dealers prepared by asking customers to sign a waiver in case their clunker was later rejected. If you signed a waiver, you are legally bound to repay the clunker cash if your trade-in is rejected.
However, if you didn’t sign a waiver, the dealer cannot ask you to repay the money.
Edmunds.com says as many as 25,000 of the 70,000 clunkers traded in may end up rejected in the end.
If anyone comes to you for more money, you should first research on your rights so you don’t waste your money.
