As a business owner working in the auto industry, I believe it is safe to say that we all remember the U.S. Government’s Cash for Clunkers program of 2009. From what I can tell, it really wasn’t a good deal. My elderly neighbor had a very nice Dodge Ram with a quad cab that was fire engine red and clearly worth at least $20,000. The alluring incentives to receive a rebate toward a brand new vehicle convinced her to give it to the dealer for a mere $4,500 discount off of a fuel efficient gem in their polished showroom. She is one of those sweet old ladies and I cannot begin to understand why anyone would choose to treat her so unfairly. The dealership should have had the decency to give her a fair trade-in value, but instead, our federal rebate system convinced her she needed to get that truck off of the road because it used too much fossil fuels and no one would want to buy it from her. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for preserving our planet and recycling materials, but they lied to her when they claimed she needed to get clear of that diesel beast for only a small fraction of its actual retail value.

The sly congressional idea to jump start automotive sales really bit the consumers in the behind, if you know what I mean. It should have been great for the participating automakers and dealers, but it turned out to be counterproductive. First off, there were so many companies trying to access the federal computer system as businesses attempted to get certified through the program’s website that the server crashed. It was off to a horrible start and that should have been viewed as an omen for the pitfalls to come. Next, the government didn’t actually have our tax dollars on hand to pay the dealerships back for the vehicles they received through this program and had to suspend payments. Lastly, the consumer didn’t save all that much money to get a vehicle with better fuel economy. In fact, like my neighbor, many of them lost money. If you compared the mile per gallon rating of those brand new cars to those that were only three years older, you wouldn’t have noticed a difference. Oh, you should hold that thought for one more second. You would have noticed a difference in the price! It was about $14,000 in average savings when it came down to buying a used 3 year old car over a brand spanking new one. Instead, buyers saved only up to $4,500. I would go for the fourteen thousand big ones any day.

The infamous “Clunkers” program was widely used, but it was also heavily criticized. It went so far as causing avid environmentalists to speak out against the law because part of truly green recycling is using an item until it can no longer perform its original task and then turn it into something new. If you have one of those automobiles that can no longer perform their intended job, perhaps you should consider contacting us, we are rated highly among the people of Columbus, OH, contact us today! 614-610-9494

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