Auto Dealers Swamped As Trade-in Rebate Ends

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

By Tim Gaynor

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Americans swamped auto dealerships on Monday during the final hours of the government's popular "cash-for-clunkers" program, which offered rebates of up to $4,500 to trade in older gas guzzlers.

Dealers from California to Texas saw lots empty of cars, pickups and SUVs over the weekend, as once-reluctant customers were lured back into the market by the $3-billion rebate program that ended at 8 p.m. EDT Monday (0000 GMT Tuesday).

The White House Council of Economic Advisers forecast the program would boost the U.S. economy by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points in the third quarter.

"It's been crazy. We've had lines" of customers, said Scott Gruwell, the sales director at Courtesy Chevrolet in central Phoenix, which has sold 58 new vehicles since Friday.

"We've had the best weekend in literally a year-and-a-half to two years," he added.

The rebate program, which started last month, sought to spur sales in the struggling auto industry while helping the environment. It offered $3,500 to $4,500 to people who traded in a car made since 1984 with lower fuel mileage for a new, more fuel-efficient one.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE57N4HF20090825

[FarCenter]

1. Current message on the cars.gov web site

We continue to address technical problems with the CARS transaction website, and have determined that the website will not be fully functional before tomorrow morning. Dealers should be assured that they will be provided time to submit pending deals equivalent to the time that was lost this afternoon while the system was down.

We will post another update tomorrow, August 25, 2009.

[DainBramaged]

2. we have 167 HAPPY people with new cars

We ended the program Saturday and submitted the remaining 22 deals Sunday. Had people coming in today, but sent them down the road. Can't risk getting locked out.

[WatchWhatISay]

3. I think this is just hiliarious

We bought my daughter a Jeep Liberty last December. It, and several other models were marked down $8000 off of sticker (some were marked down even more). There was no clunkers program at the time. And we have bought two grand cherokees in the past that were each about $7000 off msrp. It is very common to see such discounts on Jeep products when they bring out their new model year cars. So they are making out like bandits, since they are essentially only coming off $4500 from msrp out of their own pockets right now.

Not that the program isnt a great one, but if I had been down there, I would have insisted on their usual $8000 off sticker PLUS a further $4500 clunker discount.

I am curious to see how they will be advertising them two weeks from now. Although, since their inventory has probably been greatly reduced, they might not still be offering such large discounts as they usually do this time of year.

[Politicalboi]

4. This is how we should have

Handled the auto bailout. Let them make their money selling cars. Who'da thunk it.

[Hulk]

5. Little "repuke line" to fact check....

Just visited my relative this weekend.....a "good little republican", and although we tried to avoid politics...and almost made it, we did have a spur of tossing barbs back and forth.

He informed me the "cash for clunkers" was a miserable failure, because now the dealers have to complete a two inch stack of forms to get their reimbursement back from the government.....and of course, saw NO VALUE in getting the clunkers off the road or spurring industry, even if it was for a brief time...allowing them to clear inventory if nothing else.

Jesus....we are talking about mentally challenged citizens here. He still insists we did good by invading Iraq. "We brought peace to them". What the F*CK is he talking about. I had to point out that 2-4 million Iraqi's are now displaced, and somewhere between 250,000 and a million are dead. Forget those that are maimed and lost family members or homes in this nightmare. It was "all good".

Jesus help us. We are a nation of block headed simpletons. They believe what THEY WANT to believe. Facts make no impression on these numbskull's.

We are a nation of morons...and it's not going to be easy to change anything so long as we are so blatantly ignorant...and being fed bull shit from the faux propaganda machine and the right wing talk Nazis.

[lib2DaBone]

6. So true..Republicans never let FACTS get in the way of their talking points

... they just stick their fingers in their ears and go " la la la la la.. I can't hear you.."