Anyone trading in their clunker?

[FordGuy100]

They have to less than 25 years old, that means 83 IDI's, and soon 84 IDI's wont qualify.

Now I heard that the government will actually take these vehicles and take parts off and sell them overseas, dont know if its true or not.

You have to own it for 1 year prior. Sounds like Chrysler matches whatever the government gives you. Its almost like you could scam a little bit. Buy up a couple of crappy old cars for a couple hundred a piece. Own them for a year. Go to a chrysler dealership. Trade them in. Get up to $9000 off the price. Buy a Cummins. Then you might be able to sell it for 5 grand off sticker, make a couple grand out of the deal. Thats just what I was thinking though....

 

[Compu Doc]

This thread was started not as a political thread. It was a thread asking if people were going to trade their IDI's under the clunker program and that was all it was intended to be. Knowing how people feel about their trucks here I knew the majority would not as well as I am not but I was wondering if there was just one person considering it.

Now had the people just answered the question it would not have gotten political at all. I'm not the one who started to bring politics into it. Granted it is a government program designed to spur the economy and auto sales but it did not start out as a political thread and was not intended to be one.

 

[Compu Doc]

They have to less than 25 years old, that means 83 IDI's, and soon 84 IDI's wont qualify.

Now I heard that the government will actually take these vehicles and take parts off and sell them overseas, dont know if its true or not.

You have to own it for 1 year prior. Sounds like Chrysler matches whatever the government gives you. Its almost like you could scam a little bit. Buy up a couple of crappy old cars for a couple hundred a piece. Own them for a year. Go to a chrysler dealership. Trade them in. Get up to $9000 off the price. Buy a Cummins. Then you might be able to sell it for 5 grand off sticker, make a couple grand out of the deal. Thats just what I was thinking though....

The one thing I am wondering about the program is it $4500 off a new vehicle not including Chrysler matching the program but do they also give you the trade in value on top of the $4500. I'm willing to bet that you would get one or the other but not both so the people making out are the dealers as they are then selling the cars at sticker price and making bigger profits than they would be without the program.

 

[david85]

For the record, I've never supported lawsuits for "defamation" or "slander". As Punk mentioned, they rarely protect the little guy. Frivolous lawsuits are a problem everywhere.

I would rather have free speach protected instead, but that something that is also in decline thanks to the courts.

 

[FordGuy100]

I thought that if you trade your car in for the cash for clunkers that they dispose of it. They dont turn around and sell it?

Anyways, all that had me thinking. Buy a Dodge truck that was 40K for 31K, could you then turn around and sell it with basically no milage for 32-34K? Seems like people could take advantage.

 

[david85]

I thought that if you trade your car in for the cash for clunkers that they dispose of it. They dont turn around and sell it?

Anyways, all that had me thinking. Buy a Dodge truck that was 40K for 31K, could you then turn around and sell it with basically no milage for 32-34K? Seems like people could take advantage.

If you could buy it for 31k, then so could everybody else so why would they pay you above sticker price. Generally a car looses 10% as soon as its sold to its first owner. I think what we are actually seeing right now is a dumping of the automotive market because demand has dropped so low. Prices are ridiculously low right now for new trucks across the board. I remember a few years ago guys were dropping 72k for a cummins drw. Now the same truck is probably in the high 30s before you even count on incentives (at least they are around here).

I don't think this means you can actually get the difference in value when you turn around and sell it because cars and trucks have lost so much value already. Its a great time to buy new if you actually wanted to though.

It really makes me wonder what sort of profit margin allowed them to drop the price so far and if any of this can really be sustained long term.

 

[Goofyexponent]

of all the newer trucks and cars I have owned....nothing hs been as reliable as my 1996 f150 and this F250 IDI i have now....even our 2004 Grand Am has been in the shop 5 times in the last year.....my truck broke down ONCE, the starter wire had corrosion on it...that was it!

 

[tjb]

I havent owned my idi long enough to get in on the progra, but even if I had I wouldnt trade mine its paid for and does everything I need it to. One of the dealerships here where I live has a big dumpster sitting out front with an early 80s model ford sticking like half way out and there is a big sign on the dumpster saying cash for clunkers and when we drove by I saw the truck and said to my wife I wonder if they would let me take the old ford.

 

[Diesel JD]

This is an inherently political thread I think. And it's not just about Republican vs. Democrat. I've Bill O'reily say that any vehicle that can't get 17 mpg shouldn't be allowed. It's all about destroying perfectly good vehicles for a political reason, the underpinning ideas of which are questionable at best and a heap big lie at worst. If this program was only aimed at taking "gross polluters" off the road and didn't require the wholesale destruction of the engine but a TRUE recycling of the vehicle then it would reduce some pollution. By gross polluter I don't mean the guy that just needs to turn his fuel down some or add a smoke puff limiter but the guy that's got holes in 3 pistons and hazes three lanes of traffic or the gasser vehicle that hasn't ever been tuned or maintained and is now beyond any help.

 

[FordGuy100]

Spose its a way to further the whole "Mass transite" Idea that some have. Think about it, with all the people cashing in these automobiles for newer ones, how are some people going to afford them? Most HS students I know couldnt affoard anything over 4 grand, yet the government is incentivizing taking them off the road. Or people that are down on their luck who need a means of getting to work, they cant go out and drop 20K for a new car, but a 2K car will get them from point A to B.

I'd bet my paycheck that its some sort of sick scheme to slowly move us to mass transportation, even though it will most likely never work here in America (vs. Europe as there is way less rural areas).

 

[Compu Doc]

My 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT does not qualify as it gets 19MPG combined. My IDI does not qualify because the GVWR is 11,000. Since I have owned the IDI for 8 years now the only thing I had done was the usual maintenance, drive shaft rebuild, about 2 starters and 2 alternators. I bought it when it had 78,000 miles and I now have 182,000 and still going. It's paid for and it has served me well. I paid 5K for it in 2001 and to have a vehicle like that for 8 years and still going it would be hard to replace.

 

[160k87F250]

Cash for Clunkers...what a sham. We have to disable the engine w/ sodium silicate. We drain the oil, install 2 quarts of "liquid glass" then run the engine. Takes about 5-7 minutes (not a few seconds as previously mentioned). Then the salvage yard comes and gets them. The salvage yard has 6 months to crush the vehicle. There is a whole lot of paperwork to fill out, and the dealer has to wait to get the money from the government. So if we do 50 CFC deals. thats $225000 that our dealer has put out that we have to wait to be reimbursed by the government. Wonder how long that will take?

The customer gets $3500-$4500 for a vehicle that more than likley is not worth that. It depends on the clunker and what they are buying. I've seen some nice vehicles get ruined. We even started to blow them up before we had the sodium silicate. We took a 86 F150 (351 4bbl) drained the oil, added water to the crankcase so the lifter would stayed pumped up, started it and mashed the gas. Stayed running for 4-5 minutes before it started to get tight and finally stopped. Then we took a 98 Explorer w/ 4.0 sohc, drained the oil, added nothing, started it, mashed the gas and let it go. It lasted longer than the F150 but finally put a hole in the block. Small fire too. We decided that was too dangerous, so the next victim was a 95 Windstar, 3.8.V6. We drained the oil, added metal shavings from the brake lathe, added 1 pint of tranny fluid to help wash the shavings down to the crankcase, started it, propped the throttle open so it ran at 2000 rpm's. Let run for 10 minutes, she was knocking, but still ran when we shut it off.

The next day, we drove all 3 vehicles to the back of the lot (even the Explorer) where they were given the lethal dose of liquid glass. Here is a partial list of vehicles slated for the crusher

94 F150 ext cab, flairside 4wd, beautiful truck
93 Lincoln Continental 73,000 miles, looked brand new
98 Cherokee 91k, strong 4.0 (not anymore)
02 Explorer new style 4 dr
4-5 87-91 f150's 4x2, 4x4, reg cab, ext cab. good work vehicles
89 s10 pick up (no big loss)
95 Buick Roadmaster
A couple Windstars
2 Dodge Caravans

I'm sure there's more, thats just a few..Just ****** me off to be destroying decent vehicles. Lots of them are better than what I drive!!!!!

By the way, it usually takes the Fords longer to sieze up that the Chevys. haha

John

 

[david85]

Cash for Clunkers...what a sham. We have to disable the engine w/ sodium silicate. We drain the oil, install 2 quarts of "liquid glass" then run the engine. Takes about 5-7 minutes (not a few seconds as previously mentioned). Then the salvage yard comes and gets them. The salvage yard has 6 months to crush the vehicle. There is a whole lot of paperwork to fill out, and the dealer has to wait to get the money from the government. So if we do 50 CFC deals. thats $225000 that our dealer has put out that we have to wait to be reimbursed by the government. Wonder how long that will take?

The customer gets $3500-$4500 for a vehicle that more than likley is not worth that. It depends on the clunker and what they are buying. I've seen some nice vehicles get ruined. We even started to blow them up before we had the sodium silicate. We took a 86 F150 (351 4bbl) drained the oil, added water to the crankcase so the lifter would stayed pumped up, started it and mashed the gas. Stayed running for 4-5 minutes before it started to get tight and finally stopped. Then we took a 98 Explorer w/ 4.0 sohc, drained the oil, added nothing, started it, mashed the gas and let it go. It lasted longer than the F150 but finally put a hole in the block. Small fire too. We decided that was too dangerous, so the next victim was a 95 Windstar, 3.8.V6. We drained the oil, added metal shavings from the brake lathe, added 1 pint of tranny fluid to help wash the shavings down to the crankcase, started it, propped the throttle open so it ran at 2000 rpm's. Let run for 10 minutes, she was knocking, but still ran when we shut it off.

The next day, we drove all 3 vehicles to the back of the lot (even the Explorer) where they were given the lethal dose of liquid glass. Here is a partial list of vehicles slated for the crusher

94 F150 ext cab, flairside 4wd, beautiful truck
93 Lincoln Continental 73,000 miles, looked brand new
98 Cherokee 91k, strong 4.0 (not anymore)
02 Explorer new style 4 dr
4-5 87-91 f150's 4x2, 4x4, reg cab, ext cab. good work vehicles
89 s10 pick up (no big loss)
95 Buick Roadmaster
A couple Windstars
2 Dodge Caravans

I'm sure there's more, thats just a few..Just ****** me off to be destroying decent vehicles. Lots of them are better than what I drive!!!!!

By the way, it usually takes the Fords longer to sieze up that the Chevys. haha

John

Has anyone posted utube videos of this? Not sure if it would change much, but in a car loving country like the USA it might touch a cord to see so many decent cars and trucks being executed in this manner.

 

[69oiler]

this whole idea makes me sick.

 

[Andylad13]

^^x2