Tried to use the CARS program to trade in a '94 GMC 3/4 ton Suburban 4 wheel drive 7.4L (454) gas motor with 249,000 miles on it that on it's best day MIGHT get 12 MPG for a new HHR rated at 30 MPG.

Unfortunately both of the 1/2 ton Suburbans with the smaller 5.7 L are acceptable but the only thing available when trading in a 2500 series is another class 3 or a class 2 truck. Ya would think that they would want that tank off the road and replaced with something that gets almost 3 times the MPG

 

THat bites !!! More obananomics

 

What really bites is "they" have have it listed as over 8500 GVRW making it a cat 3 truck and the door sticker says 7900 GVRW which would make it a cat 2 and be elegible for trade on a cat 1 passenger vehicle.. ie. 2009 HHR. You can't get anyone to listen who could possibly do anything to change the error.

 

I thought the whole deal was to get gas sippers on the road & the guzzlers off the road..

More political BS imo.. Keep fighting man.. I hope you can score..


They won't consider my minitruck, too good on gas. So trading it, may not be good either, it's 12 yrs old .

Maybe have to sell outright?? We'll see..

 

Here's my 2 cents on this horable program...I get the whole thing they are trying to do and though it seems to be working ok, i still have issues with it.

They take cars that maybe a little high on gas milage or whatever, and seize the motor and crush the car. First of all that is such a waste of parts and completely usable cars. How about giving the fairly descent cars to charity or to a single mother who doesn't have a car.

Why you ask?? Because Obama sucks! This is such a stupid program. Instead of worrying about the cars, pollution, and other bullcrap that shouldn't be a top priority right now. Why don't our government concentrate on the Homeless, Healthcare, Debt, Economy. I see our freedom starting to fade rather rapidly.

Sorry if I offended anyone, I just had to state the obvious.

 

I'm still fightin ! I received a reply from the CARS program I'll add to the bottom of this post.

I agree that it is a total waste of useable parts. There are a lot of people that cannot afford a car payment right now and could use the recycled parts to keep their vehicles running. The motors are seized and the titles/vin # are flagged to never be registered again so why waste the parts.

I heard on talk radio this morning one of the co-sponsors of the CARS bill is trying to add to the "Rules" that using the qualifying requirements already in place you could turn in your clunker and get a voucher to be used in the future, with a time limit, on specific vehicles that are already listed. The reason being that so many dealers are out of the more popular models and don't have the model, color or options people want. You could use the voucher when more are built.

Now this is the reply I received. It's a step foward, even if a small one but shows they are working on it.

"We believe that your vehicle is less than 8,500 lbs GVWR, but over 6,000 lbs curb weight, making it “heavy-duty.” It was never tested for fuel economy in accordance with current Federal Regulations. We are currently trying to determine how NHTSA will categorize this vehicle in the CARS program, but do not have an answer yet.



Sincerely,



Www.fueleconomy.gov"

 

Least you've got a reply, that is a step forward..

Common sense will tell anyone your ride uses enough gas to qualify..
But we are dealing with the government

Good Luck man..

 

Thanks. I'll post if they get it straightened out before the $$$ run out, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I used the CFC program to get my HHR LT2 a couple of weeks ago. I was caught up in the frenzy that 7/31 was going to be the last day and the dealership was mobbed. I bought the last HHR 2LT with a leather interior they had on the lot. While my car had sat there unsold from 09/08, this cash for clunkers deal has almost cleaned out their HHR inventory. There's only 1 LS model and 3 SS models and that's it... No 1LTs or 2LTs at all at my local dealer as of today...

Business was so good for dealers that the Ford dealer let me walk away without a fight after I balked at his response that adding $4200 dealer markup to the sticker was a normal dealer practice....

While I hate the fact that my 21 year old BMW 325i will be destroyed (the motor did run great), I applaud the fact the goverment actually did a program that helped people to get out there and spend some money. It took me a few day to have it sink in, but I'm glad I have a new car now....

Fred

 

I almost wish my 98 S-10 would qualify for the clunk program.. Cause I'm not gonna get much more even on eBay (after fees) & etc..

But the 2.2 in it gets too good of mileage, according to one dealer..

(it does get v good gas mileage)..