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Entry bubble Cash for Clunkers?

By: Jake | April 27, 2009 | Category: Money

CarIt was a year ago this week that my car wouldn't start. My reliable car had become an unreliable clunker about a year before this and it finally decided to die. As a clunker it wasn't valuable for a trade in, so I waited for its final trip, called a charity company to haul it away and bought a new one.

If you want to get rid of a clunker, especially one that's a gas guzzler, the Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Act (ARIVA), known as the "Cash for Clunkers" bill, may provide you with another solution. It needs to be passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by the President first, but it would allow you to trade in your older, less fuel efficient car, truck or SUV for a cash voucher that you can use to buy a more energy efficient car. You could also redeem that voucher for transit fares with participating local public transportation agencies.

The last major action on the bill was in January when it was referred to the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, but there was some news about it last week.

What do you think of the "Cash for Clunkers" bill?

| View Comments [11] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: alternative_fuel   cash_for_clunkers   fuel_efficient   jake   new_car   trade_in  

Comments (11):

blue comment bubble Posted by Librarian on April 27, 2009 at 03:17 PM EDT

I thought the point of this blog was to pass along government information & resources, not to politick for specific bills.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Jake on April 27, 2009 at 03:46 PM EDT

Hi Librarian,

Thanks for your comment. I don't agree with your statement though. I don't think I was politicking for this bill, I was trying to pass along some information about a potential government program. What specific statement makes you think I'm politicking for it?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joe on April 27, 2009 at 06:53 PM EDT

Yet another handout from the government.
When will people start to stand on two feet.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Chrissy on April 28, 2009 at 04:34 PM EDT

I think this is a wonderful idea. And i think that we should encourage people to give up their gas guzzlers for more enviromentally friendly transporation. I don't think this is a hand-out, but just motivation to make changes that so desperatly need to be made. I think Joe is just a bitter old man.

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blue comment bubble Posted by LEAH on June 15, 2009 at 08:57 AM EDT

WELL THIS IS A BLESSING FOR THIS DISABLED MOTHER . THINGS ARE SO TRYING FOR ME RIGHT NOW AND THIS IS JUST THE HELP I NEED. i STAND ON MY ON AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND DON'T LOOK FOR A HAND OUT OR THE EASY WAY OUT, JUST ALITTLE HELP SOMETIME. THIS BILL HAS BEEN PASSED!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Lee Webb on June 15, 2009 at 12:20 PM EDT

I think it's another step forward in revitalizing the economy. It's a win for the auto industry, consumers, & banks. We must take some steps to redirect this economy. I applaud President Obama in his efforts.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Auto Sales Bob on June 19, 2009 at 11:56 AM EDT

Well right now I have several customers that otherwise would have already bought waiting to see if this is going to help them. There is still not enough information on exactly how this is going to work, who gets the money from the gov and how long will that take? Who pays to have the clunker transported for destruction? Who pays for the destruction? Who gets the money for the scrap? Could this actually cause the price of used cars to go up? Unintended consequences yet to be seen.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Leba on June 20, 2009 at 08:24 AM EDT

This cash for clunkers program did not break down specifics! When can we start taking advantage of this program ( No date given) 2) Is this program good for 2008/2009 with less than 25000 miles, these are new but used cars! Would the program be good for these cars,truck and SUV 's also? These autos are also found at dealers with a lower price. In my opinion, Cars,Trucks and SUV's are all over priced on new vehicles, people can not afford new ones , so we tend to look for 1 or 2 yrs old vehicles because even with rebates and discounts, vehicles are still in the $30,000 range, thats unexceptable! Look what happen to the real estate industry ( Over priced ) Same goes for auto ( Over priced ) Salaries are not keeping up!!! Reply requested

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blue comment bubble Posted by tightoncashbutNOTbymychoice on June 21, 2009 at 05:12 PM EDT

If this bill is actually passed, it would help a few individuals & hurt a few as well. Isn't that how this country handles everything?

When it does come to fruition, do any of you know how to receive the $? How do are consumers expected to apply for or otherwise qualify?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Motorcity Mark on June 22, 2009 at 01:28 PM EDT

I think this will be a good incentive for people that are on the fence, deciding whether to buy or not. I hope there will be some claus excluding "imported" vehicles though. Domestics and U.S built foriegn cars only.....

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blue comment bubble Posted by ProgressionWatcher on June 25, 2009 at 12:39 PM EDT

I believe that this bill is an excellent idea. Rather than giving money stright to automakers, an idea has been formed that has a multi-layer assistance effect. With this idea, Americans are helpped, the economy is helpped, the environment is helpped, and last the automakers.

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