Cash For Clunkers: Earn $4,500 For Your Gas Guzzler

If you trade your old vehicle for one that gets better mileage the government could provide you with federal vouchers of up to $4,500. An addition to the $106 billion dollar wartime spending bill, the Cash for Clunkers provision is an attempt to get gas-guzzlers off the road.

If you own a car that's bought after 1984 that gives you 18 miles to the gallon or less, you're good to go. For a trade with a car that gives you 22 mpg, you get $3,500. But you'd get $4,500 if the new car is 10 mpg higher in fuel efficiency.

So who qualifies?

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date


• Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify


• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)


• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in


• You don't need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase


• It needs to be worth less4,500


• You cannot trade it in for a car that costs more than45,000

There's lots of controversy surrounding this bill, and critics argue that the program could end up providing vouchers towards the purchase of new gas-guzzling SUVs -- since the fuel efficiency requirements aren't stringent enough.

Others contend that the bill could take perfectly operational cars off the road and force consumers to buy new cars. But while details need to be worked out (there still isn't a proper plan for the disposable of old cars), car manufacturers are eagerly waiting for a rise in their sales charts.

To find the current EPG on the car you drive, click here: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

Comments

[dwatkins9]

People who drive real clunkers generally can't afford new cars, even with a subsidy. If the purpose is actually to get old cars off the road, the government should just buy them outright, for $4500.00 or whatever, and crush them.

[rkimball]

that's up to $4,500 depending on the clunker & what model is purchased.

[sarabono]

This is going to be a golden flees jackpot for ALL the Japanese and Korean manufactures!

[kcampese]

Why not just donate old car to Cars4Charities. Choose from over 1,000 charities. Go to http://www.cars4charities.org or call 866.448.3487.

[BannedNBoston]

I got an inspectable $500 beater from an old lady.
The future is so bright I gotta wear shades.

[drh002]

To get this voucher you must forfeit any trade in value the car has. So no one with a car that is worth more than 4500 dollars will take advantage of it, additionally it's 3500 dollars unless the car you're getting achieves a combined 10mpg better than the car you're getting rid of. As a side note this whole voucher scheme only affects post 1984 model year vehicles. This voucher only applies to new cars.

In any case if one did use a car worth less than 3500 dollars it is highly unlikely that said individual would be in the market for a brand new vehicle.

I wonder how much foreign manufactures will benefit from this...

[research]

We gave the Hummer buyers a tax break to buy them, now we give the money to sell them. It's good to be wasteful. seems to me the cost of Gas aught to be motivation enough.

[dwatkins9]

For many people - and not just the "rich" - gas is a negligible expense. No sensible person will trade in a good car just to save twenty or thirty dollars a week (or maybe less) on gas.

[sc300nc]

Another idiotic plan by the only people smart enough to get us out of this financial crisis, Geithner and Obama.

[jon-mullen]

Manufacturing new cars makes more pollution than driving a '68 Camaro till it puts a rod through the block.

Government and business are going to have to come to terms with the idea that "going green" does not mean making more products that are going to end up in a landfill.

Like they taught us in 2nd grade: reduce, reuse, recycle.

[DrJohnS]

My clunker is paid for and $4500 will not replace it without also putting me in debt. No thanks government. I'll stick with what I've got.

[onlinesavant]

That's fine, but why are you trying to find blame (i.e. YOU.) for creating avenues to get old gas-guzzlers of the road. Stick with what you've got. Others won't, and they'll be happy with their new vehicles.

[jon-mullen]

Yeah, all those really efficient new cars you can buy for $4500...