How successful is the cash for clunkers so far?

[LTC8K6]

So how long does it take to recoup my $4,500 that the government spent to buy someone a vehicle, at +2mpg?

We'll leave out the fact that it's actually way more than $4,500 with the cost of the program and interest added in.

And the possibility that the new vehicle will be driven much more since it's nice and shiny and new.

What we need is the program cost / number of new cars + interest on the borrowed money to get an idea what the per consumer was.

I'm guessing it's some obscene number per person "helped" even without the interest. Just the rebate + program cost.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: NoCreativity
Cash for clunkers for guzzlers?

Haha, now that is some cheating statistics by the gov any way you look at it.

That's funny, that is exactly what we bought and they were becoming difficult to find when we bought ours on Monday. If we would have gone for the 4 cylinder we would have qualified for the $4500 instead of the $3500.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
So how long does it take to recoup my $4,500 that the government spent to buy someone a vehicle, at +2mpg?

answering that question isn't worth much as the average increase was much larger.

The average fuel economy of new vehicles being purchased under Cash for Clunkers is 25.4 mpg, LaHood said, and the average fuel economy increase from the old vehicle to the new is about 61%.

so the old mpg was 15.8. old fuel consumption over 15,000 miles was 949.4 gallons. new fuel consumption is 590.6. that's a savings of 358.8 gallons. at $2.50 recoupment time is about 5 years. so the question is how long would the average trade in have still been on the road?

 

[LTC8K6]

answering that question isn't worth much as the average increase was much larger.

You mean based on this from the White House?

Several auto companies have reported that their fuel-efficient models were among the top sellers this month, and the White House reported Monday that cars being purchased under the program had an average fuel economy of 25.4 miles per gallon. That's compared with 15.8 mpg for the trade-ins.

The top five cars being purchased under the program, according to experts and the federal government? The Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius and Toyota Camry, all of which can get about 30 mpg or more.

The WH list of the top 10 vehicles sold under CARS was very different than the actual top 10 vehicles sold.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.businessweek.com/gl...9/gb2009085_350769.htm
german version getting all fraudy

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
http://www.businessweek.com/gl...9/gb2009085_350769.htm
german version getting all fraudy

At least they are 'recycling' the cars to less well-off countries.

The western governments keep banging on about recycling

 

[LTC8K6]

http://online.wsj.com/article/...302.html?mod=relevancy

A little more data on people holding off...and the idea that the sales would have happened anyway:

"I love a good sales surge as much as anyone. But it?s not that simple. First, it?s not clear that cash for clunkers actually increased sales. Edmunds.com noted recently that over 100,000 buyers put their purchases on hold waiting for the program to launch. Once consumers could start cashing in on July 24, showrooms were flooded and government servers were overwhelmed as the backlog of buyers finalized their purchases.

Secondly, on July 27, Edmunds.com published an analysis showing that in any given month 60,000 to 70,000 ?clunker-like? deals happen with no government program in place. The 200,000-plus deals the government was originally prepared to fund through the program?s Nov. 1 end date were about the ?natural? clunker trade-in rate."


http://www.usnews.com/blogs/fl...cash-for-clunkers.html

Info on burning more gas with the new cars:

"Drivers could end up burning more gas. That's counterintuitive, since drivers must trade in their old car for one that gets significantly better mileage in order to get the rebate. But with a fresh ride in the driveway, buyers are likely to change their driving habits. Surveys by research firm CNW Marketing Research have found that clunker-upgraders drove their old vehicle about 6,200 miles in 2008, barely half the typical annual mileage of 12,000. But most said they'd drive their new car more and take longer trips. CNW's math shows that if clunker-upgraders drive just 90 percent of the annual average mileage in the first year of ownership, they'll end up burning an extra 61 gallons of gas, even though they get better mileage. Multiply that by 750,000 vehicles, and cash for clunkers would result in an additional 46 million gallons of gas being burned.

As a consolation, the program will unambiguously cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, since today's cleaner engines more than make up for extra miles driven. CNW pegs the greenhouse-gas reduction due to clunker retirement at 92 percent or more."

 

[S Freud]

Damn this sucks! I checked out my clunker today and the MPG doesn't qualify, according to the site I get 22 and I need 18. My car is a 1997 Ford 2WD ranger POS...I was really hoping to qualify.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, if you were thrifty you are screwed. You bought a 4 cylinder. If you had been unconcerned with mileage and bought a V6 Ranger, you'd get $4,500 from the government as a reward for slurping down all that extra fuel for the last 12 years.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
http://www.mercurynews.com/nat...3008364?nclick_check=1

Unintended consequences, I suppose.

Bad shortages of new cars...that can't be made up for a while.

This is true around where I live. My soon to be brother in law finally decided he needed to replace his 1992 paseo. (doesn't qualify for the rebate obviously since it gets better mileage then probably any non hybrid currently being built) He went to the Hyundai dealer and that NO accents at all and from the sounds of it most of their elantras were gone except for the high option models which he's to cheap to buy anyway. I won't comment on the toyota dealer since every time anyone has ever gone to that dealership they hem and haw about barely having any cars to sell so I'll just assume they haven't been affected.

He didn't mention the American cars, not sure if he looked at them.

Frankly, I think he should just fix that pile of crap paseo and wait until the dealers actually have some cars to sell. At this point its a sellers market and there's no point in buying a new car that isn't what you want while also getting reamed in the ass for it by the dealership.

 

[WangoZ]

I'm a Chevrolet dealer...Our first Clunker Deal was a guy with an 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 214,000 miles on it, dock rope helding the doors shut, tires that wouldnt pass his next inspection, molding fallen off and rust all over the place. He chooses a 2009 Chevy Aveo 2 door, 5 speed manual with no AC...MSRP of $12,350.00. With GM's supplier pricing the cars price was about $11,500 minus a $1,000 rebate bring the price to $10,500 and then his "Clunker" that is pretty much scrap metal without killing the engine was worth $4,500.00!!!! That brough his total to $6,000.00 plus taxes and fees. He was a pretty happy camper...The one key to the program is that you need to have continous insurance and registration for the full past year and a title with no liens on it. Not to shabby for a brand new car, politics aside!

 

[LTC8K6]

Yes, I just love the idea that my borrowed tax money was used to get that guy a car...and that it won't be long before it has to be paid back with interest...

Sweet deal my fanny...

Let him buy a used Aveo on his own dime if he wants one for the fuel economy.

 

[Pacfanweb]

I did a job for a Ford dealer today, and saw an old Explorer that someone wrote "clunker" on the windows in the shop.

It looked pretty good, so I walked over to check it out: 1997 Explorer, paint was in REALLY good shape, body didn't have any door dings or anything....one of the nicest older models of anything I've seen in awhile. Leather seats, almost new Michelins, and it was a freaking 4WD to boot! Everything worked. Interior was in great shape. Had about 150k on it. Was a regular 4.0, non-SOHC...those things last forever.

And it's going to be killed. Perfectly good car, would be great to buy for your kid to go to college in or for a first car. This program is pissing me off more and more.

 

[boomhower]

I took advantage of it yesterday myself. I traded in a 98 Mountaineer. It had 160,000 on it but it ran great. It has been the most reliable vehicle I have every owned, including numerous Honda's. The body was in rough shape with several dents and that paint was peeling on the hood, on its best day it probably wouldn't bring $1500. I bought an Elantra for 9.7k OTD, sticker was 16.9k.

In general I think the program sucks, it is way to lenient on trucks, whats the point then. I think the lowest difference is 2 MPG's, that is just retarded. But I figured if I am going to be paying for it regardless I may as well take advantage of it.

Just for the record we wouldn't have bought a new car if it wasn't for this, I couldn't afford 14-15k right now.