Crash for Clunkers

[roo_ster]

The clunker fairy?   

Somebody's got a way different concept of clunker than I do.  I'd love to have many of the cars on the list.  How is a 2002 Tundra a clunker?  Where are people going to be able to find a decent old beater 4x4 to drive on the farm or deer lease?

I have a feeling the city bus system better start adding routes and planning for a lot of new riders.  There are plenty of people around here who are never going to be able to afford more than a $2500 used car, and I haven't found a part of Texas where it's easy to live without wheels.

The automakers better start contemplating the potential market for much less expensive, stripped down models.

I haven't the heart to look at the list, as all three of our vehicles have 120K+ miles on the odo and two are more than 12 years old.

I suspect every auto I own is a "clunker."  Two are definitely worth less than $4500 and one is borderline.

[charby]

The automakers better start contemplating the potential market for much less expensive, stripped down models.

I wish...

I'd love a new Ford F-150 with vinyl floor mats, lockout and a manual tranny. Kind of how pickup trucks used to come.

[Ron]

The new expanded proposal includes money going to folks who are paid to vandalize and destroy their neighbors car.

They are paid in cash that can be used in the purchase of new higher mileage cars than the ones they are currently driving. The more anti patriotic vehicles they destroy the better the ride they can afford.

The other part of the program provides cash assistance to those who have had their cars destroyed by this new novel program. The money can only be spent on higher mileage cars than the one destroyed in the government program.

The final part of the program taxes car companies at a higher rate. This should bring in much needed tax revenue to offset the costs of the program.

According to the Dems this is a win win win all around...

[Boomhauer]

The new expanded proposal includes money going to folks who are paid to vandalize and destroy their neighbors car.

They are paid in cash that can be used in the purchase of new higher mileage cars than the ones they are currently driving. The more anti patriotic vehicles they destroy the better the ride they can afford.

The other part of the program provides cash assistance to those who have had their cars destroyed by this new novel program. The money can only be spent on higher mileage cars than the one destroyed in the government program.

The final part of the program taxes car companies at a higher rate. This should bring in much needed tax revenue to offset the costs of the program.

According to the Dems this is a win win win all around...

WTF? Details, please.

[GigaBuist]

WTF? Details, please.

Pretty sure it's a joke.  The program is rewarding folks that destroy working vehicles, just not as obviously as the scenarios he presented.

Wife wanted to get in on this deal.  I've got a 2000 Jeep Cherokee that's barely used because I work from home most of the time.  I was all excited until we saw what was out there in our price range after the $4500 incentive.  A quick computation of what we'd be paying in sales tax and interest on top of the loan for a car we don't really need and only getting about $1000 more than market value for the existing car that just had a bunch of repairs done on it I nixed the idea.

Part of me wonders what'll happen to the value of my car after we've gotten done destroying about 700,000 vehicles right around the same price range.  Can't hurt the value any!

[Monkeyleg]

The top-selling brands under the cash-for-clunkers program are Ford, Toyota, Honda, and one or two other Japanese brands. Government Motors and Chrysler didn't make the cut.

These guys couldn't run a lemonade stand.

[Boomhauer]

Pretty sure it's a joke.  The program is rewarding folks that destroy working vehicles, just not as obviously as the scenarios he presented.

Wife wanted to get in on this deal.  I've got a 2000 Jeep Cherokee that's barely used because I work from home most of the time.  I was all excited until we saw what was out there in our price range after the $4500 incentive.  A quick computation of what we'd be paying in sales tax and interest on top of the loan for a car we don't really need and only getting about $1000 more than market value for the existing car that just had a bunch of repairs done on it I nixed the idea.

Part of me wonders what'll happen to the value of my car after we've gotten done destroying about 700,000 vehicles right around the same price range.  Can't hurt the value any!

I hope to god it's only a joke. Nothing, however, is implausible with the nuts that are in charge now. Every day something I find out gives me heartburn.

I guess Cash for Clunkers isn't much different than the gov't buying up surplus crops and livestock and destroying that  to keep prices up.

Part of me wonders what'll happen to the value of my car after we've gotten done destroying about 700,000 vehicles right around the same price range.  Can't hurt the value any!

I just hope I can get parts for ours. We don't buy new vehicles, and the ones we have are running as long as possible.

Government Motors and Chrysler didn't make the cut.

I know my family will never buy another GM, nor will we buy a Chrysler.

[Perd Hapley]

I guess Cash for Clunkers isn't much different than the gov't buying up surplus crops and livestock and destroying that  to keep prices up.

Precisely.  Destroying wealth, to make us all prosperous again. 

Up next: the Change the Laws of Physics bill. 

[FTA84]

Precisely.  Destroying wealth, to make us all prosperous again. 

Up next: the Change the Laws of Physics bill. 

My first thoughts exactly.

I don't know, this is always the logic versus emotion argument.  Emotion says, get people buying cars again, so Timmy OverPaidUnionWorker can feed his family.  Logic says, you're needlessly destroying wealth and artificially giving Timmy a job by giving him a cut of the wealth transfer.

Currently, emotion is in the driver seat and logic is in the back with his head tucked firmly between his legs.

[freedom lover]

I'd love a new Ford F-150 with vinyl floor mats, lockout and a manual tranny. Kind of how pickup trucks used to come.

I like that idea, only with Jeep bringing back the CJ-5 or Toyota the FJ-40.

My idea of a clunker is a car with a broken automatic transmission and seized up engine. You could replace the transmission in an old car with a good engine and it may run for many more years with only routine mantinence, but it would cost alot and the engine would have to be replaced eventually. The solution would be to buy a sturdy vehicle with a manual and see if it would be cost effective to replace the engine after it dies (this is assuming the frame or unibody isn't heavily rusted at the time.) I should learn to drive a stick before my father dies. 

The top-selling brands under the cash-for-clunkers program are Ford, Toyota, Honda, and one or two other Japanese brands. Government Motors and Chrysler didn't make the cut.

These guys couldn't run a lemonade stand.

Which is precisely why they should have failed. Now they cost all of us money.

[KD5NRH]

I recently looked at replacing a 12 year old Subaru with a new one, or a 3 year old one.

The change in my insurance wouldn't have been all that much.

How much would it be if you were going from minimum liability on a paid off car to full coverage while making payments on a new car?

[MillCreek]

I ran my cars through the clunker website.  My 1986 Mazda pickup did not qualify because the combined MPG was too high.  My 2005 Ford Escape would.  Interesting that the five year old car is a clunker yet the 23 year old vehicle is not.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

How much would it be if you were going from minimum liability on a paid off car to full coverage while making payments on a new car?

If you can't afford the new insurance, then you probably couldn't afford the new car payments.

[charby]

How much would it be if you were going from minimum liability on a paid off car to full coverage while making payments on a new car?

For some odd reason from time to time I am a deer magnet when driving, so I have full coverage on everything I drive no matter how old it is. I'm married, over 25, good credit score and have only had one moving violation in the last 14 years so my insurance is pretty cheap. I think we pay $100 a month for two vehilces with a $250 deductable and a pretty high liability coverage, I think $500k. One is a 04 Vibe and the other is a 98 Jimmy.

-C