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Posted
Aug 24 2009, 01:49 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from James Limbach at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
A coalition of consumer groups has called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure -- as the agency winds down the "cash for clunkers" program -- that dealers are not double dipping and getting paid twice -- once by their customers and again by the government.
During the past several weeks, the rejection rate for cash for clunkers transactions has hovered around 80%. Many dealers jumped the gun and entered into a high volume of contracts in July, before the rules governing the program were issued and before any deals were approved. Since then, the program has been overwhelmed, causing delays in the payment of $3,500 or $4,500 per clunker to dealers.
As a result, many dealers are on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars or more. Experiencing cash-flow problems and under pressure from lenders, some dealers have resorted to pressuring their customers to make up the difference. Cash for clunkers sales end today, Aug. 24, at 8 p.m. ET. Dealers have until Tuesday, Aug. 25, at noon to file the required paperwork with the government.
Some dealer associations even provide standardized "contingency agreements" for their dealer members that shift all the risks for rejected deals from the dealers to car buyers. Whether they signed the agreements or not, car buyers across the country have complained of being pressured to give the dealers $3,500 or $4,500 extra in cash or sign a new contract agreeing to pay more, typically under threat of losing their new car or having the dealer report it stolen.
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Posted
Aug 10 2009, 03:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Truman Lewis at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
Many consumers say they don't like to haggle with car salesmen, but 225 General Motors dealers in California are betting they won't mind haggling online -- specifically at eBay.
The car dealers and eBay announced that new Buicks, Chevrolets, GMC trucks and Pontiac cars will be for sale on "co-branded" eBay sites, beginning Aug. 11 and lasting for at least three weeks. Besides appearing on the co-branded sites with names like gm.ebay.com, the cars will be displayed through eBay Motors, where tens of thousands of used cars change hands each year.
"With 12 million individual car shoppers visiting our site every month, eBay Motors has unique insight into how people prefer to buy their cars," said Rob Chesney, vice president of eBay Motors.
"Together with eBay Motors, GM and our dealers are reinventing the car-buying experience for our California customers," said Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales. "As the dealer showroom expands from the parking lot to the laptop, this makes it easier for a customer to browse available new car inventory, make an offer, buy it now, or send a message asking for more information from a dealer -- all at the customer's convenience."
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Posted
Aug 07 2009, 03:49 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from James Limbach at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
The nation's auto dealers are seeing cars fly off the lot thanks to the government's "cash for clunkers" program, which is getting an infusion of $2 billion, compliments of you, the taxpayer.
Figures released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration show there have been 245,384 dealer transactions as of Aug. 7, for a total of $1.03 billion in rebates.
NHTSA figures from Aug. 5 showed Michigan leading all states in requested voucher dollar amounts with $44.4 million, followed by California at $39.9 million. Bringing up the rear was Wyoming with just $533,000.
The government says cars purchased under the program are, on average, 21% above the average fuel economy of all new cars currently available, and 63% above the average fuel economy of cars that were traded in. This, officials maintain, means the program is raising the average fuel economy of the fleet, while getting the dirtiest and most polluting vehicles off the road.
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Posted
Jul 31 2009, 03:16 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The "cash for clunkers" program -- the hugely popular people's bailout that nearly ran out of money after less than a week -- will continue at least through the weekend -- and perhaps beyond that. We'll see.
The U.S. House has approved $2 billion more for the program, and the U.S. Senate will vote on the extra money next week. It's hard to imagine that senators will say no to a popular program that -- compared with what's been pumped into banks, AIG, automakers, etc. -- seems downright cheap.
David Thomas said at Kicking Tires, "With this bill's passing and the White House's assurances on Cash for Clunkers, it's likely safe to say you can go out this weekend and buy a new car through the program."
Those in the market for a new car will be happy that news of its demise was premature. But how did this near shutdown of cash for clunkers happen?
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Posted
Jul 30 2009, 01:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
More than 19,000 gas-guzzlers have been traded in -- and an equal number of new cars with better gas mileage purchased -- under the federal "cash for clunkers" program in its first week. To track daily how fast the $1 billion in the cash-for-clunkers fund is being spent, you can find a gauge here. (Wait a few seconds and it will appear.)
"It's definitely great for people who're getting $4,500 for a car that's maybe worth only $400 or $500, and it's good for us because we're getting a lot of traffic," George Gambino, general sales manager for Bay Ridge Honda, told the New York Daily News.
Also, USA Today reports that most people are using the program to buy new vehicles with respectable gas mileage. Very few are buying full-size pickups and vans.
This all sounds great, both for cash-strapped consumers and the nearly comatose auto industry. (Ford told The Detroit News that sales are up sharply.) So how do you go about trading in your hunk of rust for a new vehicle under this plan?
It can be complicated -- for instance, the eligibility of 164 cars changed at the last minute -- but nothing you can't handle.
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Posted
Jul 24 2009, 10:41 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from James Limbach at ConsumerAffairs.com.
Car shoppers would do well to get their bargaining skills in shape if they want to take advantage of the federal government's "cash for clunkers" program, which debuted today.
Just to add to the confusion, Chrysler is offering $3,500 or $4,500 rebates, or 0%, 72-month financing, on most 2009 models -- in effect doubling the government's rebate. (For more about that, click here.) Other car companies are also adding incentives.
The government program gives consumers a $3,500 or $4,500 credit at an auto dealership toward the purchase of a new vehicle when they turn in a low-gas-mileage vehicle to be scrapped. The idea is for motorists to get rid of their older cars and trucks and replace them with newer models that get better mileage.
To qualify for the program, the trade-in vehicle has to meet minimum requirements, including not being more than 25 years old. The replacement vehicle can't cost more than $45,000.
"It's important that consumers get full value for their trade-in," Jessica Caldwell at Edmunds.com told ConsumerAffairs.com. To that end, that Web site is making available a vehicle value calculator. It can be accessed by clicking the "cash for clunkers" icon.
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Posted
Jul 07 2009, 05:52 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
Did you see all the Toyota Prius commercials recently? The ones with the people dressed up as foliage and climbing on top of one another? It was to highlight how "green" the vehicles are and announce that Prius was launching another generation of the hugely popular hybrid-electric.
At first, my wife didn't even realize they were people, and I to this day think it's just a little bit creepy.
However, despite the creepiness of the ads and the whole slew of new hybrid-electric cars, I would still love to have a Prius (or a Tesla). The only problem I have is that it's not a financially sound decision. It's an emotional one (which is fine, too).
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Posted
Jul 06 2009, 05:43 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
When I bought my used Mini Cooper in April, things didn't go exactly as I'd planned. Part of this was because I hadn't done enough research. But a lot of it was because the dealership had some tricks up its sleeve and I did not.
At Car and Driver, Jared Gall has compiled a list of car dealer tricks to watch for when buying a vehicle. He says the following are common practices:
- Juggling the foursquare. The "foursquare" is the worksheet on which the salesperson jots down the terms of the deal. It's an easy way for her to manipulate one factor (purchase price, down payment, monthly payments, trade-in value) or another.
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Posted
Jun 24 2009, 11:18 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
It should come as no surprise that as soon as the U.S. Senate passed "cash for clunkers" -- legislation granting vouchers to people who trade in their gas-guzzlers for new, more fuel-efficient cars -- a host of scam operations would pop up trying to profit.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is warning consumers not to be deceived by official-looking sites that claim to offer information on how to trade in your car. Sites that ask for personal information or offer a preregistration opportunity should not be trusted, the agency said.
"There's only one official site for the government, and that's NHTSA's CARS.gov Web site," said NHTSA press officer Eric Bolton. "Folks should go there and not rely on ‘cash for clunkers' sites on the Internet as they are not official."
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Posted
May 20 2009, 02:59 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Get a Chrysler at half price? That unheard-of deal is being considered by a Chicagoland dealership, Automotive News reports. It's one of nearly 800 showrooms desperate to move inventory before Chrysler shuts them down next month.
That may be an extreme, but dealers are reportedly accepting deals at well below cost. As Windber, Pa., Dodge dealer Keith Hollern told The Associated Press, "Want to buy one? We're having a fire sale." Come on down.
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