Seriously..who drives a car for 300,000 miles, and then trades it in on they day they get laid off. Now not only is the government gonna be paying his unemployment...but they also subsidized a new car..

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124908292720598175.html

 

Someone who thinks he will get a new job in a reasonable amount of time. Why not? If you think you'll get a new job, you might as well get the extra $4500.

 

Don't forget about the 1 year payment protection that the guy likely received....

 

My friend and I had a conversation tonight about this program. I said I can't wait for when someone does a study on the program and finds out what percentage of these vechicles purchased using this incentive end up being repo'ed.

 

Umm...........the C4C program is working. I didn't but a new car. I didn't trade in a "clunker." Instead...........GM called me back to my job after being laid off for a year, the longest I've been laid off since working for the company.


It's working, and it better keep going.

 

Yeh you went from unemployement to welfare. Sorry I think this is a waste of taxpayer money and it will have to be payed back someday.

 

IMO, the vasty majority of people actually driving around in a vehicle that qualifies for this program, and have done so for 1+ years of having it insured for that purpose... probably can't afford a new car, otherwise they wouldn't be driving around in a 'clunker' to begin with.

Yes, I understand there are exceptions to this, but I would guess IN GENERAL, this is the case.

So, we are pushing people who can't really afford a new car into buying one... with tax money as an incentive... and then they'll probably end up defaulting on the loan and losing the new car, and in addition their 'clunker' is now gone too.

Hmm... sounds a lot like the housing mess of late.

 

 

Does his wife work? How much does he have in the bank? Did he pay cash for the car? There are a lot of unanswered question.

 

He says "the economy is picking up" the very same day he loses his job?

For how long should the program keep going Josh? Indefinitely? I am very happy for you that you got your job back. I'm thrilled that the automakers are making out like bandits right now. But you also know as well as I do that this is an artificial jump-start of the market. We cannot make this program a permanent fixture of the automobile market. Who knows how long it will be until the market can self-sustain though....and that is the real problem....

 

I got a feeling there might be something until the industry hits that self-sustain point. 2011? Automakers need time to adjust to the new reality of 10-12 million units per year and the likely hood that gas will be back at $4 in the next year or two. It will take 3-4 years for new lineups.

I'd like to see round two look something like no sales tax on 35mpg+ cars. Something more fair to everyone that doesn't have a clunker. That might be enough to get my wife to trade her Focus for a new Fiesta or Cruze.

 

Can someone explain to me why this program is eligible for any make?

Let me get this straight... we spend billions and billions to prop up Chrysler and GM, and then we go and offer this program to be available on any make someone wants.

This should have been made available only to buyers of Chrysler, Ford, and GM...

Let's send more tax money overseas. That outta really stimulate the American economy!

 

If it wasn't, the United States would be in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

 

Chrysler is offering this also: http://www.dodge.com/en/incentives/programs/gov_cash/
So, he got a nice new car to replace his 300k mile truck. The car surely gets much better fuel economy, it has a nice warranty, and maybe he doesn't need a pickup anymore?

How does this fail?

 

Lobbyists in the south.