Cash for Clunkers is still operational, for now. The program’s $3,500 and $4,500 credits, which are applied toward the purchase of a new, fuel-efficient car or truck, could disappear if more funding isn’t secured by Congress. In less than a week, the program’s $1 billion fund has been tapped out.
Overnight, there were conflicting reports from dealerships, the Transportation Department and the White House saying the program was suspended. This morning, the White House said the program is still active. Administration officials and congressional aides worked through the night to secure extra funding to keep the program alive, according to Detroit News.
We’ll be rolling out the updates as they come in today over at KickingTires, so be sure to follow our coverage here.
Update from KickingTires: The U.S. House of Representatives just passed a measure to add $2 billion in funding to the popular Cash for Clunkers program. The House voted 316-109. The Senate will vote on the bill next week.
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Yes, it does mean that somewhere between 225,000 to 250,000 cars have been sold, with a trade-in that was eligible under the program.
The national association of dealers called 2,000 of their dealers and found that the average dealership had sold 13 cars under the program. There are approximately 25,000 new car dealers in the USA. If that average held across the entire population of dealers, then all of the funding was gone by Thursday evening.
I should have added that I took advantage of the program and "traded in" a semi-broken down Dodge Caravan with 162K miles. I went in on Day 2 of the program, on 7/28, and the Toyota dealership had already done over 20 deals under the program. One dealership! I asked for a 4PM appointment to complete the transaction. They said the best they could do was 6PM, and I didn't get processed under after 7PM. It was a mad house there.
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If there was $1 billion ($1,000,000,000) and Cash for Clunkers paid as much as $4500 per car, running out of the money would mean that 222,222 cars have been sold on the program. That surely cannot be right. Did a few hundred million dollars fall through the cracks? Can anyone explain this?