Cash For Clunkers

[93LSOwner]

Anyone used Cash of Clunker program?

I sold my 1993 LS400 with 183k miles for $4500 for a 09' Honda Civic.

The Civic feels like a small matchbox compared to my LS, but now I can finally parallel park. :)

Overall, the LS was a great car but it was starting to show its old age, the speedometer stopped working in the morning and cold weather, only the driver side window switch worked, the CD changer stopped working, it hesitated when the A/C was on etc....But it did not deserve to be crushed just yet. Just thinking about its fate makes me sad. However it was not worth anywhere near $4500!

On the other hand, no more 18MPG with premium fuel!

[jcrome04]

I think this CARS program is ridiculous.

[93LSOwner]

I think this CARS program is ridiculous.

Why?

I was thinking of buying a new car in the near future, but why wait when I can get this clunker off of my hands for $4500. In the end, someone less fortunate could have used the car instead of the junkyard. For a 1993, the interior was in excellent condition. The leather had minimal damage.

[90LS400Lexus]

I kow that my 91' LS400 nor my 88' Mercedes is worth NOWHERE near $4500 and I had considered trading it (Lexus) in on the CFC, but could not bring myself to allow it to have the engine destroyed and then crushed. Its sad. You would not believe the nice cars at our local dealerships that have been traded in on this CFC. The local Honda/Nissan/Mazda/Suzuki dealer has about 200 on a side lot/field... some are Lexus. One is a NICE 1992-94 ES300, with CFC on the window. There are even late model Land Rovers, late model (2003+) Nissan trucks, 2003+ Dodge Caravans, etc on the lot waiting to be smashed. :(

ALOT of good cars going to waste.

I wonder how long that tough 4.0L engine will run with that crap in the engine while they hold the throttle wide open? :(

They did a Volvo S80 like that and it ran so long (at nearly full throttle, which they are NOT supposed to do, but they are idiots) it caught fire! It didnt want to die.

I like the concept of the CFC, but dont like the fact that the cars traded in are going to waste.

[Bali26]

They are gonna pour sand mix in that sweet 1UZFE and rev it till it seizes. The money the dealer gets comes from your taxes.

Enjoy your matc... er, civic.

[93LSOwner]

The money the dealer gets comes from your taxes.

and yours ;)

For what it's worth, I rather have my tax money spent on research and on MYself.

[TexasLexus94]

I'm struggling with the same dilemma. My 94LS is rated at 18 mpg, so it qualifies. 122,000 miles. Runs like a top.

Something about the sales tax and the trip to the DMV keeps me at bay. Plus the insurance here in Nevada is foolish-thank you, drunk drivers.

I think you made the right decision, however. Best of luck on your new car. Can you tell us how much you paid total? Just curious...

[93LSOwner]

Can you tell us how much you paid total? Just curious..

$14500 out the door, including taxes, tags, fees, etc. Its the LX model.

[93LSOwner]

Forgot to mention, this is what the outside looked like (Yikes but don't judge a book by its cover, it had a "sweet" 1UZFE)

[Jeffstpetebeach]

Look we all bought a new car. ;) ;) This cfc sucks, a bunch of peolple who have cunkers now have new cars. Kinda like the mortage deal. How many of these cars will be repoed?? Time will tell. Just my 2 cents. Our tax dollars at work

[da_fugative_7]

I thought about it, but my 91 LS400 still runs beautiful at 231K miles...aside from regular maintenance and parts upgrades and replacement, it still rides and runs like a charm...

[93LSOwner]

Unlike vast majority of the people here on LOC my LS400 was very rundown. Although the engine and transmission were strong, everything else on the car failed or was beginning to fail. It was just not worth the hassle and money to fix everything on that car. I work 60hrs/week and I needed a reliable vehicle. For a single recent college graduate, the LS was a huge car so that’s why I went for a fuel efficient Civic over an Accord.

[TexasLexus94]

You did great. I'm totally jealous. May have to go to the Auto Mall. $14,500? OMG. Way to go, buddy. You did good...

[90LS400Lexus]

They are gonna pour sand mix in that sweet 1UZFE and rev it till it seizes.

That makes me cringe! :cries: I wonder how long a 1UZFE is gonna run with that crap in it? Some cars I have seen this being done to last about 3 seconds, while others go for 5-7 minutes. As mentioned earlier, have you seen that clip of that Volvo S80 being ran at about 4000-5000 rpms with that crap in there? It starts whining and squealing, smoking and it eventually catches on fire because of the heat build up. Its hard to watch that clip. I think its a crime to destroy still good running cars like that. That happened because for one, the motor was tough and it was taking a long time to "kill it" and two, those morons doing it was running the engine too fast... the directions say you are not supposed to take the RPMS over 2000, but most of the moron dealers doing this are enjoying it and running them to extreme RPMS.

(Yikes but don't judge a book by its cover, it had a "sweet" 1UZFE)

It still looks great to me... aside from the upper areas. Its a shame though that you could not throw in a trashed engine/tranny and save that sweet drivetrain. I dont guess they take trade-ins without engines/transmissions? I think it has to be a driveable car.

I thought about it, but my 91 LS400 still runs beautiful at 231K miles...aside from regular maintenance and parts upgrades and replacement, it still rides and runs like a charm...

Me too, but I cant do it. <_<

Unlike vast majority of the people here on LOC my LS400 was very rundown. Although the engine and transmission were strong, everything else on the car failed or was beginning to fail.

Thats how its been on my LS400 for a while. I paid $3200 for it a couple of years ago, it had 201K miles. It has 222K now and the engine and transmission mounts are shot (doing tranny mounts this week), the power steering leaks like crazy, the valve covers WERE leaking (not sure why they have stopped leaking - yeah the oil is full - lol) and it needs front shocks and tires soon. Everything inside, lights -gauges, etc still work fine, but it still needs alot of costly maintainence. Yes, it would have probably been in my best interest to take advantage of this, but one, I cant afford a huge car payment. I dont like really small cars and if I bought something like an Accord, my payment would have still been something like $400 per month... cant do that. I would have had to get something like a Yaris, Fit, Aveo or Accent or maybe an Elantra in order to afford it. I dont think I would be happy with that... maybe the Elantra since its slightly larger.

Besides, my mom has been wanting the LS... I have just been trying to get it in better shape for her. As far as my 1988 Mercedes S-Class, while I cant sell it for $4500, I would not trade it in to be destroyed... its still a really nice and reliable car that is big, comfortable and gets 20 mpg in town. I dont think there is a new car made these days thats built as solid as that tank. ;)

Sometimes you have to do what you have to though... hopefully the Civic will suit you better. Enjoy.

[Bali26]

Your car is the same year and color as mine, that's why i felt bad about it.

CFC program has actually little to do with clunkers. Its basically a dealer/car industry bailout plan. Its just a 4.5K discount on a new car MSRP paid by the taxpayer.

Also car companies don't have to offer any more discounts off of MSRP like they used to before. Customer thinks its a great deal and everybody makes money, including financers, insurance, dealer.

If there was no CFC program, you could have just sold your car for say 2k and gotten a discount at dealer for maybe 2k off MSRP. Same thing.

[90LS400Lexus]

Your car is the same year and color as mine, that's why i felt bad about it.

CFC program has actually little to do with clunkers.

Yeah and some of the cars being traded in are not "clunkers". I have seen some nice late models cars being traded in on this.... I have seen some ragged out ones on the lots though that have been traded in on the CFC however. Alot of 80s-90s SUVs and vans that have been lightly crashed / battered.

[93LSOwner]

If there was no CFC program, you could have just sold your car for say 2k and gotten a discount at dealer for maybe 2k off MSRP. Same thing.

Would you pay $2k for my car?

I already got a little less than $1k off MSRP with $4500 on a $19,460 car! If the sales manager does not negotiate, simply leave. It is not like they are giving out free cars.

Initially I went out to test drive a Nissan Altima, because of $1500 cash back, on top of the dealer's online sale on a particular Altima. Everything went fine until the sales rep called his rude sales manager. During price negotiation he literally raised his voice at me and my parents so we just got up and left. I was about to hand him $18k cash!

[90LS400Lexus]

If there was no CFC program, you could have just sold your car for say 2k and gotten a discount at dealer for maybe 2k off MSRP. Same thing.

Would you pay $2k for my car?

I already got a little less than $1k off MSRP with $4500 on a $19,460 car! If the sales manager does not negotiate, simply leave. It is not like they are giving out free cars.

Initially I went out to test drive a Nissan Altima, because of $1500 cash back, on top of the dealer's online sale on a particular Altima. Everything went fine until the sales rep called his rude sales manager. During price negotiation he literally raised his voice at me and my parents so we just got up and left. I was about to hand him $18k cash!

Out of curiosity, I looked at a Hyundai Elantra GLS 4dr on their website and for a nicely optioned GLS model, with automatic it comes to $15600 (with freight), then there is a $2000 rebate, then $4500 off if you had a CFC trade-in, makes it an attractive deal. Someone with a trashed out SUV or van would be good to do this. They are also offering $1.49 gas for a year and the 100K mile warranty.

2009 Hyundai Elantra GLS automatic sedan w/option package 1:

Sub-total MSRP : $16,870

Rebate : $-2,000

Freight : $720

Total MSRP : $15,590 minus $4,500 = $11,090.

(if I didnt want to see my LS400 destroyed, I would do it!)

Some of those little 2009 Accents would come to about $6000 financed after the CFC trade-in. :)

[Bali26]

Would you pay $2k for my car?

Something close to it, why not? At least its a real car. I rather play with 2k instead of a 18k rapidly depreciating asset.

Not everyone can negotiate like you say, the whole point is to get people in the dealerships.

Civic is a great choice though. Cheers :)

[intellivised]

I was going to do this on my 1992 LS400 and get an Impreza or even a WRX. I balked though. My 1992 has a rough drivers seat but I already took care of the upper control arms, p/s pump, timing belt. Mechanically I'm in great shape and am either upgrading or fixing one thing a month (with a focus on cold weather type things). I mean now that I'm out of the woods credit wise and can afford even the more higher end repairs with a month or two of smart saving have taught myself to do the little things so now I'm... holding on and learning.

I mean: I only have 130K on mine. It just... seemed silly to me to get a loan for a new car when I live a mile from work. Even if the car is 17 years old. That's the thing, I have an ace in the hole: If the LS is misbehavin' I walk! I don't want to add 5 figures of debt when I have a paid for car that gets me around a small centralized town and costs me very little to insure. Admittedly it handles not so great on mountain passes in the winter... but that's one trip to the airport a year for the holidays on snow tires.

I also don't like C4C. I just don't understand a lot of the tenets to the law or the cost/benefit of it. The environmental help angle seems to be bunk and a lot of cars that could be a boon to impoverished families are just... getting ruined. It seems more like a get people into the dealerships thing. We'll see how many people default OR go upside down on their new cars while the one they had lost all its manufacturing equity in a scrap yard somewhere.

Nope. Keeping mine. When I can swing a Scooby with at least a 20% down payment and clear the loan in under 48 months, then I'll jump. I'm not going to jump the gun and get myself into debt when the supposed clunker I have now gets me around town just fine.

[93LSOwner]

Would you pay $2k for my car?

Something close to it, why not? At least its a real car. I rather play with 2k instead of a 18k rapidly depreciating asset.

I would play with $2k car as well, if it wasn't my only means of transportation. I'm not a big fan of buying brand new cars, but it is a bit satisfying knowing that no one has abused my vehicle previously. Depreciation is a major factor when buying a car, but I am not selling this car until it dies or when I get to afford a LS 460L, which ever comes first...haha...I'm still a lexus fan. ;)

By the way, I did test drive a Toyota Corolla XLE. With the trade in, it came out to $14200 out the door. But the car was very disappointing, the exterior and interior. Although it did have a smoother ride than the Civic, it was just not pleasing to the eye. The interior looked outdated and inside it felt like a smaller car. It looks good in pictures but in person it really looks like and feels an economy car.

[SW03ES]

Look we all bought a new car. ;) ;) This cfc sucks, a bunch of peolple who have cunkers now have new cars. Kinda like the mortage deal. How many of these cars will be repoed?? Time will tell. Just my 2 cents. Our tax dollars at work

This comment makes absolutely zero sense. People who drive older cars aren't automatically people who can't afford newer cars, in many instances they have a vehicle that is financially worthless but still has a lot of functional worth, in that it runs and drives but has no real tradein or resale value. A lot of people utilizing the program have plenty of money. I know MANY people who bought their cars for cash but decided to do it now because of the value in the CARS program. Its an incentive to get them to make a decision to purchase a newer, more fuel efficient car. The benefit is twofold, one there are newer more efficient cars replacing older less efficient ones, and two it stimulates the economy and helps struggling carmakers and dealerships with a much smaller outlay than a bailout.

The CARS program is genius and things like it are what we should have done from the get-go instead of all these bailouts.

5 people on my street alone have utilized the program and every family who lives here makes more than $150,000 per year. So the comment that they're all going to be repo'ed is not accurate.

[93LSOwner]

Our tax dollars at work

After Steve's post, I read your post again. If you are concerned about your tax dollars and want to point fingers. Point it towards AIG's excecutives.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/i...etting-bailout/

[SW03ES]

Yeah seriously, this is working, there is a measurable result...This is our tax dollars ACTUALLY working...

[jcrome04]

I think it should have been specified to American brands. What better way to help AMERICAs economy! :D