With the end of Cash for Clunkers, your used car is more valuable than ever before and the participating dealers listed on this TexasCashForGuzzlers.com are accepting all used car trade-ins at never before seen price levels.  

After the recent buzz about new cars, why is your used car worth so much?  Since the Cash for Clunkers program eliminated used car inventory like never before, the limited supply of used vehicle inventory makes used vehicles worth more.  This is the upside for anyone who wanted to trade in a fuel-efficient car that may not have qualified for Cash for Clunkers.    

Most dealerships are in need of pre-owned vehicles and are willing to pay top dollar in order to restock inventory.

Auto dealers are more interested than ever in those vehicles that just missed qualifying for the Cash for Clunkers program.   They especially want all units that have a combined epa mpg of 18 mpg or greater.  Many older Camry’s and Accord’s did not qualify for the government program, but those are some of the highest demand vehicles. 

For customers that are paying more in repair bills than they would like they should consider a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle.  For those with used car trades, please submit your lead on this site and one of our participating dealers will make an effort to contact you.

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. “cash for clunkers” vehicle trade-in program, credited with reviving auto sales and criticized by dealers for slow reimbursements, will close on Aug. 24, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The clunkers plan, which offers auto buyers discounts of as much as $4,500 to trade in older cars and trucks for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles, has recorded more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates, the Transportation Department said in a statement today.

The deadline will give car dealers and buyers time to complete purchases and submit applications for rebates from the remainder of the $3 billion provided by Congress, the department said. Dealers have complained of difficulty running their businesses while awaiting payment in the program, and the agency said it’s adding workers to help process claims faster.

“This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump-starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work,” LaHood said in the statement.

Applications for rebates won’t be accepted after 8 p.m. New York time on Aug. 24, the agency said.

The Transportation Department said earlier today it has handled 167,000, or 37 percent, of the 457,476 dealer requests for payback submitted as of today. Some $145 million has been paid out so far to dealers, a senior administration official said on a call with reporters today.

Wind-Down Plan

Officials from the National Automobile Dealers Association trade group met yesterday with the Transportation Department to discuss concerns that payment delays add to the burden on retailers of trying to recover from a sales slump. NADA also urged the agency to outline a plan to wind down the effort so retailers know when to stop accepting trade-ins.

Representative Joe Sestak, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said last week the effort had paid retailers for only 2 percent of their claims.

The program is formally known as the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, asked LaHood in a letter today to speed up payments, saying “dealers have been forced to effectively finance the CARS vouchers for buyers until the dealers are reimbursed by the federal government, placing a strain on dealers’ balance sheets that, if prolonged, could eventually offset some of the benefits of the program.”

Training Workers

More than 1,000 people are processing the applications, LaHood said yesterday. That compares with fewer than 200 when the program began. The agency is training more of its staff and is using Citigroup Inc. contractors to handle the paperwork.

“We are doing everything in our power to expedite the processing of these applications in a program that’s been successful, again, for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and workers,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters earlier today at a briefing.

General Motors Co. plans to provide cash advances to dealers awaiting government rebates as the initiative spurs auto demand, GM said on its Web site today.

The advances will be made for qualifying new-vehicles sales already exchanged under clunkers through the life of the program, GM said on its Web site today.

The government’s initiative may give GM its best sales this year in August. New-vehicle retail sales in the U.S. will top 1 million in August for the first time in the past 12 months, J.D. Power & Associates forecast today.

Ford Motor Co. is increasing the availability of credit for dealers’ used-vehicle financing to provide cash flow relief to dealers awaiting ‘clunker’ payments from the government, said Meredith Libbey, a spokeswoman for the automaker’s loan unit.

Source: Bloomberg

by Nei Roland

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to announce in the next few days a strategy for winding down the $3 billion cash-for-clunkers program so dealers aren’t on the hook for credit given to customers, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The department will rely on surveys of dealer sales and other surveys to estimate the amount of money dealers are expecting to be paid.

“We can make a pretty good judgment call,” LaHood said at a news conference on an unrelated matter. “I know dealers are frustrated, but they’re going to get paid.”

He blamed delays on dealers’ failure to fill out claims correctly and on the unexpected volume of vehicles purchased under the program.

The cash-for-clunkers initiative offers consumers vouchers of up to $4,500 for turning in gas-guzzling vehicles for new ones with better fuel efficiency. Under the program, dealers must apply electronically for reimbursement.

As of Tuesday, dealers had submitted claims for 411,624 clunker transactions involving rebates of $1.72 billion. It’s not clear how many more clunkers sales have been completed by dealers but are not yet on file in the government’s system.

Many dealers who have submitted claims have complained about high rejection rates and weeks-long payment delays.

Source: Automotive News

The Fox affiliate in Houston profiles the Cash for Clunkers program and Honda Cars of Katy.  Click through to see the YouTube video of the broadcast.

If you’re considering trading in your old gas guzzler, listen up; Kelli Grant, Sr. Consumer Reporter for SmartMoney.com, has some tips so you can get the most for your money.

First, watch out for waivers. Some dealerships are asking customers who to sign a waiver stating that if the government doesn’t come through with the money, the customer is responsible for it or must turn in the new car. “The good thing is, the Department of Transportation has said that buyers are under no obligation to sign these waivers,” says Grant. If you’re worried about being pressured to sign, call around first and find out which dealerships are asking for waivers and which aren’t.

Also, it’s important to know how much your car is worth before you trade it in. Sometimes, buying a used car might be a better option than taking the government-funded money. “If your clunker is worth near the $4,500 cap, then a used car might be a better value for you,” says Grant.

While buying a car has always been a game of negotiation, the Cash for Clunkers program is hampering haggling a bit. “Edmunds.com has found that consumers are actually paying a little bit more since the Cash for Clunkers program started – they’re not getting discounts that are as deep,” says Grant. However, a government credit doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate. Just know that dealers may be less willing to bargain with you.

More new car sales, though, means there are less new cars out there to choose from. “Inventory is definitely dropping, especially on some of the popular clunker cars like Ford Focus, Honda Accord,” says Grant. If you’re looking for a specific options package, you may have to go to a dealership that’s a little further away from your home in order to get it. Shop around until you find what’s right for you.

Finally, be aware of scams. “If… anyone calls you or emails you… offering help to get a voucher for the program, just know that there are no vouchers,” says Grant. “The dealership has everything that you need. You don’t need to pay for anyone else’s assistance.”

Source:  CBS.com