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EDIT: AMENDMENT TO IMPOSE AN INCOME LIMIT WAS REJECTED

Wonder what this does to sales? And fraud as well?
And enforcement costs would be very high if they try to do that.

Also, I’d guess people like Larry don’t drive all that much, so the fuel savings are likely over estimated.

>   
>   (email exchange)
>   
>   On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 9:39 PM, Russell wrote:
>   
>   They are listening to you. You can only do it now if you make less than $50,000 a year.
>   

Clunker Man

Right, perfect example of how the program’s helping the higher income Americans a lot more than the lower income americans!

>   
>   (email exchange)
>   
>   On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 12:22 PM, Larry wrote:
>   
>   Turned my 2001 Durango in for 2009 Toyota Highlander and got the full
>   $4500.00.
>   CLUNKER MAN.
>   

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Right, perfect example of how the program’s helping the higher income Americans a lot more than the lower income americans!

>   
>   (email exchange)
>   
>   On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 12:22 PM, wrote:
>   
>   Turned my 2001 Durango in for 2009 Toyota Highlander and got the full $4500.00.
>   CLUNKER MAN.
>   

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(short version)

“Cash for Clunkers” Program May Cost $45,354 per vehicle

By Avery Goodman

(Seeking Alpha) — The “Cash for Clunkers” program has been a “great success”, at least according to the government, and the auto industry. Within days of its kickoff, all $1 billion allocated to the program has been used up by Americans who have eagerly lined up to trade their clunkers for new vehicles.

Some refreshingly honest reporting has come from Edmunds.com, a car buying site that is telling the truth, in spite of benefiting from an increase in business and site traffic, due to the program. According to Edmunds, about 200,000 old low mileage cars would normally traded in, every 3 months, in exchange for more efficient higher mileage cars, without this program.

The highest rebate is $4,500, and the lowest is $3,500. If everyone qualified for $4,500 per vehicle, about 222,000 vehicles would have just taken advantage of the government’s money. At $3,500, 286,000 vehicles will have been sold.

I assume that, given all the raving, the government will eventually get around to assigning more money. It will take at least 2 or 3 months for the legislation to work its way through Congress. Meanwhile, if all buyers have qualified for the higher $4,500 rebate, the “cash for clunkers” program will mean a marginal increase in car sales of 22,000 this quarter. $1 billion divided by 22,000 means a net cost to the government of $45,354 per car.

If all buyers only qualify for the $3,500 rebate, it means a marginal increase in sales of about 86,000, or a net cost to the taxpayers of $11,628 per vehicle. In all likelihood, however, there will probably be a mix of vehicles qualifying for various rebates between $3,500 and $4,500. Based upon that assumption, Edmunds.com estimates that the average cost to the taxpayer will be about $20,000 per vehicle.

Even most of the marginally extra sales really represent people who were going to buy a new car eventually anyway. They are just buying a bit sooner than they expected. Old clunkers don’t last forever, and they are almost all eventually replaced. The government is shifting tomorrow’s demand to today, stealing from tomorrow to pay for today, but at great cost to the taxpayer.

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