Cash for Clunkers has me thinking stupid?
 

I've got an old Aerostar van with a blown headgasket worth about zip I can use for cash for clunkers. $4500 toward something new gives me some value out of it that isn't there otherwise.

First I was thinking something popular and cheap like the Honda Fit just to resell. As popular as they are I would think 2k off retail with no miles should move it.

Now I spot a brand new 2008 MX5 on a dealer lot.:facepalm: Brand new, no miles for $16,500. Take $4500 off + the extra $500 Mazda throws in I can have a brand new MX5 for 11.5k. My 94 is my DD car but it's more set up for the track than comfortable commuting. Turn my 94 into a track slut and daily drive the MX5? Try to make a few bucks reselling that MX5?

God I hate spur of the moment crap.:giggle: Pretty much have to do it this weekend or the cash for clunkers will likely go away. Any ideas or suggestions?

Has to be insured and driven for a year + in drivable condition.

If you can pick up the new MX-5 for 11,5k I'd take that in a heart beat.

Meeeh I was never much of a fan of the new MX5s... Maybe resell it and try and get a few bucks.

Track slut track slut track slut! I would LOVE to tear into a perfectly good miata again, its getting hard to find extra weight in mine to take out. But as naarleven said, your "clunker" needs to of been insured and registered for at least a year for it to qualify.

No problem on the clunker end of things. It's registered and insured. I've owned it for 4 years. Head gasket went and it's been pretty much parked but I kept minimal insurance on it. Starts, runs, drives, just not very far! Perfect POS to get back some of the money the govt' has raped me out of over the years.

cash for clunkers even have any funding left? last I heard they were projected to run out a few weeks after it started.

Remember, "The Government" is our taxes paid, everyone's.

Sure it's everyone's money paid in. No reason for me to feel I'm not getting back some of what I've put in though. As a 44 year old, married, upper middle class couple we've likely paid state, local and federal govt's nearly 1 mil in our lives. Taking slight advantage of the clunkers program won't make me lose any sleep.

Cash for clunkers was extended. Govt put up some extra money and said they'd cover any sales through this weekend.

Brand new 2008 NC for under 12k looks awfully good. KBB has it as 17K trade in value with 5K miles. I'll likely try to buy it if it's still there when i get off work this afternoon. Keep it if I enjoy driving it or sell it to make a few quick bucks.

Of course there's the problem of always wanting more power...

Put that $4500 savings toward a BEGI NC kit...

http://www.bellengineering.net/templ...5/mx5_8psi.png

Cueball.. that has to be THE scariest avatar I've ever seen... What the fawk is it and where did Joe find that? :rofl:

I'd do it, personally. The way that cash for clunkers thing is setup sucks IMHO. It has to run, drive, be insured and driven for at least a year... That means most likely its a good fucking car that some poor bastard or teenage kid could be driving on the cheap, and they want to destroy it?? Personally I think thats fucking retarded...


But if you can get 4500 credit for the POS, DO IT! lol.

Same boat, 40's, six figure income, still don't like socialism.

Do it. I wish I had something old enough to trade.

It's not like you are abusing the system or anything... you qualify.. you have a clunker.. so you are entitled to use the program, I see no issues.


Doooo it :D

Just tonight we went to Omaha for dinner. It's 50 miles each way. I drove my wife's BRG. I had already forgotten how absolutely pitiful, rough, slow a stock NA Miata was. Now that I have done more to my 99 it's getting rougher around the edges for a DD. I myself was thinking on the drive, hmmm, NC would make a civilized DD if I could leave it alone.

Ever driven one?

They are a great car. More torque...some minor mods we'd put into these cars anyway and they are a BLAST.

NC's are awesome daily drivers. They're also awesome on that track but that's another story. I'd love to drive one of those daily.

Well, you said you were going to look at the dealer again yesterday. Did it happen? Do you own an NC?

I have not driven one. I just think they are ugly as hell.

NC are not nice, the NC version 2 is though. reword suspension

sucks of all the shit i have none of it qualifys for the clunkers shit cause i dont insure all of them year round just the ones i wanna drive. Even though ive owned most of the cars and paid taxes etc on them for years they arent elligible this is super lame imo. Fix the insurance stipulation and just make it taxes and registration loophole and i would love to take advantage of it. But sadly it doesnt seem to be a possiblilty.

Fuck the fuckin fuckers.

Hate to be racist but sometimes the stereo-types fit. The dealership is owned by some sort of arab, middle eastern, pakistani, sort of guys. I walked in Satuday evening. First salesman that comes up I tell him I'm here to see that 08 Miata advertised on the internet. It's parked right out front so that's not a problem. He pokes his head in the office, gets the keys and takes a minute to talk to the boss. We go out, look over the car, looks great. I tell him I don't need to drive it, lets just get the deal done. He's all happy. Walk in the office. The two guys running the place are madly working at the computer. Tell me to hold on a minute. 5 minutes later they call me in the office.

"So how much did you see that car for?"
"16,900 on your internet special page."
"I'm the owner, I never put it up for that price."
"It was right there all day. I looked again just before driving out."
"No. It was never there. Take a look on the computer."
"Gee guys you are right. It's not on the computer anymore. In fact it doesn't even show up in your inventory list now, let alone the specials. Why did you delete it? Don't you want to sell a car?"
"No. It was never there. If you want it it is $17,999."
"Wow, that's a shame. I was going to buy it. I guess even with the clunker money and the extra $500 Mazda puts in it's still a good deal even though you aren't being straight with me."
"Clunker? No. No clunker. No clunker for that car. We sell you other Miata not discounted for clunker."
Insert sound of door closing as I leave before he can finish his tirade here.

Why the hell are so many new car dealer such friggin dishonest pieces of shit. That applies to all races in the car business, these guys just happened to be middle eastern.

Fuck me. That car was there and a great deal. All they had to do was close the deal. They were still taking clunker money, there were two other deals happening while I was there, they just wouldn't take it on that car. I called the salesman back the next day. He said he could make it happen at $16,000 with the trade in. That's a hell of a long way from the 12k it was supposed to be. My ass hurts....

I guess I'll just use the clunker to pick up a Honda Fit to turn and resell.

The more I see them the more I like them. Still ugly, but not as bad as they used to be. Chassis is a huge improvement though. They really do drive great compared to the NA and NB. Interior is a whole lot nicer too.

Pretty funny though. They look like they must be 4wd. Looks like 4" of clearance between the tire and fender. If my 94 is at 11.5" ride height, those must be at 15-16"!

Socialism FTL. It's about the first time I've seen the Gov't do a hand out that helps us middle to upper middle guys. Everything is usually for the ultra rich, ultra poor or ultra stupid.

While I'm not for it and think it's a ridiculous program, that money is there and will be spent. Might as well be me as some other jerkwad. I'm more of a pragmatist than idealist when it comes to money coming my way.

You sure its brand new and not slightly used? The program doesnt apply to cars that have previously been registered unfortunately.

Most dealers remove any special pricing when using the clunker discount. That way they get lots more money. Full price car plus the extra $4500 from the Gov't and they don't have to deal with the trade in.

It creates zero jobs, adds tons of credit/income debt, makes the earth a full 0% cleaner, hurts a lot of used car/junker business.

I'm just waiting for the home appliances program. I need a new stove, so hopefully I should be able to trade my POS in, for more than it's worth, for a brand new SS energy star stove! Of course like the engines out of cars, these stoves have to be destroyed so others can't benefit from them!

Saves fuel, "displaces" foreign oil dependency?

uh huh. Those 18mpg Mercedeses and Lexuses that people are buying are really displacing the dependency. A true program would subsidize real fuel efficient cars and alternative fuel cars/vehicles or public transportation.

I mean take advantage if they are offering it and you can benefit. I'm just saying.

um scot the program subsidizes depending on the dif in gas mileage i highly doubt any 18 mpg mercedes or lexus will qualify for more than a grand and even then if that is your sticking point on one of those wich would be a 30+ k dollar car anyway then you should realy look at something cheaper. I suggest you realy read through the bill. I do agree though it doesn't do shit to help me the way it is written now or anyone i know.

I don't read bills, nor does congress.

Good one, I like it! But it's probably more true that we would like to admit.

there's a preapproved list of cars you can dump and cars you can buy. it's all there.

Cash for Clunkers Eligible Trade-In Vehicle List - Edmunds.com
Cash for Clunkers Eligible New Cars

I just let Acorn write my bills, I trust them. Then I fast-track them through congress in the most unAmerica way possible. I also use clever titles on Bills so people think they are getting something better than delivered.

I'd first think of an acronym, then figure out a clever way to make you think the bill would be getting rid of noobs. But by getting rid of noobs I just meant giving them turbos.

Something like L.E.A.V.E. or G.T.F.O.

The average congress faces over 11,000 bills. The typical bill has nearly two hundred pages of law with many running well over 1000 pages in length. You think the average congressman can read and comprehend around 2 million pages of law in a single term?

A truly good program would be the government getting the fuck out of legislating anything to do with automobiles at all. People will buy cars that are as efficient as they want them to be, safe as they want them to be, and just as hippy-dippy green as they want them to be, without the government exerting illegal control over them. This is another means of controlling people's actions unconstitutionally to further a social/economic agenda through the use of the monetary carrot and stick.
[/soapbox]

The early VW rabbit diesel got an easy 40+mpg. The mid 80's Metro got an easy mid 40mpg. The 70's corrolla got mid 30's easily. Why is the most efficient non hybrid 2009 Honda or Toyota only rated at 36mpg freeway? They had cars that efficient 30 years ago! Crash ratings add weight and mean manufacturers are constantly upping hp and size. This has played a big part in keeping cars from becoming more efficient.

So true, too bad "America" is not what it once was.

There aren't many Hondas on that list. My 1989 CRX isn't on it.

I do wish I had a car I could use.... alas all my cars I've ever owned have gotten 28+ mpg.

I found my 2000 Audi A6 on the list, but it books for more than $4500

It really is a program to get people to ditch old to moderately old crappy cars. Great chance to get rid of something with little or no value that gets piss poor mileage.

Of all the things they can waste money on, I admit that I like this program the most so far.

My mom owns a 86 Chevy S10. it uses a 1/4 tank making 2 trips to the local dump like 5mi away. It would qualify since it is within 25yrs old. But its in my moms name and there is no chance she can afford a car or that she would qualify for a loan. If only it was in my name for the last yr. I would be driving a Toyota Tundra right now....

There's a couple reasons. First off, you know how the EPA recently redid their method for calculating MPG? No doubt similar changes to the strategy have been made in the past. On top of that, cars 30 years ago didn't have 5mph bumpers, impact beams, air bags, heavy bullshit and they didn't need as much power to move themselves. Oh hell, let CNN tell you why:
Twenty-year-old Civics got 57 miles per gallon - Dec. 19, 2007
Bottom line: 58 hp in a 1800 lb car.

I know huh. Bet you still curse the day women got the right to vote and stuff.

It doesn't sound like alot, but if you drove the CRX HF I rebuilt you would be suprised at the tq when you step on it. It can get up to speed pretty quickly.

http://jalopnik.com/5324864/eight-wa...nkers/gallery/

also

http://jalopnik.com/5327580/video-ho...r-clunkers-car

Jalopnik is really slow today.

Cash for clunkers = big brother?

When you login to cash for clunkers:

A warning box comes up, and it says, ‘This application provides to the DoT CARS system. When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a federal computer system and it is property of the United States government

It goes on to say:

Any and all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized CARS, DoT and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.

Just wow.

Sounds about right. When you access federal databases, they don't fuck around. IT security is like that at any place that values data integrity. I wouldn't say that's out of the ordinary at all

Call me oldschool, but I would rather not have the govt. go through every file on my computer and monitor my actions.

I also wouldn't sign up for this bullshit.

So use the stealerships pc to do it, no way i would give them that blank check either.

And damn the day that women got the right to vote.

I'm not joking.

you sir are old school.

Even though this is a thread drift, it didn't warrant a new thread.

Today on the radio, they were advertizing new Kias for $3,990 on the clunker deal. It really does make sense. If your only car truly is a clunker, with the factory rebates plus $4500 clunker deal, you can buy a brand new car for $4k + your sub-$500 trade in.

Yes, it's a Kia, but a new car with a warranty might be a better deal for the single mom so she doesn't have to worry about repairs. They were still touting monthly payments of $69 a month. It's sad, but some still couldn't scrape up $3990 to pay for the car in full, but even if they took the payments for a while and paid it off early, it wouldn't be a bad deal.

Hell, even if someone wanted to just get a "winter only" beater and put the Miata away, new Sorento 4x4's were $7K with the deal.

That's why I want to do this. If I buy a 16K honda Fit for 12K, I can drive it a couple of years and have 0 depreciation. You can buy 9-12K cars for 1/3-1/2 off. It's a no brainer. I'm looking at the Fit simply because it is one of the most popular cars out there and holds its value better than any of the Kia/Hyundai/Chevy/Nissan tiny cars.

They have a ton of room in them too, size is deceiving.

That really does make sense. I have a 92 Accord that I have been driving for a while now. It would make a perfect trade in, plus i live in upstate NY so we get a ton of snow, the Sorento 4x4 would be a perfect winter car for me. To bad I'm not home to do it! Grr.

How would a 92 Accord qualify? Doesn't it depend on MPG?

Ya, almost no hondas on the qualify list. They all make around 30mpg or more since 1970.

Avg mpg rating is what they go by. Combination of city and freeway. Clunker must be be 18mpg or less. Not your actual mileage but the rated mileage. No Accords qualify.

Yea I guess I should have read what qualifies. My bad.:noob:

Well, the clunker money ended up going in a completely different direction. No cheap car to resell.

My wife's never been completely happy with her 07 FX35. Rides too much like the 350z it's based on but without being a sports car. SHE started looking at cars. Drove a couple BMW's (1 & 3 series), couple Audi's (tt & a5), Couple Lexus (is350 & gs350), the new G37 coupe and a couple others.

Stand out winner for her was the TT coupe. Beautiful interior materials and for a sporting attitude car it was smoother and quiter than most of those others. I wouldn't say it's a sports car but a small sport coupe. 2.0L turbo with FWD only. It's the lightest version by far not having the v6 or quattro. I pointed out she could chip it and have another 40-60hp and she liked that idea. It has a true auto manual transmission, not tiptronic. Twin clutch with paddle shifters.

Now we'll have two small black faggy cars in the garage, her TT and my Miata. She's excited that maybe she can come out and drive a track day with me now.

Nice pick, kind of always wanted one.

what year titty?

Good edit!

It's an 09. MSRP was 40.5K with the upgrades it had on it. Uprated interior, plus package, heated seats, etc. With Audi giving 3k to dealers to move 09's, the clunker money and what we were able to negotiate down it's a brand new nicely equipped 09 tt coupe for 31K.

I know there are reasons to hate it. Girly car. It's just a really expensive VW Golf/Beetle. Topgear says the cocks now drive Audi's. (I still think this must only apply to Europe, BMW is still the cock king in the USA) It's funny looking. It's FWD. It's too heavy for a small car. Automatic only. Rear seats are useless.

I have to say after driving it it's a really nice car. The new body style is more agressive looking. The automatic is a twin clutch DSG transmission. Super quick and smooth shifts. There's plenty of aftermarket support to hop it up a little. It was smooth, quiet and really comfortable inside. Fit and finish in and out is fantastic. The useless rear seats will likely be folded down all the time. Like that it actually had quite a bit of room back there. I'm pretty happy with her choice.

Thanks Obama! It's nice getting $4500 for a $500 POS Aerostar with a blown head gasket, leaky power steering unit, moldy interior, etc.