The dealer has to destroy the clunker before submitting the forms. If they let your mom hold it, then there is a good chance that they won’t get paid, and they get fined.

Regarding holding the new car until they get paid. I think that is not allowed. She might want to file a complaint about that with the cars.gov staff.

Since this is public money and several thousand, I’d certainly want them to check the claims a bit more than $20 on a keyboard.

So, you’ve read through the 5000-page bill and know this?

John Horner is correct.

This is supposed to be a cars and car business discussion website.

Dude, open your eyes and read the bill and it’s control of health care. For all your complaining about insurance companies, just wait until the Federal government is in charge. Just think the DMV… to be related to the car and car business discussion! LOL

TJ’s comment was right on!

Dealers pulling these shenanigans are actually putting themselves at risk of losing access to CARS.

http://www.cars.gov/faq#category-03-5

My mom thinks the CR-V looks “cute.” So I’m tagging along to make sure she doesn’t buy the simonizing, lol.

In my area (Chicago), literally nearly all of the 2009 2WD CR-Vs are gone. We only went to this particular dealer because they had one CR-V 2WD..

So since this lead for a 2WD was a dead-end, she’ll probably get the CR-V 4WD (lots and lots of unsold 4WD CR-Vs in the area….looks like C4C cleared out the 2WD CR-Vs). Very nice, but 4WD is overkill for her.

I wanted mom to at least test drive the Tiguan and Vue, but she wouldn’t because of her quality preconceptions/misconceptions even though she thought that those cars looked very cute (we were a GM family ’til the 90’s). See GM/VW, people remember forever and get set in their ways!

And as a quick note to anyone who is reading and in the same boat, Hyundai Santa Fe and Sonata are really shockingly nice (except for hard plastic arm rests) and aggressively priced with generous rebates.

Turns out that this Honda dealer is now requiring all cars purchased with C4C dollars to be held at the dealer until the funds were received from the gov’t WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY the dealer would store the clunker trade-in at their lot. So to clarify, you buy a new car today, leave your clunker with them and only get your new car once the C4C rebate is recevied by the dealer.

In classic sketchy-car-sales-tactic-form, the dealer’s adverts, website and e-mail quote failed to inform you of this important fact. The sales manager said that the process would take anywhere from 8 to 14 days (or whenever it arrives).

Naturally, I told my mom to look elsewhere. Looks like an opportunity for the most fiscally strong dealers to pick up lots of business by floating the rebate to buyers while the dealers that rely most on floorplan/credit lose sales like dwford mentioned at the beginning of the thread.

“Small businesses that received $682 million in IOUs from the state say California expects them to pay taxes on the worthless scraps of paper, but refuses to accept its own IOUs to pay debts or taxes.”

http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/08/04/California_Won_t_Accept_Its_Own_IOUs.htm

Indeed, the CARS voucher program should have been turned over the HealthInsuranceInc to manage. They would have taken 30% off the top, delayed most payments for months and found every way possible to deny claims. Dealers who did too many C4C deals would be summarily informed that they were no longer qualified participants. Meanwhile, the insurance company would bill the government for the cost of not reimbursing the deprogrammed dealerships. Sounds about right.

BTW, there is no bill presently in Congress which proposes that “the government control your healthcare”. Unless, of course, you mean the existing VA, Medicare and Government Employee Insurance programs.

This is supposed to be a cars and car business discussion website.

We can also simplify the legislative process. Have congress write bills, then have the Chinese sign them since they are paying. Saves those extra steps of the American people being upset and stuff.

Honda Fit:

My brother agrees with you – he was never so disappointed in a car test drive. He and his wife were looking for a car for her and found the Saturn Astra better in every way that mattered to them, but in particular — quietness and general comfort. He drives a V8 Audi S4 6 speed quite quickly, so I tend to respect his viewpoint.

Why, they expect you to borrow it from all their banking buddies they gave those BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to.

I couldn’t tell if he was trying to pressure me into a deal on a car we hadn’t talked about or scare me off. He also said the dealership was making folks sign some form of promissory note for the clunker cash amount in the event the feds denied the claim they could then come after you.

The Honda Fit I drove was such a relative piece of crap anyway it doesn’t matter…between no center armrest/console and the obnoxious clattering noise from the slug of an engine in that thing I don’t know why it sells. I’m not a Honda guy but have always respected the company and its ability, and the Fit is most definitely sub-par.

Well, do what they do and fire up the printing presses!! WOO-HOO!!

Scary combination.

How does the government expect these businesses to float that kind of money?

I don’t know the answer….maybe it’s due to sloppy paperwork, maybe it’s due to government incompetence. Either way what both the NADA and government say should be taken with skepticism.

C4C is optional…..so if Joe Dealer doesn’t want to deal with the paperwork I’m sure someone down the street will be happy to take up his slack.

His dealer (Toyota of Wallingford, CT) allegedly will not let him take delivery of his new Scion until the DOT pays up on the C4C money from his trade.

As he put it, “I’m stuck between two people not known for doing the right thing — A car dealer and a bureaucrat.”