President Obama signed the long awaited Cash for Clunkers program, and it is scheduled to take effect August 1st, 2009. The Cash for Clunkers program is now called the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, and is designed to both help the environment and stimulate the auto industry.
Through the program, consumers can trade in their Pre-2001 “Gas Guzzler” and apply government money towards a brand new vehicle that meets certain requirements. Here is a breakdown of the program info, as of right now:
Before you start picking out that hybrid to buy with Uncle Sam’s help ($3,500 or $4,500 under cash for clunkers, plus the variable electric vehicle credit), you need to find out if your vehicle qualifies.
To qualify, the trade-in vehicle must:
- have been manufactured less than 25 years before the date you trade it in
- have a “new” combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less (some very large trucks have other requirements) Check your Combined City and Highway Fuel Economy CLICK HERE
- be in drivable condition
- be continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in
The chart below outlines how much you might get, depending on what you buy, and what you trade-in.
| Passenger car light-duty |
Small truck
|
Large light-duty truck
(6,000 – 8,500 pounds) |
|
| Minimum fuel economy for a new vehicle (EPA combined) | 22 mpg | 18 mpg | 15 mpg |
| $3,500 credit | Mileage improvement of at least 4 mpg | Mileage improvement of at least 2 mpg |
Mileage improvement of at least 1 mpg or trade-in of a work truck.*
|
| $4,500 credit | Mileage improvement of at least 10 mpg | Mileage improvement of at least 5 mpg | Mileage improvement of at least 2 mpg |
*Trade-in must be at least pre-2001.
The government has launched a Web site to answer common questions at www.cars.gov , where the law pdf can be reviewed.
