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Back in 2009, if you had an old car with bad mileage and high emissions, the government would give you up to a $4,500 tax credit if you traded it in to purchase a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Signed into law by Pres. Barrack Obama, the program spent $3 billion and produced mixed results.
What Was The Goal of Cash for Clunkers
Cash for Clunkers was designed to get people who drove older and more inefficient vehicles to buy newer cars to reduce pollution and conserve energy. The program did get people to buy new cars, but there were unintended consequences. Read on to learn more.
Is Cash for Clunkers Still Active?
Cash for Clunkers collapsed when the program ran out of money. Congress didn’t authorize any additional funding, so the program folded.
While Congress has contemplated incorporating a similar program in their efforts to increase the adoption of electric vehicles, no bill has made it close to passing. However, companies have stepped in to offer cash for vehicles with low fuel economy along with damage and other drawbacks.
The Alternative Opportunity of All Online Auto Auctions
Cash for Cars buys vehicles in any condition from nice and near new to trashed and totaled. Rather than destroying these vehicles, Cash for Cars offers them to buyers around the world in all online auto auctions on Copart, a global leader in that business space.
Cash for Cars assists people in acquiring newer, less polluting and more fuel-efficient vehicles by buying older automobiles outright. Cash for Cars bases offers off winning bids on similar vehicles in similar conditions sold in Copart’s all-online auctions. The auctions draw thousands of bidders and potential buyers from 170 countries who all compete for damaged and inventory quality vehicles.
Vehicles sold through Cash for Clunkers had to be drivable, but Cash for Cars buy vehicles in any condition. With 250+ locations in 49 states, Cash for Cars likely has locations conveniently near you to quickly complete cashing in your clunker.
How Cash for Cars Works
Cash for Clunkers offered a rebate that worked much like a trade-in would. The value was taken off the final sale price of the vehicle. But Cash for Cars pays directly to the seller in a simple process:
- Get an Offer – Either fill out the online form or call 1-888-708-5262 and provide your VIN and some other basic information about your vehicle.
- Accept the Offer – You can accept the offer right away or take up to 7 days to think about it.
- Schedule Pick Up & Payment – Schedule a convenient time for Cash for Cars to pick up your vehicle and deliver your payment by check.
You can arrange to leave your keys and title somewhere safe so you don’t even have to be present to complete the transaction. We’ll take the title and leave behind a check for the agreed upon price.
Did Cash for Clunkers work?
The answer of how effective Cash for Clunkers was isn’t as simple as yes or no. When the program ended, Cash for Clunkers stimulated more new car purchases and put many more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road.
But the program also created a shortage of used cars, which drove up the price. Most buyers purchased new vehicles not made in the United States. And the positive results of the program like reduced carbon emissions came at a very high price to taxpayers.
The car had to be less than 25 years old, in drivable condition with a fuel efficiency of less than 18 miles per gallon. The process could also be complicated, and the vehicles traded in as part of the program were scrapped and destroyed, which wound up producing tons of pollution.
So, the answer is “yes & no.”
The Safer, Faster & Easier Way
Cash for Clunkers was cancelled after the money ran out, and Congress didn’t appropriate any more. But Cash for Cars currently buys cars in every condition, from clunkers, to classics to contemporary carriages.
If you have a clunker you’d like to transform into cash, give us a call or fill out our form to get your free offer and get the process started.