If they want my Monteros, they can pry them from my cold dead hands...

It could be like what they did to the Toyotas with the rusted frame problem..... straight to the crusher. No ifs, ands, or butts.

No way, mine is nice and comfortable in the garage downstairs. A minimum payment for a new car nowadays could be around $400-$600 per month + gas + maintenance. While I can put $500 on mine per year and still I am nowhere close to what the new car will cost me.

The local Honda dealer has about 8 clunkers in their yard.

What a waste. Dealers know their way around, give it some time and they will start selling those clunkers for more money than what they are going to get from the government, which I believe is only $50.

Javy

Here's the best explanation I've found....

Is 'Cash for Clunkers' for Chumps?

"...Edmunds says the average sale price of a brand new car is $27,800, whereas the average price of a used car is $13,900. That's a savings of roughly $14,000 achieved simply by letting somebody else be the chump who buys the brand new vehicle!

Still want to be green? There are plenty of 3-year-old vehicles with excellent fuel economy. The technology hasn't changed much in the past few years. It's also a great time to buy used because cars and trucks are incredibly reliable these days. They can easily chug along for 200,000 miles with few problems.

So, you decide. Would you rather save $4,000? Or $14,000?
Cash for CHUMPS...

Appendix B to Part 599 - Engine Disablement Procedures for the CARS
Note: The below procedures are for information only as a required process, you do not
need to submit the document as part of the transaction process.
Engine Disablement Procedures for the CARS Program
THIS PROCEDURE IS NOT TO BE USED BY THE VEHICLE OWNER
Perform the following procedure to disable the vehicle engine.
1. Obtain solution of 40% sodium silicate/60% water. (The Sodium Silicate
(SiO2/Na2O) must have a weight ratio of 3.0 or greater.)
2. Drain engine oil for environmentally appropriate disposal.
3. Install the oil drain plug.
4. Since the procedure is intended to render the engine inoperative, drive or move the
vehicle to the desired area for disablement.
5. Pour enough solution in the engine through the oil fill for the oil pump to circulate
the solution throughout the engine. Start by adding 2 quarts of the solution, which
should be sufficient in most cases.
CAUTION: Wear goggles and gloves. Appropriate protective clothing should be
worn to prevent silicate solution from coming into contact with the skin.
6. Replace the oil fill cap.
7. Start the engine.
8. Run engine at approximately 2000 rpm (for safety reasons do not operate at high
rpm) until the engine stops. (Typically the engine will operate for 3 to 7 minutes. As
the solution starts to affect engine operation, the operator will have to apply more
throttle to keep the engine at 2000 rpm.)
9. Allow the engine to cool for at least 1 hour.
10. With the battery at full charge or with auxiliary power to provide the power of a fully
charged battery, attempt to start the engine.
11. If the engine will not operate at idle, the procedure is complete.
12. If the engine will operate at idle, repeat steps 7 through 11 until the engine will no
longer idle.
13. Attach a label to the engine that legibly states the following:
This engine is from a vehicle that is part of the Car Allowance Rebate System
(CARS). It has significant internal damage caused by operating the
engine with a sodium silicate solution (liquid glass) instead of oil.
14. File this document in the file for the new vehicle purchase.

Not really - the dealers will have to insure that the vehicle is destroyed within a certain amount of time - so most of them will likely sell the clunkers to a recycler for about $200 each, based on current scrap steel prices. If the dealer isn't really careful, he can be liable for a $15,000 fine per vehicle.

I don't want to say too much about this, because representation from our company sat on the committee that negotiated the rules with the government. I can say that you would not have liked the deal as it was first conceived because the entire drive train from a clunker was initially to be excluded from resale.

I would expect that some Raiders and Monteros will find their way into the parts yards, along with Explorers, Jeeps and the like.

As for who will take advantage of the up-to $9000 discount available on new cars (from Chrysler), here are a couple of scenarios:

#1 - Mom and Dad have a child in college who drives a clunker Cherokee worth maybe $1000. Mom has an older car and needs a new one. Dad trades the child's Cherokee for a new car, gives it to Mom and gives Mom's older car to the college student. Now both have more reliable vehicles - if he can afford college tuition AND about $15K for the swap.

#2 - Average Joe has an old full-size truck that he has owned for a long time, but doesn't really need. He also has a used car. He really wants a new truck, but can't afford it along with the used car. So, he trades the truck and sells the car.

You can find your own scenario, but in the end, it boils down to whether you want the cost of ownership in the new vehicle. Some are tempted, some are not. If my MM qualified, I might be tempted to turn it in for a Dakota - but then, I look at the sticker, deduct $8000 and I'm still left with $15K to cough up, plus comprehensive insurance premiums (that I don't pay on the MM) AND the local county property taxes starting at ~$1000/year.... and say "No thank you".

Instead, I've invested in 1 can of Bondo and 25 cans of Rust-Oleum and I'm treating the MM to some fresh makeup. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I guess I'm a cheapskate. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Frank

Hell no. $4500 is not enough incentive for me to buy a NEW car and have payments and full coverage. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Well I'm tempted my piece of @%#$^ work of Toyota art just lost its head gasket. It still drives fine doesn't even smoke but gulping coolant by gallons. I know it's common issue, I can fix it. It just at very annoying time. It's not worth 4500 even if I fix it. I'm remodeling just about half the house we live in so my hands are really tied on fixing stuff. Monty is back to family duty

I'm truly tempted to just get new minivan for my 3 boys

Do you guys not have full coverage? I do on my Monty and my 20 year old Miata. I figure if I total one of them, that's a big out lay in one go <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> What do you guys do?

I'd be looking at 1500-4500 for a replacement SR.
I'd be looking at less for a replacement 89 v6.

Plus I'd likely take most items (unless it's a complete total) off and transfer them to the other rig.

Nope, not worth full coverage insurance.