First hand experiences of clunker-bill abuse?

[Kruse]

Please don't make this political. It's not the point of the post.
I guess I bring up the topic because my sister had some Firestone AT tires on her Explorer and had them replaced about a month before the recall. I also know the the tire dealer got a set of free Firestone tires by going behind the shop and retrieving the mentioned tires and probably a few more sets, who knows?.
Anyway, I know the cars being brought in for the clunker bill have to be scrapped. But does anybody know first hand of some fantastic parts that have beens stripped off of these trade-in? E.G. Tires, interior parts, glass, engines or engine parts, etc.
I can imagine that certain individuals will make some good salvage yard hauls......

 

[JHZR2]

Scrapped is a meaningless term... what does that truly mean? Fully burned and/or melted down?

Im sure lots of good parts will be recycled.

 

[getnpsi]

keeping an older car in tip top shape passing it's emissions requirements means its not a clunker at all--its resourceful and economically sound for it's owner/family. Where i live the registration and insurance on a new car vs something from the mid to late 1990's is many hundreds more a year...you won't save that with yearly MPG's or maintenance costs.

I do frequent the junkyards for parts for project cars and the vehicles i see going to the crusher intact are early 1990s GMs and chryslers...stuff you really dont's see driving around on the roads anymore. Some yards have gone to import only because that is where the money is to be made. It's big industry out in California. Yeah it needs to be tapped somehow, state employees are getting papers that they cant deposit in the banks.

 

[gonzo]

Does anyone listen to how the Government likes to cut people down?Clunkers?My parents and Grandparents always taught me to make smart purchases.Getting rid of a automobile just because it's a few years old and buying another car/truck that will only put more stress to your budget is not very smart.Is cash for clunkers a good idea?Maybe in some cases.For the Government to call an older car/truck a clunker is insulting to me personally.Do you see where this is going,if a young person drives an older vehicle and they hear someone call their car a clunker,guess what?They are gonna go and buy them a new car just because they feel like a low life.I don't acknowledge status symbols and all that other bull chit.When I make a big investment I do a lot of tinking before I do so and I always get my moneys worth.don't let the government brain wash you!!!!

 

[ksJoe]

My parents are turning in a old pickup for the clunker rebate. Dad is taking the flatbed off the truck before bringing it in. I wouldn't consider that abuse though. It is legal to operate the vehicle like that, and it will get to the dealership under its own power.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
don't let the government brain wash you!!!!


Madison Ave. and the media are the preferred methods of mental cleanliness.

 

[oilyriser]

Originally Posted By: ksJoe
My parents are turning in a old pickup for the clunker rebate. Dad is taking the flatbed off the truck before bringing it in. I wouldn't consider that abuse though. It is legal to operate the vehicle like that, and it will get to the dealership under its own power.


Take out one of the spark plugs, and as many sensors and parts as will still allow it to run. Heck, remove the starter, too, and battery...

 

[gonzo]

I'm scared to buy anything new.I don't have the knowledge or tools to work on these newer cars.I sure as hail don't want to take one in to be repared and get the repair bill.

 

[PandaBear]

I'm trying to stay non-political here.

What I don't understand is why everyone think so emotionally of a car. It is just a piece of metal for your transportation and burn fuel, and has a finite number of years or miles in its life.

I don't see it as any difference from people trading in their cars and they were not worth fixing because there is no profit to do so (i.e. too old, the parts are worth more than the cars, cost too much labors, can't find parts, etc) even if the car is still drivable. Or if the people you sell or trade the car in just sell it to Mexico instead of keeping it in the US.

The crushing car is only there to reduce the overall supply of the cars in the market, so it won't depress the price of all the cars out there. They cherry pick the cars so that it suit the purposes of the party of interest (i.e. low mpg cars/trucks replaced by high/higher mpg cars/trucks for environmental or national fuel consumption reason). They could have ask people to crush cars that are totally not drivable, but then why bother? because they will be crushed by the owner anyways because of its conditions. The whole point is to reduce supply.

Many people I know decide not to do it even if they have a guzzler at home, because they are worth more than the credit. I'd imagine it would be more popular along the salt belt when cars/trucks must be crushed because of rust anyways.

 

[oilyriser]

It would be easier to reduce supply by not subsidizing car companies who *keep making more cars*.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
What I don't understand is why everyone think so emotionally of a car. It is just a piece of metal for your transportation and burn fuel, and has a finite number of years or miles in its life.


Not all of us are soulless robots who try to be as thrifty as possible in an effort to pinch the last penny until it screams in agony. I like my car, and I keep it in excellent condition. I have gone with this vehicle to many places that I fondly remember. I miss all my previous cars, and my biggest (automotive) regret is not having kept my very first car.

 

[benjamming]

mori,

Do you even miss your old Buick (or was it Chevrolet)?

 

[moribundman]

Absolutely! Especially my Buick's Century's panache for developing issues almost daily made for some great adventures and unplanned stays in strange places that I would have otherwise missed. I put 40k miles or so on the Chevy in a year on the road all across the country. The Chevy Celebrity was a reliable rattletrap, the Buick wasn't. It could only be relied on breaking down. I had to stay a week near Mono Lake when the throttle cable broke in the winter and a few days in Durango when the MAP sensor failed. A defective MAP sensor also garnered me an extra few days in the Mesa Verde Area on the same trip.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: gonzo
Does anyone listen to how the Government likes to cut people down?Clunkers?


huh?

has anyone read the bill? last I checked, there are specific requirements for the trade-in mpg and new-car mpg to qualify.

A low-MPG junky old car would be a clunker. Hopefully a low-MPG, high quality car that is well maintained would be kept as a smart move on the part of the owners. If the owners turn in an otherwise nice car, maybe theyre tired of it and want the vanity of a new car... is that their choice? Are they not potentially smart for making use of the program, or should they have they NOT taken the $3500-4500 just so the car can stay "in play"? Think there are many buyers willing to pay a $3500-4500 premium on a low-MPG older vehicle?

Maybe for some, likely not for most vanilla vehicles...

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: gonzo
Does anyone listen to how the Government likes to cut people down?Clunkers?


huh?

has anyone read the bill? last I checked, there are specific requirements for the trade-in mpg and new-car mpg to qualify.


Most people who read the bill support or against it based on the cost to the government. People who are against it based on the lost of classic cars, waste of natural resource, or ethical value of junking something probably hasn't.

 

[Shannow]

These buyback things are a joke.

The biggest abuse that I've seen was the Oz gun buyback.

A semi auto .22, which COULD be lgally owned prior to the buyback got around $200, even if it was a $300 Krico. An AR15, or SLR L1A1 which could NOT be legally owned prior to the buyback fetched around 8 grand.

What really stunk was people turning up at the Police Station with old classic dueling pistols, Winchester matched sets etc. that were once Grandad's. They got told that they were not part of the buyback, but you can dispose of them here.

Cops made out like bandits.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: ksJoe
My parents are turning in a old pickup for the clunker rebate. Dad is taking the flatbed off the truck before bringing it in. I wouldn't consider that abuse though. It is legal to operate the vehicle like that, and it will get to the dealership under its own power.


Bravo! Think of the environmental impact of crushing, shredding, resmelting, welding, and painting up a new flatbed. That action is commendable from an environmental standpoint... which is supposedly what this bill is about.

(Some metal fab guy is staring solemnly at his shoes, wondering when HE will get bailed out)

Ultimately this clunker bill short circuits a classic automotive food chain, where one clique of people buys new, one off-lease, and one well-used. Take the latter folks and get them in brand new cars and off-lease residual values are going to tank!

 

[gonzo]

I'm sure we will be hearing about someone who can't afford to pay their car note now that they bought their new car.We'll here about how this person was tricked into buying a new car and how he/she wishes they had just kept their old CLUNKER.Too late!!!!

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear


The whole point is to reduce supply.



I guess I'm a cynic.

I think this handout of government cheese to the mice is just a ploy to minimize the number of disgruntled voters later, after gas taxes have been jacked out of sight to pay for all the reckless spending (and cheese).

The gubmint can keep its cheese, I'm keeping my "clunker(s)".

 

[sciphi]

If there's any money left at the end of December my friend, who can afford a new car right now but chooses not to, is going to take a look at getting a new econobox by trading in his rickety 97 Mountaineer that he bought for $1k this previous December.

That might be considered abuse by some. Otherwise it's just good personal economics. Getting a $3500 return on his $1k purchase. And getting a much more pleasant car to boot.