A New Dealer-Sponsored Auto Stimulus Plan

Whether you believed in the premise of the Cash for Clunkers program or not, one thing is for certain, the government reimbursement for old cars proved a boon to new car sales and the industry overall.

The program created an amazing 21,000 new jobs, albeit many on a temporary basis, and took nearly 800,000 gas guzzlers off the road which translated into that amount of new cars sold.

Many pundits were concerned that the Clunkers program would create a temporary bubble of new cars sales that could not be sustained and might actually take away from future sales. This theory was brought to light when new research just released by a number of analytic organizations show that current “purchase intent,” those who now want to buy a new car is down 50% from its July peak and 11% from the June average.

With prices once again rising and inventory down from the wave of sales, future sales look like slim pickings for many dealers. To counteract the trend, good old American sales ingenuity is coming into play. Many auto dealers realize that because of the restrictions of the “Cash for Clunkers” program 90% of potential buyers were left out of the program.

To keep a good thing going, many car dealers are now participating in a privately funded “Auto Stimulus Plan” to keep traffic flowing into their showrooms.

Check with your local dealership to see if they are participating in this program. If they are, you can get up to $4,500 of additional trade-in value towards the purchase of a new or pre-owned vehicle.

It’s basically a clever rebate program using the Cash for Clunkers theme. The program is being offered by participating dealers through November 1st, 2009.

To be eligible your old car must meet the following requirements to get you a rebate:

• Vehicle must be older than 2007
• Vehicle must be in working condition
• Vehicle has been owned and registered to you for at least 6 months
• No minimum mpg requirements
• Vehicles that are not eligible are: salvaged vehicles and vehicles with floor or frame damage

Replacement vehicle requirements:

• Replacement vehicle must have a minimum of 2 mpg improvement
• New and used vehicles qualify
• All makes and models
• No minimum mpg requirements
• No price restrictions

I would also assume that your car will not meet the crusher’s fate when you turn it in.