Cash for clunker scams - buyer beware

Eligibility Chart for Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS)

The Cash for Clunkers scammers are out in force.  Numerous websites have been put up that attempt to capitalize on Cash for Clunkers as a pretext to gather personal information on people.  There is no need submit any of your personal information, i.e., your name, telephone number, Social Security Number, date of birth, address, e-mail address on any web site or “pre-register” for the CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) program commonly called Cash for Clunkers. There is only one official site for the program: http://www.cars.gov.  This is not to be confused, however, with auto manufacturers who have put up legitimate websites of their own for the purposes of educating consumers and promoting their own vehicles. Here are official factory web sites that offer CARS (Cash for Clunkers) information:

Nissan
Toyota
Ford
General Motors 

 Cash for clunkers buying tips 

1. Double check the value of the car or truck you want to trade. Be sure it is not worth more than the amount of the voucher you would qualify for.  You don't get any credit for the value of the vehicle traded in other than the CARS voucher.
2. Have your paperwork in order.  You'll need proof of insurance and your title.
3. Cash for Clunker purchases qualify for factory rebates and incentives.  Also, any tax credits for hybrids apply.
4. When you determine mileage for eligibility purposes, your personal mileage calculation is not what counts. The only mileage figures that count are those provided by the official U.S. government (EPA) website, www.fueleconomy.gov.

Foreign vehicles and leasing eligibility
There has been a lot of confusion and contradictory information about whether foreign vehicles qualify and whether leased vehicles qualify. Yes, foreign vehicles qualify for a voucher. Yes, leased vehicles qualify. However, and this is a big however, the CARS Act requires that any lease under the program be for a period of at least five years (60 months). This is an oddball requirement because most leases are 24 and 36 months.

Here are some CARS highlights:

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
• Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
• You don't need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
• Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
• The vehicle that you are trading in is required to be destroyed. Therefore, the value you negotiate with the dealer for your trade in is not likely to exceed its scrap value. The law requires the dealer to disclose to you and estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in vehicle

What about different categories of  trucks?
There are special rules for trucks.  The CARS Act divides the eligible vehicles into four groups (see chart): passenger automobiles; category 1 trucks; category 2 trucks; and category 3 trucks. NHTSA will soon publish a list of the vehicles that fall into these groups. The Ford CARS website has a downloadable brochure that does a good job of explaining this.  For the present, here are the statutory definitions and examples of trucks that satisfy those definitions:

• A category 1 truck is a nonpassenger automobile. This category includes sport utility vehicles (SUVs small and medium pickup trucks and small and medium passenger and cargo vans.
• A category 2 truck is a large van or a large pickup truck based upon the length of the wheelbase (more than 115 inches for pickup trucks and more than 124 inches for vans). Note: some pickup trucks and cargo vans exceeding these thresholds are treated as category 3 trucks instead of category 2 trucks.
• A category 3 truck is a work truck and is rated between 8500 and 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. This category includes very large pickup trucks (those with cargo beds 72 inches or more in length) and very large cargo vans.
• By July 24 NHTSA will make available on an Internet website a comprehensive list of the trucks that fall into these categories and meet the requirements of the program. 

Read more about it:
Is Cash for Clunkers a clunker of a deal for taxpayers?
www.Cashforclunkers.org
Q&A on how Cash for Clunkers would work.
Cash for Clunkers passes in U.S. House
The EPA's official site for fuel economy figures:  www.fueleconomy.gov
Here is a link to the actual law passed by congress.

Follow me on Twitter.  Become a fan on my facebook page.