SANTA MONICA, Calif. - (Business Wire) Now that “Cash for Clunkers” has been approved by the Senate, it is likely to be implemented within the next 30 days. The “Cash for Clunkers” legislation is often misunderstood as a voucher or rebate, but is really a minimum trade-in allowance. Edmunds.com suggests that the program will struggle to produce the estimated 250,000 vehicle sales. Results will be limited because
1.) Most qualifying “clunkers” are at least 10 years old. Their owners are either not looking for an increased car payment or cannot afford to purchase a new vehicle, which averages nearly $30,000.
2.) The one-year requirement is ill considered. Allowing new vehicle buyers to purchase clunkers that would be then traded-in and scrapped would ignite wave of economic activity and still achieve the bills environmental goals.
“Similar legislation has seen success in Europe because European new vehicle buyers keep their vehicle considerably longer than those in the U.S.,” said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com. “But in the end, this is a non-event. Even 250,000 new vehicles sales will not provide the impact needed for an industry looking for at least five million in additional sales.”
To participate in the Cash for Clunkers program, consumers need to keep in mind that:
- It will offer no more than $4,500 to new car buyers.
- It will require the trade-in vehicle to be crushed (which means that owners will not collect any trade-in value.)
- Cars to be scrapped would have to have EPA combined fuel economy ratings of 18 miles per gallon or less, and the new vehicle purchased must earn better mileage.
- The participant must have owned the “clunker” for one year.
“If you can get more than $4,500 for your vehicle, you are better off selling it or trading it in without taking advantage of the Cash for Clunkers rebate,” stated Edmunds.com Editor In Chief Karl Brauer, who addresses this topic on his blog, Karl on Cars.
Edmunds.com has compiled a list of “clunkers” whose owners would benefit from pursuing the rebate. The list can be accessed by visiting: http://www.edmunds.com/media/cashforclunkers/vehicles_under_4500.pdf.
For more information on “Cash for Clunkers” and other industry news, please visit http://www.edmunds.com/industry-car-news/.
Some Edmunds.com spokespeople are available for interviews in Edmunds.com’s television studio in its Santa Monica, Calif. headquarters.
About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)
Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
Edmunds.com Corporate Communications
Chintan Talati and Jeannine Fallon
www.edmunds.com
Media Hotline: 310-309-4900
pr@edmunds.com
