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If you have an old gas guzzler in the driveway, it may now be worth a lot more than you think.
President Obama recently signed a new car sales stimulus bill into law.
The program, nicknamed "Cash for Clunkers" works like this: A car customer can get up to $4500 towards a new car if their trade-in is more than 10-years old and gets less than 18-miles per gallon in gas mileage.
There are a lot of stipulations, but Saturn of Raleigh Owner Bill Shotwell says this may be the final shot in the arm that the industry needs.
"It's not us creating some hokey-dokey, car sales gimmick," he said. "It is the real deal."
It's a deal both the government and the car industry are hoping you can't resist.
"We're hoping what this plan's gonna do is give us a big surge so that we can go out and order more cars and keep more jobs flowing and keep the economy rolling," Shotwell said.
But, there are a host of stipulations that come with the program.
The new car has to get at least four miles per gallon in better fuel economy than the old car.
Also, consumers must have owned the old car for at least one year and the title for the new car must be in the same name as the title for the old car.
There is also a limited amount of time to act.
"Cash for Clunkers" only lasts until November 1, or when the one billion dollars in government funds run out.
"I have an old car," shopper Ruth Epps said. "I'd be happy to part with it. I looked online to see if it qualified, but i don't think it qualified."
Satruday, Epps came to Saturn of Raleigh shopping for a car for her 16-year-old daughter.
Though the program won't help her, she thinks it will boost the car industry.
"You're offering people a better incentive, a little more money to go and buy a car," Epps said. "That's what i think people are looking for today, deals."
Not every dealer around the triangle is participating in the program.
The government funding doesn't kick in for about 10 days, so a dealer has to have money in the bank in order to cover some of the early transactions.
Other customers aren't so sure this is the right track.
Andrew Wesche just bought a used car, but he's sticker shocked over the billion dollar program.
"It's just more taxes," he said. "Everything keeps going up, so it's going to be interesting to pay for all that."
Critics also are concerned that the program is not just for American cars, which means the U.S. tax money could be spread around the world of car producers.
Shotwell said at the end of the day, he thinks the program will work.
"What's really gonna happen is, people are gonna buy cars, they're gonna get an unbelievable deal on a car and their tax dollars are then put back into the system," he said. "So it's a win for everybody."
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Comments
By Red Oscar on 07/17 08:04 AM
Personally, I am quite mad that my 1992 Acura with 170,000 miles does not qualify because its fuel mileage is too high. This would have been a perfect opportunity for me to retire this old POS and get me something nice and shiny. Looks like I will get to drive it for another 100,000 miles instead. Stupid rulemakers!
By JT on 07/14 05:28 PM
I feel Sorry for People like Karla who are being Brainwashed and led by the nose like Sheep to Slaughter ! When are you going to WAKE UP and realize that this administration is out for one thing and one thing only! TOTAL CONTROL of Everything our Fore Fathers and Veterans have fought tooth and nail for over the past 250+ years! We are being Sold down the drain to the over seas markets One Dollar and one Liberty and one Freedom at a time till we will be right back where we started from before the Revolutionary War! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Karla on 07/13 03:33 PM
I'm with Penny Akinson, it has to start somewhere. We lost our country years ago and we're not going to get it back in a matter of months. I feel Barack is on the right track. We sat back and was quiet while it was being taken years ago, so now we need to have patience as we try to regain our country.
By Paul Revere on 07/12 08:52 PM
This junker Deal is just another of Baracks con jobs! We have had enough of him and his bankers by now!? Please help us to get our country back! Lets get Control of Our Finances and Take our Country Back! We have been invaded by foreign Off-Shore aliens, as opposed to "The Constitution of The United states of America"! It is simple, really — the larger the debt, the richer and more powerful the international bankers become. The Federal Reserve is their front organization and it runs roughshod over Congress. The passage of HR 1207 is not certain and it faces an even more strenuous uphill battle in the Senate. It is, at this point, our only practical hope of auditing the Fed, revealing its numerous crimes, exposing its mega-grand theft scams, and delivering Donald Kohn, his boss Bernanke, and the minions of the international banksters to justice. Folks we need your help to be able to retain America, we are at a crucial point! SEND A LETTER TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND SENATORS INSTANTLY: http://www.campaignforliberty......07home.php Read the infowars website for the full story!
By RoJo on 07/12 07:34 PM
I have a 20mpg clunker (that actually gets 15) and want to buy a Prius that gets 50mpg--and I get nothing. That's no stimulus and no protection for the environment.
By Shane on 07/12 12:04 PM
One in Eight people are hungry in the USA
By JT on 07/12 11:33 AM
Cash for Clunkers! Well lets look at this! Most of the So called Clunkers are owned by People on Welfare or People that have been driven from their Jobs by the Recession! So what do they want to do! hang a $4500.00 Carrot in front of them and trick them into Buying a New Car that they in noway can afford! Or make payments on! 3 months from now when they have missed their 3rd car payment the car will be Towed away! WOW what deal!! At least with Clunker they had and should have kept ,They had something to drive! Now they will have nothing!
By bob hazel on 07/12 10:27 AM
I am tired of these stimuluses. First the homebuyer tax, then this. What about responsible people who already owned a home they could afford with a traditional mortgage, or who bought fuel efficient cars ten years ago? My ten year old car got nearly thirty miles to the gallon. Shouldn't I get some of this "stimulus" money when I bought a new, fuel efficient car? It's just not fair that responsible people are not being left to pay for the stimulus for irresponsible ones.
By penny atkinson on 07/12 09:18 AM
well I feel like he has to start somewhere and there are so, so many families out there that cant afford a new car without the deal. With this in place it going to make it easier for them to find better jobs father away and less gas money. So you have to look at the picture all the way around. I think that it was a good idea.
By Michael Thrasher on 07/11 07:31 PM
This is politics at its best. It screams - VOTE FOR ME!!! It's biased and unfair. Biased: Why not do this with PCs, TVs and everything else. Who paid this guy to focus on just CARS!!!!! It's unfair: WHO pays the bill in the end?? not the car owner. Its another tax waste that your children, my friend, will have to pay for rather then eat.
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