WHat are you going to do to benefit from the "Cash for Clunkers" program

[hls30.com]

What are you going to do to benefit from the Cash for Clunkers program?

I am not trading in a car, but I did call all of my locla dealers to see where they are sending the cars that do get turned in, and the schedule for pickup!

That way I can spot any Zs before they are towed to oblivion and beyond.

knowing what was turned in and where it is going will give me a leg up for getting the best parts off of what gets turned in!

I don't expect to see any Zs, but the Z shares parts with several other Datsuns, so hopefully in making the rounds, I will run across some good parts!

Will

[SportBikeMike]

I think the only Zs that qualify are the Z32s. I can't imagine the non-turbo Z32 averaging less than 18mpg, so maybe just the twin turbo Z32s qualify. Hopefully, there aren't any idiots that would trade these in for scrap....

[AndysPlit]

I think the only Zs that qualify are the Z32s. I can't imagine the non-turbo Z32 averaging less than 18mpg, so maybe just the twin turbo Z32s qualify. Hopefully, there aren't any idiots that would trade these in for scrap....

The Z31 qualifies. I checked. And to be honest I contemplated for a while weather I should turn in my 86 300ZX. I know to some of you that is blasphemous.....foolish, and plain stupid. Hell, I wouldn't even consider mentioning this on Z31.com. They would eat me alive!

I would never ever turn in my 78 for any program. But, I weighed my options and wondered how I would benefit from a "clunked" 300ZX being turned into scrap. Honestly the notion saddened me. It seemed an undignified way to end her days. I started not to care if $4500 was more than her street value.

So.....what caused me to even consider clunking a Z31? Simple; Financial. That and I've been having some serious issues with the 300 for a while.....until yesterday. A $48 part saved her from a decision that I may have regretted down the line.

A part of me is ashamed to even share this with some of you....but I did think about it for a while. I think I was very frustarted with the Z31. Oh, and as far as any finacial gain........what a joke.....Especially after reading some of the posts here it got me to think even more.

I am still the proud owner of two Zs. The Z31 will remain in my posession. All be it they are completely different from each other, but I love them both. I didn't want to be seen driving a Versa anyway.....Massive cool points would've been lost But more importantly I would've been another idiot destroying an important car....a car that I actually care about.

Unless it's truly junk, keep your Z.

[jmortensen]

No option for "I'm just paying for it"?

By the way you can't hit up the trade-ins for parts. They run sand through the engines to seize them and then crush them. What a stupid waste.

[Carl Beck]

Hi Jon:

Actually - they are allowed to resell any of the parts off the clunkers - Except the engine or complete drive train. They{either the Dealer or Recyclers} can sell drive train parts if not attached to the engine.

You can download the specific rules and regulations from the CARS.gov web site - just look at the "Dealer" info. It's about 134 page PDF document.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[sblake01]

From what I was told, they have 180 days from the time they take posession of each vehicle to sell the parts that they are allowed to sell. Once that time has passed they have to be crushed as per the federal guidelines.

[hls30.com]

Stephen, You and Carl hit it!

I am afraid to(afraid not to) find some Z32 parts in the turn ins, and I am looking for some specific parts from a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR.

I don't think anyone is under the delusion that every tax paying citizen is not helping to pay for this, but buying parts helps make it more effective, by adding some tax income(no matter how small-in addition to the salvage weight) from the reverse flow), and some economic stimulus to the salvage industry-I wonder if it will lower the value of these program cars on Sadisco/CoPart/insurance auctions.

Will

[Jeff G 78]

My DD Toyota 4x4 qualifies, but there's no way I would part with it and get stuck with a payment. It has 258,000 miles and is rusty, but it runs great and gets 20mpg. I still need a truck, so I would have to buy a $30k truck to get the same option content as what I already have. This whole CARS program is going to get the country into further debt. Many people who take advantage of it can barely afford their clunker, yet think they are getting a deal, so jump into a new car with a huge debt load. Those of us who are smart enough to keep our paid-for vehicle still get stuck with the bill as well as the increase in loan defaults that will surely follow.

[sblake01]

People are getting sucked in by all of this. The guy I talked to at Midnight Auto Recylers said that many of the cars he's taken in are actually in good enough condition to sell for as much as $9000 but, rather than taking the time to sell the car themselves, people are aparently settling for the $4500 govt. rebate.

[Carl Beck]

There were about 120 "clunkers" that I parked mine beside - trust me, you wouldn't have paid $500.00 for any of them.. $9000.00??? I think your friend at Midnight needs to watch what he's smoking ;-)

If the car was worth $9000.00 the dealer would simply put it on the Used Car Lot and not sold it to the Government for $4,500.00 there isn't a Dealer left in business at this point that is that stupid.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Jeff G 78]

On Jalopnik, they had people sending in Death Row pics from dealerships. Many of the responses came from kids who worked at the dealers. There were many claims of cars that would likely sell for more than $4500 on the used car market.

[Carl Beck]

The problem is that a car with a market value of $4,500.00 won't be financed by any banks or credit unions today. So you have to find a buyer with the CASH to buy it - or with the Personal Line of Credit against which to draw. Marginal buyers have been all but shut down by the Banks and Credit Card companies - as credit for anything is still very tight.

If you have an 850+ credit score and you don't need the money to begin with - you can still qualify for a loan.

Secondly - if the car could be sold for $4,500.00+ - the dealer still has to take his overhead and cost to sell off the top of that number.. So even if he got $5,500.00 retail - he'd still lose money on the deal.