What is happening to all the cars that are traded in the cash for clunkers program?
dougie2267 asked:
I heard all these cars are being scrapped and destroyed, wouldn’t it be better to give them away to low income people who don’t have a ride so they could go to work, and then trade the car for a new one later, a whole pay it forward situation.
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I heard all these cars are being scrapped and destroyed, wouldn’t it be better to give them away to low income people who don’t have a ride so they could go to work, and then trade the car for a new one later, a whole pay it forward situation.
http://www.prohomeschool.com/blog/
September 21st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
You know, that’s not a bad idea.
The idea behind cash for clunkers, though, is to get gas guzzlers off the road in the first place, and give a boost to the automobile industry.
You can still donate your old car to different charities and get tax write offs for it.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
The reason for scraping the clunkers it to get them off the road as they pollute the air and burn up too much gas. Giving them to the poor would put them back on the road. The requirement to the cash for clunkers it that the clunkers be scrapped by crushing them completely which than will be recycled into new vehicles. The non profits that sponsor old cars to the poor are hurting because no one is donating vehicles as they are going to cash for clunkers instead. So there is a good side to this as well as a bad side. The government just wants to get older gas hogs off the roads and bring the economy back to life, especially the auto companies.
September 25th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Sodium silicate (”liquid glass”) is poured into the oil port and the engine is run. Almost instantly the stuff hardens, and the engine is permanently unusable. Since car junk dealers get most of the value from a wrecked car from its engine being resold (to a buyer whose engine is ruined and needs replacement), the car is of very little value to dealers who buy trashed cars.
In part, the point is to get gas-guzzlers off the road completely. Handing them over to someone else so the recipients can stop using mass transit would frustrate that goal completely.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:17 am
They are destroying the motors in the vehicles, then scrapping them. One of the many problems with that is that auto recyclers often don’t want these cars and they are refusing to participate because the engine is the most valuable part.
This program is very bad for the environment! (not to mention certain sectors of the economy!)
October 1st, 2009 at 7:27 pm
1-800-CLUNKERS The experts on the government program. You also can order your wife flowers at the same time. on
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I heard that the cars are used for monster truck shows
October 4th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I think you are right that it would make more sense to give them to low income people. Even if they are low mileage, there are poor people who do not drive very far but need occasional local transportation. It is very hard for them to haul groceries 10 or 15 blocks, take their kids to school when it is snowing, etc. There are poor people who are old who not use their cars except to go to the grocery store and the doctors.
A lot of energy and resources were used in manufacturing these clunkers, and it is not good for the environment to destroy them before the end of their useful lives.
But if the intent is to get more people to buy more new cars, they want to limit the number of used cars available for poor people and others to buy.