Cash for clunkers, will you be buying?

[hondacuraplanet]

Without getting into the political ramifications of the bill, I'm curious to know how many of you will be considering replacing a vehicle with the bill in place, and what you'll be potentially replacing.

My initial thoughts were, that a lot of current Honda owners have vehicles that are already worth more than the bill allows, just by virtue of the fact that many would be trading in a Honda.

[rocky]

Tim:

I've no need to replace either of my cars, both have only 70k on them and are 4 and 6 years old respectively.

[Shindig78]

Well, I could trade my Mercedes. It qualifies for the program, and it would benefit me since the car is only worth maybe $1500 to $2000. However, the thought of it being crushed or shredded is too much for me -- I am holding on to it for the foreseeable future.

I do need to replace my wife's Malibu at some point, though, and I feel as though I am being penalized for making the decision to buy a halfway fuel-efficient car back in 2002. The Malibu is only worth perhaps $2500 as a trade in, so I would be interested in the "Cash For Clunkers" program. Unfortunately, though, that car is rated at 21 combined MPG, which is too high for the program, and thus I am not eligible for the program no matter what I buy.

Perhaps a better way to write the rules would be to offer $4500 when you trade in any car as long as the replacement vehicle gets 10 MPG better. That would make me seriously consider an Insight or Civic Hybrid, because I would need to find a vehicle that gets a combined 31 MPG or higher. That would greatly increase the number of eligible cars and also motivate people to find very fuel-efficient replacements.

[hondacuraplanet]

Originally posted by Shindig78
Well, I could trade my Mercedes. It qualifies for the program, and it would benefit me since the car is only worth maybe $1500 to $2000. However, the thought of it being crushed or shredded is too much for me -- I am holding on to it for the foreseeable future.

Same for me on that front.....I've got an old '85 Chevy conversion van that has singlehandedly made my whole life possible, it's been like the automotive "giving tree". The thought of scrapping an old friend is too hard to take. I think it'd give me nightmares

She hasn't been mobile in a couple months as something inside the transmission let go. I'm working on rebuilding the transmission now actually.....have the entire thing apart down to the lower reverse gears at the moment, and can't find the stupid problem......my Mustang's a nice car, but useless as far as cargo and people carrying capacity.

Personally, I'd consider getting rid of both and getting one vehicle that would suit my needs much better, but with the economy on the downfall (and business here falling off to 2001 levels), I don't see that on the horizon.