Anyone thinking of trading in a old clunker for a new Mini?

Looks like the government "cash for clunkers" bill has gone through and is in effect ill Nov this year.

http://www.cars.gov/

 

I have a coworker who wants a MINI bad and $4500 would help a lot. But like most of us who tend toward MINIs - he's made responsible vehicle choices in the past, and hasn't owned anything that qualifies under the bill as a "clunker" for the past year+ to be able to claim the credit.
If the car I gave my brother 2 years ago would have qualified (it was a pile), $3500 or $4500 (plus $3000 if they fixed it enough to put TX tags on it) would have gotten them from Mazda3 to MINI.

 

I was hoping that the re-fresh R56 would launch this year to take advantage of this (I have an old Dodge pickup that qualifies for trade in) as well as Maryland's deduction for taxes paid for new cars this year.

Dang... Now I'm torn between waiting for the refresh next summer and most likely having to pay full MSRP or buy a R56 now and get $4500 off as well as deduct the sales tax...

 

I have considered it. Cash my clunker for the $4.5k or allow a less fortunate person buy my reliable 2000 Grand Am for around $2.5k to $3.5k. That extra grand or two would be nice... (18" wheels, roof rake w/ bike rack, stripes, etc. ). My problem is I feel like having my car destroyed for $4.5k is selfish and someone could use that car. I'm almost hoping this isn't available when my Cooper is delivered just so I don't have to decide.

 

Update: I would only get $3500 because the MPG difference is 5 mpg.

 

Sigh my 1999 Pontiac GP gtp is off by 1 freaking mpg!!!!!!!!

 

Looks like your car has to have a combined mileage of 18mpg or less. How many non-sports cars have that kind of mileage? My Grand am doesn't qualify.

 

They can only give you scrap value for your "clunker" since the stipulation for getting the rebate is that the car will not be resold for use as an automobile anywhere in the world, basically it has to be destroyed. The dealer has to assure the government that it will be handed over to an agency that will destroy it, they are allowed to sell some parts but can not sell any parts of the drivetrain-- the rest of the car gets scrapped.

 

Yeah, I've been following this very closely. I've got a 1986 Ford F250 that gets horrible mileage & is ripe for this program. Just pulled the trigger on an MCS & will either use this program for mine or for my wife's which she may purchase in the near future.

 

I know. He managed to negotiate a $1500 trade which is much more than it was worth, but not nearly $4500. It had combined fuel economy of something like 23mpg with the new label which doesn't qualify.

 

The senate had a plan at one time had you just needed to get 5mpg better then you current car... curse you congressional conference committee!!!! But I don't need any government money... I'll still get my mini... God willing.

 

I have an '01 Dodge Durango that looks like it will qualify, the problem is we won't be buying another vehicle this year and the Durango is in too good of shape to just "junk"!!

I fail to see how this program will benefit very many of us considering the economy, aren't people saving instead of spending??!! When you look at the restaurants in our area you wouldn't think so, but I have noticed a decline in the last couple of weeks.

 

I think there is some pent us demand for new auto purchases in the US given that the unemployment rate is only ~5% higher than it normally is and that the rates of new auto sales have fallen by 22+%. Everyone is screaming about the economy and how we're in a pitfall yadda yadda yadda but 90.5 out of a 100 typical working Americans are still punching the clock. That's a huge market for what is still considered a commodity by many.

Personally we're going to use the program to get rid of my wife's beater KIA Optima and buy a Nissan Cube. It's a free $4500 in my pocket vs a car that's cost us $1500 in repairs the last 4 months (and is only worth $2600).

Plus our MPG goes up by 11MPG. Win/Win.

However given that we only commute less than 12,000 miles per year total between the two of us (including an annual 4000-5000 mile road trip), this is somewhat muted.

Helps living within a couple miles of where you work...

 

Why not a Soul?

 

We looked at it and drove one...felt much cheaper and it's got a huge blind spot out the back.

KIA has done us wrong with multiple 'warranty' type items as well. Wifey had paint flaking off it at 35k miles (in 04), they repainted twice and it still flaked off on multiple spots. Instead of working to fix the problem they threw up their hands and went m'eh...we tried.

 

Got my girl a Nissan Cube a few weeks ago, great car (well it is no mini but what really is?)

 

Gosh I wish I would have kept (the Boat) my V8 1977 Ford LTD it even had a Pioneer 8Track player. I sold it to some farmworker dude for $700 who actually loved the car.

 

wonder how amny ppl actually will use the scheme...

 

I'm using the cash for clunkers program for my new MCS. I have an old minivan which is worth about $150. It qualifies for the $4,500 discount.

I just put down a deposit for an in-stock MCS. I can pick up the car, which is in the showroom, next week when the cash for clunkers program is official.

The showroom MCS has has some extra options I wouldn't have ordered (Nav, Aero, sunroof). However, the car has the rest of what I want. The reason why I'm paying more now and not making an order: I fear the cash for clunkers money will run out before the car arrives in 8-10 weeks! I'd rather pay a bit more for an in-stock model, get my $4,500 discount, and have the car next week.

Interestingly, out of 4 cars inside the showroom, all 4 now have deposits on them waiting for the cash for clunkers program to start next week.

 

Got rid of the POS Kia and now have a new cube parked beside the R56 S. Now to get some decent looking stripes on it....hmmmm

 

On the evening news tonight it was reported that the "cash for clunkers" program is a huge success, and that the $1 billion allocated for the program may run out in a few weeks! Some dealers are seeing a 30% increase in sales, nearly overnight! So, if you're planning on trading in that old clunker, consider doing it sooner rather than later!

If my math is correct, $1 billion / $4,500 per clunker credit is over 200,000 cars traded in for scrap!

 

News tonight reports that the program has been suspended so as not to run out of money too quickly. Now, does that make sense??

 

It seems that the money may already be gone! Some critics said that this program had too many restrictions and conditions, and now it appears that it's run through about $1 billion in it's first week!

It's on Yahoo! News, I tried adding a link but it doesn't seem to want to work, probably because it's a mile-long link address.

 

Wow, I can't believe the money's gone already. I just finished my deal yesterday afternoon - the same day my MINI dealership started offering it.