Cash for Clunkers: Yes, It’s Still On

The past few days have been hectic for the Cash for Clunkers program. The U.S. government had allocated $1 billion for the CARS program as of July 24, when “The Rule” was issued with details for how the rebates would be used. The program had been in effect, though, since July 1, without the official word being finalized.

In the weeks between the start date and the appearance of the final rules (which have already been amended), the program started to run out of funds and the EPA changed some fuel economy numbers. The program, which was supposed to run through November 1 or until the government had used all its cash, was almost killed early by its own popularity. And the EPA tried, at the eleventh hour, to update old mpg ratings to reflect the new mpg measuring system, which knocked some previously eligible cars off the list of clunkers and added others.

Where do we stand now? Cash for Clunkers, or CARS, as it’s officially called, is still on (fingers crossed). Here are the major changes as it stands after a very busy weekend:

• The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a $2 billion extension; the Senate will vote on it soon
• Since New Hampshire and Wisconsin don’t require insurance, buyers in these states don’t have to have one year’s worth of insurance, as they do in the other 48 states
• Cars that met the fuel economy requirement before the changes the EPA made on July 24 and that were traded in as clunkers after July 1 are still eligible for the CARS rebate

Good luck, car shoppers! If you have questions or opinions about the CARS program, leave them in the comments. I’ll research anything that needs answering.