cash for clunkers program

Cash for clunkers hopefuls pack dealers.

Car dealers across metro Detroit say they’ve been flooded with customers seeking to trade in older vehicles for new cars and trucks as the federal government’s cash-for-clunkers program officially goes into effect today.“I believe we have better than 70 pending deals on it right now,” said Bill Demmer, owner of Jack Demmer Ford in Wayne and Jack Demmer Lincoln-Mercury in Dearborn.The federal government is offering vouchers of $3,500 or $4,500 to anyone replacing a car or truck that averages less than 18 m.p.g. in combined city and highway driving and is less than 25 years old.

The government is using the program to provide a boost to automotive sales and to get more fuel-efficient vehicles on the nation’s roads.“We are getting a tremendous response,” said Bill Golling, owner of Golling, Chrysler, Jeep Dodge in Bloomfield Hills.Jim Seavitt, owner of Village Ford in Dearborn, said he saw nearly a dozen customers at his dealership this morning — more than usual — and said his dealership has about 30 sales pending that are related to cash-for-clunkers.The downside, dealers said, is that the program is complicated and there have been registration problems for dealers on the government’s Web site.Demmer said he finally was able to complete the registration process on Sunday, but is still waiting for a return e-mail from the government verifying that his dealership is officially registered.

Dealers said the 136-page program is very detailed and requires a lot of paperwork — both for consumers and dealers. For example: Dealers are responsible for removing the customer’s engine and the transmission, disabling it, transporting it to a junkyard and providing proof to the government that the “clunker” has been properly disposed.