The Cash for Clunkers Bill, Explained

The Cash for Clunkers Bill, Explained

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By now you have probably heard of Cash for Clunkers.  There is only 1 official site for this government backed program and that is cars.gov.  Websites are already popping up with the intent of obtaining customer information in order to try and steal peoples identities and commit fraud.  So, if you go to a Cash for Clunkers website and it is not the one I mentioned above, be careful.  Your best source of information is the website I listed above, or your local automotive dealership.

In a nutshell, you have to trade in an older car for one with improved gas mileage.  You can earn up to $4,500 in government assistance, and this will be shown as a cash down payment on your transaction.  Once a qualified automobile is given to the dealer, we have to take it and scrap the vehicle, primarily the engine will need to be crushed so that it cannot be put to use anywhere else.  You will have to have owned the car that you trade in for at least one year.  Some older cars could be worth more than the $4,500 that the government is giving you.  So, at Brown we can advise you as to which way to go either trade your car or take the government money.  The cars that will qualify under this program have to be 25 years old or newer and the new car has to have a sticker price of $45,000 or less.  Used cars are not eligible under this program.  You may finance the car or lease the vehicles under this program.

Go to the above mentioned website for further information or call us and we will be glad to discuss this with you.  The program should start at the end of July.   In addition to the Government assistance, you will also receive any incentives that the manufacturer has.  Plus you will be able to write off your state and federal tax that you pay on the car and on hybrid models you will still be able to take the tax deduction. 

Thank you for visiting our site.

Jay