Who's driving a clunker?

tashirosgt · #1 26th July 2009, 03:56 AM

Are you driving a car that meets the US Governments definition of a "clunker" and qualifies for cash if you buy a new car? What are the make and model details?

I don't think my '89 and '90 Corollas qualify.

rpstitz · #2 26th July 2009, 04:14 AM

last I heard, the car cannot be over 25 years old, it has to have been rated no better than 18MPG (original sticker) when new, you have to have owned it and carried insurance on it for the past 12 months, and it has to be in running condition...then you must trade it in on a new vehicle that is rated at least 22MPG for $3500 - $4500USD rebate in lieu of trade-in value, because it must be salvaged (crushed) and never resold.

According to a popular conservative talk show host, the idea originally started in Germany (sorry, DDR) and was much simpler...if you had a car that you wanted to trade in, you pretty well qualified...but here in US, our lawmakers cannot do anything without making it a p******** fiasco, and therefore, got caught up in BS and regulations to the point that it is no longer a good idea...it's hard to dance around this issue without using the "p"-word, so let's be very careful

kona0197 · #3 26th July 2009, 04:58 AM

Well count me out then. I drive a '78 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale. Chevy 350 with Olds heads under the hood. It gets 15 MPG on a good day. I guess I do not qualify for the rebate.

(My girlfriend is washing the windshield. Careful - dirt is the only thing that may be holding it together

.

sonoran · #4 26th July 2009, 08:41 AM

I have a 1992 Volvo 740 Wagon that has averaged 26 mpg its entire life. Only has 106,000 miles on it and my mechanic tells me it ought to be good for 17 more years. Cost $22,000 in '92 and has never needed anything but routine maintenance. Every year the emissions testing inspectors make me go through twice because it still barely registers on their equipment. Eat your bankrupt heart out, Detroit.

RupertPupkin · #5 26th July 2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonoran

I have a 1992 Volvo 740 Wagon that has averaged 26 mpg its entire life. Only has 106,000 miles on it

Let's see...106k miles in 17 years comes out to an average of about 6235 miles per year. With usage that low (about half the average in the US, at most) , in a warm climate as I assume the "sonoran desert" is, it's not all that surprising that your car has held up so well. I have a friend in Tucson who still drives his 1993 Ford Escort.

Try driving your car 40 miles a day five days a week out here in the rust belt, with the harsh winters, salt on the roads, potholes the size of a kitchen table, and roads in generally atrocious condition, then I'll be impressed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonoran

Eat your bankrupt heart out, Detroit.

Heh, yeah the US auto industry blew it, but every auto company in the world has been hit hard. Volvo's sales plummeted 18% last year. You do know that Volvo is 100% owned by Ford, right?

***Dan*** · #6 26th July 2009, 10:11 PM

Hmmm.

Ya think they'll give me anything for this?

PabloTwo · #7 26th July 2009, 10:17 PM

My 1985 1 ton Toyota pickup truck with 258k miles on it now doesn't qualify either. It's still 1 year under the 25 year old limit, but it's gas mileage isn't "guzzly" enough.

citojaso · #8 26th July 2009, 11:07 PM

You can't blame detroit for giving the american public what they wanted, ie. big, big cars. If the american auto companies built government cars we would all carry a big wind-up key and by-pass all gas stations.

My 82 Ford f100 (only option being an am radio) is too old. Besides, i just got antique tags a few months ago and they are good for life. ;-)

sonoran · #9 26th July 2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

Let's see...106k miles in 17 years comes out to an average of about 6235 miles per year. With usage that low (about half the average in the US, at most) , in a warm climate as I assume the "sonoran desert" is, it's not all that surprising that your car has held up so well. I have a friend in Tucson who still drives his 1993 Ford Escort.

Warm, yeah. 109 at the moment, and the humidity is up to 18%, which makes it a bit uncomfortable. But our monsoon season is almost over and the humidity will drop back down to 4-6% where even 110 or 115 is not so bad.
It was my mother's car until I inherited it a few years ago. And you're right about the climate, things last forever out here if they're well made to begin with. That's why they mothball old jets outside of Tucson.

Quote:

Try driving your car 40 miles a day five days a week out here in the rust belt, with the harsh winters, salt on the roads, potholes the size of a kitchen table, and roads in generally atrocious condition, then I'll be impressed.

Why would I want to do that?

Roads here are not much better, though. The fact that we hardly ever get freezing temperatures means they can get away with much shoddier construction and they deteriorate pretty quickly.

Quote:

Heh, yeah the US auto industry blew it, but every auto company in the world has been hit hard. Volvo's sales plummeted 18% last year. You do know that Volvo is 100% owned by Ford, right?

Indeed. They ain't what they used to be. The new ones are undersized, overpriced, and full of Ford parts.

kona0197 · #10 27th July 2009, 02:20 AM

At least out of the big three American auto makers Ford didn't claim bankruptcy.

***Dan*** · #11 27th July 2009, 03:49 AM

Before this whole thing is over, Kona ... we may all be following your example ... and riding bicycles!

<..

..>

kona0197 · #12 27th July 2009, 03:54 AM

I don't ride much this time of year. I can't stand the heat at all. I tried riding to take care of a errand the other day but karma got me and I suffered a flat. Just fixed it Saturday night. Perhaps I will try a early morning ride tomorrow as to avoid the heat.

shess01 · #13 27th July 2009, 04:01 AM

My 1997 F250HD definitely qualifies. I have been doing all that I can to nudge the gas mileage over 12mpg. The 5.8L V8 has 294,000 miles on it and acts like it could go another 300k easy. Definitely good for "haulin' stuff".

Where it does not qualify is that I have only had the truck for about 2 months.

The real questions is "would I trade it in" ? The real answer is NO WAY. ;-) Not in Texas. That's not the way we roll.

kona0197 · #14 27th July 2009, 04:15 AM

I wonder how many miles I have on mine. At a guess over 300k. My late Uncle has a old Ford Ranger. I think he put close to a million miles on that truck. He had it since he was in High School.

rpstitz · #15 27th July 2009, 04:38 AM

I know a dealer (used car) that has a Ford F150 (late 70-ish) that has over 750k documented miles (the thing doesn't have enough digits to show this, but he has the records of every oil change for the life of the truck) and it's a one-owner vehicle...the dealer says the truck isn't for sale because he's afraid it might die soon, but he uses it to run errands for the dealership...they don't make them like that any more. The truck actually looks pretty good...it's blue with the white center side-panels and not much rust. I don't really have a point, I'm just bored I guess...