Consumers Send NHTSA Their Cash for Clunkers Message
If you have a message to send to the NHTSA, you can call them directly at 888-327-4236, visit their website,
(www.nhtsa.org), send then an email using this form (click here) or send them a letter.
If you want to send them a virtual message about the Cash for Clunker program, share it here. It won’t get to the NHTSA unless they are reading this blog but who know? 
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20 Responses to “Consumers Send NHTSA Their Cash for Clunkers Message”
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Was very happy to find this website.I would like to thank you for this very good read!! I obviously enjoying every little bit of it and I have bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
Thank you so much, there aren’t enough posts on this… or at least i cant find them. I am turning into such a blog nut, I just cant get enough and this is such an important topic… i’ll be sure to write something about your site
Is there a way to Track, or find out If your Dealer has even sent in the paperwork?
@Bob Jonez
goto nmvtis.gov or add123.com. Under the law the salvor and auction(if involved) must submit the clunker to nmvtis within 7 days of obtaining the vehicle. You may have to scope your car out at the dealer until it is disposed of, but once you see it gone, wait around a week and search it in NMVTIS, that will tell you for sure if they tried pulling a fast one, this can also be used as a tool to double check on dealers claiming deals were rejected/not approved. If it was submitted to NMVTIS, it was scrapped.
@joe,
waltz into the dealer and remind them that the law states anything they collect over $50 in scrap value is to be negotiated (per the law), between you (the buyer) and them the seller. In my experience so far in this, MOST dealers have used the ‘clunkers’ as an extra revenue generator for themselves. Mention ‘class action suit’, that will get their attention. YOU ARE ENTITLED to that extra money, so go grab it from their grubby hands. They made their money on the sale of that new vehicle, they should be happy at that point, but greed does set in….
I feel the same way Anne,
I was in contract with my dealer the day the program started.
Im in limbo
Day 34 and still waiting for my dealer to call me to say I was “approved”. No answers from DOT, NHTSA, CARS Hotline, Senators, Dealer, Attorney General or Wisconsin Auto Dealers Association. I have no idea if my paperwork was rejected, processed, in process, rejected then in process, etc. My dealer said that of 130 “applications” that were sent in to gov only 14 have been approved! And…the approved applications are the most recent that were submitted. What about “approving” applications by date sent, starting with the earliest?!
I purchased my car over 16 days ago and was told by the dealer that it would take 7-10 days to hear back on the approval. We are still waiting. When we called the dealer (again) today he said that some people have been waiting over a month to hear the approval. If it’s going to take that long then shouldn’t the government not be telling people it’s going to take 7-10 days to get approval?
This just has been a very delayed process (again, a perfect example of what happens when the governments red tape gets involved).
Is there a way to see If your Dealer even filed?
Mine told me not to worry,, , I dont trust them at all
We never got any scrap value for our clunker. What to do?
D.O.T – please speed up the reimbursement process! If the govt. offers an incentive such as this, there should have been no way to squeeze the consumer in the middle. BUT, our new car is being held hostage and we are still driving the clunker.
My Dealer is holding my title hostage,,
He made me sign forms an do a bunch of shady stuff.
Now my temp registration is up, he wants me to pay , and he’ll re- imburse me when the gov pays him?????
I was one of the first deals he did.
How can I check If he even filed?
I agree with Indy and here’s why……..
The dealer I purchased a new car from last weekend shut down the Cash for clunkers program 2 days early because they were afraid they would not be able to process the required paperwork in time for reimbursement (government website kept crashing). He also called around to local dealers in the area to see if anyone else was still offering the C4C deal. He reported back to me that he could not find anyone in the area still participating. The dealer offered to give me $500 in trade in value for my clunker, very generous for its condition. When I drove off the lot, I noticed one of the sales guys slapping a NOT FOR SALE sticker on the windshield of my trade in. It was the same sticker that I have seen in Cash for Clunkers ads. How can I check to see if my clunker was submitted into the Cash for Clunkers program behind my back, so the dealer could just keep the rebate?
Indy
You are right on target.
To the NHTSA-
How can we check that the dealer di in fact send inthepaperwork, Submitted deal on 8/6/09 and still waiting for my car
To the NHTSA (as if they will read this, HA!)
Because through various devices, like holding cars hostage, not finalizing sales, holding titles, contingency agreements and the like, numerous dealers have shifted the CARS credit burden to the consumer, with no way for the consumer to know for certain the status or ultimate outcome of the dealer’s re-imbursement application;
the consumer needs notification from NHTSA that a credit has been issued to a dealer for their clunker.
Please implement a mailed notification to the consumer letting them know that a credit, in what amount, was issued on what date.
This will protect the consumer from a variety of scams that could easily be perpetrated on them by the dealer, and would also add protection to the government from dealers that might try to double-dip the credit amount, collecting from both the government and the consumer. (Provide the consumer with a way to return a notice to NHTSA if the dealer represented to the consumer that they did not receive the credit or the credit amount they extended was not the same as that received by the dealer.)
Please do this so CARS consumers will not be in the dark and vulnerable.
Thank you.
The program was very disappointing. I waited for 6 days (8/14 – 8/20) for a Honda CRV that was supposedly “on its way” to the dealership, technically already in their inventory. My clunker was qualified, all paperwork had been sent to the dealer, they had my deposit and everything was ready to go. On 8/20 the dealer decided to pull out of the program, not honoring any transactions in process.
The wind-down of this program was poorly planned and executed. Many dealers are concerned they will not be reimbursed and may be out thousands of dollars. Customers were promised new vehicles that they will not receive. I think the NHSTA should offer $4500 vouchers to clunker owners that qualified and were waiting for vehicles that did not arrive in time to meet the deadline.
I want to know what action will be taken against these dealers that
have held cars for hostage and asked many of us to sign contingency
payments? (Joyce Honda In Denville New Jersey is guilty of both). Is it going to be a waste of time complaining or will something really be done?
I have a clunker, which I wanted to trade in under the program. Problem was that I won’t have owned the car for a year until September 10th 2009. Obviously the program ran out before that time. Since it is likely that anywhere between 20% and 50% of the transactions will be fraudulent in some way or another (my opinionated estimates). Will the program funds that would have gone to fraudulent transactions, be made available to those in my situation who could not take advantage of the program due to circumstances of time, ownership? Also will the government consider making this or some sort of incentive based recycling program more permanent? In my opinion, this sort of bum rush the dealers now! program attracts too many people who don’t really need the car or the discount, but join the fray for the sake of taking something away from someone else who may have actually needed the program, and more realistically benefited from it. Without the program, my gas guzzling clunker now remains on the road, and no dealer is even considering matching the kbb trade in value, if they are willing to take the car at all, meaning I am now stuck driving my highly uncomfortable clunker. With the entry-mid level job market being the way it is it is unlikely that I will be able to even afford a new more fuel efficient car for quite awhile, and because the program took many of the would be cheaper used cars off the road, my options for my next car have been limited by a reduction of 250,000 some odd choices.
jerry-nomics
I estimated last week, that it will take 18.5 business days from today August 24th before all cars transactions are looked at, making the day September 17th for those who are waiting with hostage cars at dealers. (Including DOT’s tripled up staff)
Adding in another 30 business days for resubmitting, October 30 **Its finally OVER!!!**
Is the average consumer willing to wait that long? Is that OK with DOT or does DOT have a better plan?