GREAT NEWS 92 W124 300D C.A.R.S DOES NOT QUALIFY! - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BodhiBenz1987 · #61 08-21-2009, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shindig

It can go on to a parts recycler, help other 124s out with its parts, and help my family get a new car at a very affordable price. The old 300E will always have a special place in my heart, though.

Hopefully. All the dealers around here are shuttling them straight to the jaws of death.

I can see just sending a car to the junkyard when its totally useless, but for $3,500? I've never destroyed anything with a special place in my heart for $3,500.

compu_85 · #62 08-21-2009, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

I've never destroyed anything with a special place in my heart for $3,500.

Some people (you and me both!) get very attached to their car or other project / item they invest a lot of time in. Some people don't. *shurgs*

-J

BodhiBenz1987 · #63 08-21-2009, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by compu_85

Some people (you and me both!) get very attached to their car or other project / item they invest a lot of time in. Some people don't. *shurgs*

-J

It's not even so much the thought of someone letting an old car go ... I mean, to be fair, all cars someday meet their end. It's the rush to turn them in this crass, indifferent program as though your old car is a coupon you scored in the Sunday paper or something.

Don't think the automakers have come very far if they couldn't sell a car without destroying something.

pawoSD · #64 08-21-2009, 11:48 PM

It won't make a long term difference. The automakers sold a bunch of small cars at a very low profit...big deal....and a lot of the people who bought them were probably going to buy them anyways over the next year or so....instead everyone bought them in one glut. Once the cars have all been delivered and sold....the sales will probably drop even further. And the process of this program took a ton of domestics off the road, and replaced them with Asian vehicles. I wonder what % of the vehicles bought through the program were even domestic....probably barely 30%.....the US automakers only had like what....5-6 models that even qualify between the lot of them?

babymog · #65 08-21-2009, 11:55 PM

I looked at a pretty much flawless '00 Discovery today that was "clunkered", several domestics around the same age +/- a year, many of them were already worth $3500 and in some cases would retail for more, but they were clunkered for $3500-$4500 and the dealers try to run these deals with minimum discounting, ... many of these people did worse than if they had traded in before the clunker program when the dealers were discounting deeply.

A sucker born every day.

I agree, many many imports sold, and many of the sales were people who were going to buy anyway but either waited or bought early, a blip on the economic spreadsheets when the year has passed and is tallied and only serves to show that "the economy is recovering" long enough for more speeches and rhetoric.

I'm mostly just happy that the Mercedes diesels aren't eligible and having their engines destroyed (precious few available/good 603s around as it is).

pawoSD · #66 08-22-2009, 12:05 AM

Here's a direct quote from an article I found on ABC.com, as was suspected:

ABC's Jonathan Karl reports from Washington:

The Cash for Clunkers program has been widely credited with boosting auto sales in July, but most of the sales boost is benefitting foreign car companies.

In fact, four of the top five cars bought through the program as of today have been Japanese cars. Here’s the top the five, according to the Department of Transportation:

1. Ford Focus
2. Toyota Corolla
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry

The Ford Escape is number six, followed by Hyundai Elantra, Dodge Caliber and the Honda Fit. The only car from General Motors to make the Top 10 list is the Chevrolet Cobalt, coming in at number 10.

I would have thought that VW would have had one on the list, but VW's are more pricey....I'm sure a lot were sold none the less....as well as other random Kias, Nissans, Smarts, etc...

pawoSD · #67 08-22-2009, 12:35 AM

Its these that are the crime....beautiful, running, non rusty CA SEC's....this one was in a news article about some various clunkers at a toyota lot. Who would trade in a nice SEC for a Toyota!

Insanity!

Looking at it and knowing they destroyed it actually makes me feel ill.

At least this terrible program ends Monday...and the killing will come to an end.

babymog · #68 08-22-2009, 12:41 AM

And since auto sales on sunday are illegal in Michigan, over after today here?

BodhiBenz1987 · #69 08-22-2009, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Its these that are the crime....beautiful, running, non rusty CA SEC's....this one was in a news article about some various clunkers at a toyota lot. Who would trade in a nice SEC for a Toyota!

Insanity!

Looking at it and knowing they destroyed it actually makes me feel ill.

At least this terrible program ends Monday...and the killing will come to an end.

I would have loved to intercept that clunker deal. Maybe the car's not worth $4,500 if it needs some work, but I think the overpayment would be worth the thrill of walking in front of the salesman and offering cash for the MB. The person could still buy a new car if they wanted, but not through that carpocalyse of a program.

Even when it comes to non-MBs, I still don't get the mentality. My dad has a 1993 Dodge Caravan that hasn't run in a while sitting in the driveway, very much a clunker but I'm sure I could get it running with some effort. I know it wouldn't qualify anyway due to its not being registered in the past year, but even if it was running, and I wanted a new car, I wouldn't bite. It's no classic; I don't have any huge sentimental attachment to it. But why? I'd donate it to charity and then go buy my new car on my own merit. If the van can be used by someone who needs it, it will. If it's too far gone for anyone, it will be sold by the charity to a parts yard or scrap yard, but at least its demise will turn into money for needy people.

If I cared so much about $3,500 as to destroy something that might be useful to someone less fortunate than I, then I think that would be a good sign that I don't have the money to buy a new car.

pawoSD · #70 08-22-2009, 03:34 AM

Actually the caravans don't all qualify, the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder and 3.0 liter v6 models are rated 19+ mpg....so no trade. Only the 3.3 and 3.8 liter newer vans qualify....

As for ending Saturday in MI I think it is Monday evening that it ends....

BodhiBenz1987 · #71 08-22-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Actually the caravans don't all qualify, the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder and 3.0 liter v6 models are rated 19+ mpg....so no trade. Only the 3.3 and 3.8 liter newer vans qualify....

As for ending Saturday in MI I think it is Monday evening that it ends....

Really? Nice to know our old van would have been safe anyway. It's not something I'd want to restore and drive personally, but it was one of the cars I learned to drive on, and I'd like to think someone could find a use for the ol' guy. It was a good kid-hauler and also great for piling high school friends in to get fast food after track practice.

The program ends at 8 p.m. Monday, not sure if that's EST or local time for each time zone.

babymog · #72 08-22-2009, 01:48 PM

Quite the contrary IMO. Many of us would rather donate something useful than destroy it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

If I cared so much about $3,500 as to destroy something that might be useful to someone less fortunate than I, then I think that would be a good sign that I don't have the money to buy a new car.

BodhiBenz1987 · #73 08-22-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymog

Quite the contrary IMO. Many of us would rather donate something useful than destroy it.

I know a lot us think that way, but the "success" of this program shows that a heck of a lot of people don't think like that. I grew up in a family where we almost never threw something away ... if we couldn't use it, it went to the good will, or a neighbor, or a garage sale. But there's a family that lives next to my dad's shop whose trash bin is constantly filled with toys, nice ones. Sometimes I really want to swipe the toys out of their trash, clean them up and take them to the good will or other charity. It doesn't take that much effort!

babymog · #74 08-22-2009, 07:45 PM

I think that the success of this program shows that there are plenty of people out there who are happy to take advantage of a tax-givaway program, and many of the same people who don't know that they're not even getting a good deal.

Brandon_SLC · #75 08-23-2009, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

I would have loved to intercept that clunker deal. Maybe the car's not worth $4,500 if it needs some work, but I think the overpayment would be worth the thrill of walking in front of the salesman and offering cash for the MB. The person could still buy a new car if they wanted, but not through that carpocalyse of a program.

Even when it comes to non-MBs, I still don't get the mentality. My dad has a 1993 Dodge Caravan that hasn't run in a while sitting in the driveway, very much a clunker but I'm sure I could get it running with some effort. I know it wouldn't qualify anyway due to its not being registered in the past year, but even if it was running, and I wanted a new car, I wouldn't bite. It's no classic; I don't have any huge sentimental attachment to it. But why? I'd donate it to charity and then go buy my new car on my own merit. If the van can be used by someone who needs it, it will. If it's too far gone for anyone, it will be sold by the charity to a parts yard or scrap yard, but at least its demise will turn into money for needy people.

If I cared so much about $3,500 as to destroy something that might be useful to someone less fortunate than I, then I think that would be a good sign that I don't have the money to buy a new car.

Many dealers would re-write the deal to get the $3500 - $4500 in cash than wait for the federal government to jack them around for weeks or months. The government was supposed to pay dealers within 10 days, but most have only been paid for a small fraction of the deals they made 3 weeks ago.

Anyways, if you see a nice car like that, that is worth more than the government grant, I would not be afraid to approach the dealer. (Assuming you catch it before the engine has been destroyed.)