SUN Staff Report
8/13/09
Based on the response Española’s Henry Valencia Motor Company has gotten to the federal government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program, general manager Ted Cover isn’t sure the federal government will be able to keep up with the demand.
As the only new car franchise in town, Valencia Motors is seeing more than a respectable volume of deals, Cover said.
“Our response has been very good,” he said. “I’d almost say too good for the amount of money the government has set aside for it.”
Last week alone, Valencia Motors made between 10 and 15 deals for old cars, equaling around $60,000 paid out in trade-in vouchers. This is pretty typical of the volume he has seen since the program began July 25, Cover said.
The “Cash for Clunkers” program is part of a bill passed last month by Congress to encourage new car sales and decrease the number of older cars with poor gas mileage on the road. Within the restrictions set by the bill, customers can trade in their old cars, or clunkers, and be given a voucher of up to $4,500 toward a new car.
Cars eligible for the federal vouchers must be model year 1984 or older, have combined EPA mileage ratings of no more than 18 miles per gallon and must be drivable. Those seeking to trade in a clunker must have owned the car for at least a year, and the car must have been insured and registered continuously during the past year.
The government originally set aside $1 billion for the program, but went through the money so quickly that the allotment has been increased to $3 billion. With that money, the program is expected to last through September 2009.