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If you are wondering how to get started with the Cash for Clunkers program, our checklist may be able to jump start your success.

The official website for CARS rules is www.cars.gov and our checklist advises consymers to use the information on the NHTSA to confirm that your clunker qualifies.

Download our Cash for Clunkers Consumer Checklist by clicking on the graphic on the right.  We have created an Adoble PDF to make it easy to print on your computer.

Our Cash for Clunkers Checklist was designed to save consumers time in qualifying for the CARS program as well as submitting their purchase for reimbursement at a local new car dealer.

If you would like a local dealer to contact you about your clunker trade-in, you can complete the form on the left or call any local new car dealer in your area.

Understandably, there are many source of information on the program that may appear to be in conflict. Consumers also do not want to believe that they cannot participate in CARS for small lapses in insurance or registration.

Many consumers have told us stories that due to layoffs or financial stress, their clunkers were taken off insurance for a few months or a late bill cause a lapse in their clunker registration. Unfortunately, these requirements are not flexible under current NHTSA rules.

If consumers want to change the rules, we encourage you to voice your vote by signing the Cash for Clunker Petition at www.nocashforclunkers.com

Cash for Clunkers Consumer Checklist

If you don’t have a printer, we have include the contents of the PDF checklist below:

We have created a consumer checklist that dealers and consumers can use to make sure that if you want to particapte in the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) that you have all the documentation you need to qualify. You can click on the icon on the right, or cick here, to download this form and print it out for your personal checklit.

Please gather the documents listed below before you go to your local dealer.

Be prepared with your clunker information to ensure that you have a smooth transaction.

Better Organization = Smoother Submissions

Before you call or visit a local new car dealer, understand these non-negotiable requirements:

• If you cannot show continuous insurance and registration for 12 months, you will not qualify.
• If you are the new car purchaser, your name must be on the title of the clunker
• If you have a lien on your clunker, you will not qualify.
• If your clunker is not qualified on www.cars.gov , you cannot qualify regardless of your actual mpg.
• You must be able to drive the clunker to the dealership.
• If your car is not listed on www.cars.gov a dealer will not be able to process your sale.

CARS Document Checklist

Please bring these five documents into the dealership when you are ready to place an order for a new car under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program. Check www.cars.gov for official program updates before you go to a local dealer.

1. A valid driver’s license.
2. A clear title in your name or jointly owned with your name included. If you recently paid off a lien, you should bring your lien release letter or the previous title that is stamped paid.
3. Proof of continuous insurance for the past 12 months. Documents to bring can include:
   1. A declaration page from your insurance policy showing dates of coverage.
   2. Insurance cards that cover the last 12 months
   3. A letter from your insurance company certifying continuous insurance
4. Proof of continuous registration. Documents to help prove this include:
   1. Registration cards that cover the last 12 months
   2. Experian registration search report (dealer can run this report)
5. A print-out of the www.FuelEconomy.gov website page that shows that your clunker qualifies. This will save you time from assuming that your car currently qualifies.

Consumers writing to www.cashforclunkersfacts.com are reporting that the NHTSA website (www.fueleconomy.gov) designed to provide mpg guidelines for the Cash for Clunkers program is flawed.

FuelEconomy.gov is being used by the NHTSA to qualify vehicles for the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).  Official instructions for the CARS program tell consumers that this website is the sole basis for qualification.

But consumers are wary since data is changing.

Consumers are writing to us to document that vehicles that qualified as recently as a week ago are now disqualified.

Dozens of consumer compliants are being reported so this does not seem to be an isolated incident.  If this is true, this could undermine the entire qualification process.

Arbitrarily changing data would create even more confusion about the controversial CARS program. The changing data would also create a liability for car dealers making deals based on this data. That would be devastating for car dealers caught in the middle of a data change.

Consumers Are Confused

Writing on www.cashforclunkersfacts.com a consumer said ” My car a 1991 Lexus ES250 V6 automatic was checked by the dealer with 18 mpg combined last Monday using the fueleconomy.gov. Based on that a new car was ordered. Today using the NHTSA Updates Fuel Economy Website for CARS the combined mpg has been changed to 19 mpg combined. The combined mpg number at the fueleconomy.gov also changed to 19 mpg combined.”

Scott shared his frustration: “I went to Fueleconomy.gov again to look up my 1991 Camry v6 automatic. If you look up the original old window sticker mpg numbers (18/24) and then use the converter they have on the site to update the pre-2008 MPG numbers to the new 2008 calculations you will get (16/22) which is not what the CARS calculator is showing. 16/22 is what fueleconomy.gov had listed up to July 24th which allowed me to Qualify for the money. As of July 24th the numbers 16/23. I hope they fix this”

Bob added “I had my 93 Camry wagon V6 auto. go from qualifying at 18 mpg combined Thurs. July 23, to not qualifying Sat. July 25. We found this out as we filled out paperwork at the dealer for the purchase of a new 09 Pontiac Vibe. What gives?”

Jim explained how data changes cost him $1,000: ” My clunker’s mileage also increased. Yesterday it was 17 mpg and today it’s 18! (Its a 1997 Mercury Villager.) I still qualify, but the deal I made last week will now only net me $3,500, not the $4,500 I’d budgeted. If I had known last week, I’d have chosen a different new car with one extra mpg!”

Based on these consumer complaints, we hope that the NHTSA comes out with some damage control information to give consumers and dealers confidence that the website can be trusted.

Document Your Research

We advise that once you have verified your car on www.fueleconomy.gov , that you print out the page before you go to the dealership. For dealers, make sure you print a copy of the list and date and time stamp it. This will assist you in case after you make the trade, the mpg number change and the website does not show the car as qualifying anymore.

If you have had a similar experience, share your specific data below.

We have the final rules for the NHTSA Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) in hand and we will continue to post our consumer comments and analysis.

To read commentary:  Click Here

Here is the 136 Page NHTSA Document: Cash for Clunkers FINAL RULES

Many questions remain unanswered.  The final rules may resolve some of the questions that consumers have raised.

Cash For Clunkers Rulings

We are hoping that the published document on the official NHTSA CARS website (www.cars.gov ) will answer some of these questions:

1. What do consumers do when their car is not listed on http://fueleconomy.gov?

2. Will cars with outstanding loans (liens) be able to be traded in for a CARS credit?

3. What procedures will be put in place to ensure that cars are not resold?

4. Will clunker owners that had short lapses in insurance or registration do to unforeseen circumstances be allowed to participate?

5. Will parents by able to pass their clunker credit to their children?

6. What paperwork will qualify as proof of continuous insurance and registration?

7. Will consumers get any part of the cash that dealers will receive from the salvage yard?

8. Will dealers be taxed for the CARS government credit as income?