Is Cash for Clunkers going to damage used parts supply?

[EasyRhino]

Planned on keeping my Ex for quite a while. I saw where Explorers were one of the top ten trades for C4C. I hope this does not make the spare parts availability dry up.

 

[Curtis]

The way I understood it is that the vehicles will be sold off as parts.
Its the engine/drivetrain that cannot be sold and that's why dealers run it dry of oil with a "liquid glass" solution to seize the motor..

From the C.A.R.S website
http://www.cars.gov/faq#category-14

What happens to the vehicle I trade in?

The CARS Act requires that the trade-in vehicle be crushed or shredded so that it will not be resold for use in the United States or elsewhere as an automobile. The entity crushing or shredding the vehicles in this manner will be allowed to sell some parts of the vehicle prior to crushing or shredding it, but these parts cannot include the engine or the drive train.

So its probably just the opposite.. there may be an abundance of Explorer parts!

 

[Maniak]

Thats what I thought, until I saw they they didn't "have to" pull parts. They must be crushed, but parts may be removed first, as long as it isn't engine/transmission/drivetrain... many dealers are crushing them right there for the spectacle of it.

As for drying up used parts supply.. I don't think its going to be any worse than what happened when steel prices went high.. Most junk yards around here were crushing the vehicles to sell them as scrap as they could make more money off them that way..

Yards that had 10-15 vans, a bunch of Explorers and many trucks are now down to, if your lucky, 1 vehicle of what your looking for..

~Mark

 

[misconceived]

I doubt there will be any part supply problems seeing how the program already ran out of money.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Wrong- Congress just spent $2 billion dollars more of your money to revive it until Labor Day.

Every CFC car in West Michigan is being crushed- none are being salvaged, junkyards don't want them- they make money on drivetrain, they're better off buying wrecks from auctions. Just the observation from WM and our towtruck companies/scrap yards.

 

[Cobra2top]

Just watch the news, all of the ones on TV are being flattened and piled up to be shreaded into scrap. I have yet to see one being picked apart for it's parts. Only one which was a nice looking Pathfinder had it's radio cut out before being flattened.

 

[thepotroast]

3rd gen explorers aren't in the "cash for clunkers" program, they are too new. So used parts from 3rd gens shouldn't be affected by the program anyway. The explorers you are seeing be traded in under the program are early to late 90's.

 

[pa944red]

3rd gen explorers aren't in the "cash for clunkers" program, they are too new. So used parts from 3rd gens shouldn't be affected by the program anyway. The explorers you are seeing be traded in under the program are early to late 90's.

FYI, I know it is a minor detail but my 2002, 3rd Gen Exploder is on the list.

Tom

 

[briwayjones]

Parts won't be affected. I mean what if they didn't have the CFC program and all of those Explorers that are being crushed were still on the road and just slowly trickling into the salvage market one here and one there? It wouldn't be any different than what's going on now. Plus there are so many Explorers I don't think it'll make a difference.

 

[clarks2001]

I was watching CNN and saw a nice Jeep Cherokee being traded in, if they seize the engine and transmission (if they do the transmission) can you just buy the shell, then find a used engine and transmission from a vehicle that got rear ended or something, drop it into the C4C shell and have it back on the road? or do they flag the VIN on C4C's so they are not able to be registered thru the DMV

 

[BrooklynBay]

They don't want it back on the road, so it's only good for scrap. Some vehicles have salvage titles on wrecks, but I don't know if that will apply to a vehicle from this program since the whole purpose of destroying it is to take it off the road.

 

[Thelt]

They are going to crush the cars traded in. I doubt it will take out that many third gen explorers though. Most of them are worth more than the $4500s. I looked at trading mine in and it did qualify but I did not do it.

It is kind of a shame to crush so many road worthy cars. The whole "reduces, REUSE, recycle" thing seems lost on the government. Dave Ramsey said it was subsidizing stupidity. A lot of people drive cars worth $2,000 because that is all they can afford. Now the government is subsidizing them to take on a $20,000 (or more) loan for a car.

If you were looking to buy a new car anyway though it is a great deal.

 

[Cobra2top]

A lot of people drive cars worth $2,000 because that is all they can afford. Now the government is subsidizing them to take on a $20,000 (or more) loan for a car.

If you were looking to buy a new car anyway though it is a great deal.

I bet that next year this time there will be alot of "foreclosed" cars, people like the current housing condition in cars they really could not afford. I wonder if they will get a bailout or have congress force the car loan companies to re-negotiate the terms to keep them in their cars like they have done with housing!

 

[james t]

A good friend of mine is a mechanic at our local Toyota dealership.

They have (IIRC) about 60 vehicles there now under the CFC deal, 6 of them are explorers with one '02 V6 model. From what he's said they are holding them as they havent received any money for them yet. Once money comes in, they will be crushed- yes the vehicle itself can be sent to a salvage yard but the fact is no one is doing it- 99% of these rides are getting turned into cubes.

Excuse the following, but i must be vague...

There are some guys at dealerships, um, "trading" bad parts for good parts on these vehicles. I dont want to get into specifics but use your imagination. I do not condone or support these activities, but i will admit that it does tickle the repressed anarchist i have inside of me. :

 

[Cobra2top]

A good friend of mine is a mechanic at our local Toyota dealership.

I'm all for a good deal but I read that 4 of the top 5 cars sold under the CARS program are imports!! How does that make sense? You would thing they would put the $3 billion only towards cars made here.

 

[Thelt]

I'm all for a good deal but I read that 4 of the top 5 cars sold under the CARS program are imports!! How does that make sense? You would thing they would put the $3 billion only towards cars made here.

Lots of imports are made here. I saw that the Escape was the top car.

 

[Joe Dirt]

CLICK ME

This is what's happening to them, no matter what the media and the administration is saying about "recycling"

And hey- you'll dig the car they crush in the video too!

 

[briwayjones]

And hey- you'll dig the car they crush in the video too!

That's not funny.

 

[alexk]

Actually 1 2003 explorer is eligible, a 4.0 RWD 5A.

Joe that video was just as bad as a video of drowning kittens.

When I looked at an explorer at a chrysler dealer they tried to have me CFC my explorer for a new PT Crusier or Sebring. "Sadly" mine didnt qualify because I bought it in February. Darn. I told them you would have to crush me inside before I would be caught dead driving a PT Cruiser.

 

[TheJackal]

Cash for Clunkers will not only dry up the used parts market, but the used car market as well.

We really were delt a bad deal when this passed. All in the name of Big Business, of course!