Dealership group keeps its own version of Cash for Clunkers going

Auto Stimulus Plan

As the clash-for-clunkers program comes to an end, a group of 73 auto dealerships institutes its own program. Autostimulusplan.com offers incentives ranging between $500 and $4,500 for used and new cars, and will end on Nov. 1.

“It is time for the private sector to pick up the baton,” Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Acura in New York, told Automotive News. “Clearly the clunkers program was needed to jump-start the automobile industry. Now it is time for the dealers to drive it.”

Less stringent than the government run program, the dealer’s program has three main qualifying conditions; the dealers require that the vehicle being traded;

“¢ Is older than the 2006 model year.
“¢ Is in working condition.
“¢ Has been owned and registered for at least six months.

“The dealer program gives buyers a maximum of $4,500 based on a credit above the average trade-in value set by the NADA Official Used Car Guide,” says Automotive News.

The credit is based on the miles per gallon of the replacement vehicle. For example, the trade-in bonus for a replacement vehicle that gets 2 mpg better is 10 percent and that increases up to 20 percent for a replacement vehicle with 5 mpg better fuel economy.

– By: Stephen Calogera