Thanks for the lighter note! And yes we will just have to wait and see how this all ends up. I'm hopeful this will end with a glass of champagne in hand and all of our customers ecstatic with their purchases!

has anyone personally killed an engine? i recommend it highly, it reduces stress, and it's a freakin' blast!!!!

Deb - I guess we'll just have to wait for history to say what it was.

MADA has the same form, however there are still no gaurantees.
Political:
How does a bill designed to decrease emissions and "global warning" become toted as a most successful economic recovery plan? It was a fluke, no one in either branch thought this through and certainly no one expected this kind of response.
The failure of the program is dependent on the amount of money left, not the democrats, republicans or Obama for that matter.

Well, this takes so much heat off of me. i am so sick of customers telling me that they would have their cars in "2 or 3 days" according to their salesperson. I've been the bearer of bad tidings all week, and I know it's going to hurt back end profits because I'm the bad guy. BUT NO MORE, I SAY

Jeff, hopefully consumers will learn and educate themselves that respectable Dealers follow the laws. Consumers will remember that in the future

well, doesn't this little snafu with contigiency forms create a little havoc wit hthe dealers that use them. this is AWESOME.

Hey 2 weeks...looks like they cannot do that to you, per the program. Read the FAQ on the cars.gov site...just posted today

It's my understanding that the "addendum statement for customers to sign that stated the dealer was not liable for the rebate money" – the customer is required to provide the dealer with a check for the CARS rebate which the dealer will cash until the govt money comes. NOTHING said about how the customer gets the CARS $$$ back. I'm buying NEW only because of the CARS program. I'm not writing another check.

Deb - I've got a pretty good understanding of what Dealer Refresh is about, and that statement wasn't political.

I know I come across as a hard-ass sometimes, but that is because I try to speak to the readership as a whole and whomever I am responding to.

I can tell you're very frustrated by the program and I feel for you. We can all help each other by posting our experiences (as dealers) but I get upset when I see customers not being treated fairly. The VADA (Virginia Automobile Dealers Association) provided VA dealers with addendum statements for customers to sign that stated the dealer was not liable for the rebate money - the customer is. With this contractual agreement VA dealers have been able to conduct sales as usual without taking away from the customer experience.

Now I'm going to get political: The original bill was for $10 Billion. It was proposed by the democrats who have a majority in each legislative house along with the executive branch. Other countries with less citizens have funded these same programs with more money. This is being toted as the most successful piece of the economic recovery plan yet and is 100% attributable to the democrats - do you really think they're going to let this thing back fire?

Because this program was completely voluntary for the dealership to participate, I agree with Alex.

This was posted today at the CARS.GOV consumer website :

We’ve also heard that dealers are asking consumers are asking consumers to keep their “clunker” until the deal is approved by NHTSA.

IF THE DEALER HAS THE NEW CAR IN STOCK, THE DEALER MUST ALLOW YOU TO TAKE POSSESSION OF THE NEW CAR BEFORE THE DEALER MAY SUBMIT THE CREDIT APPLICATION TO THE GOVERNMENT. PLEASE REPORT ANY DEALER TO NHTSA THAT DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE POSSESSION OF A NEW CAR PURCHASED UNDER THE CARS PROGRAM. PLEASE CALL THE CARS HOTLINE AT (866) CAR-7861.

@deb
and that's tough to do when the buyers are only aware of the fact that they are compliant with the program, and that this money was in danger of running out once, why not again? oh well, though. we wouldn't have the business without the program, and it sure is nice having something to do again....

Alex-
First and foremost this is not a political blog, I was only trying to convey the dealerships loss potential. The 3 billion dollars available doesn't mean anything unless it's paid out. Many consumers are only aware there has been more money allocated, not the fact that none of it has been gauranteed.
Consumers need to know - IT IS NOT THE DEALERSHIP - creating the havoc. We are trying to do business and keep our customers loyalty and trust.

@ Alex Snyder - VERY well said Alex. I was surprised at how clear the government language was too! If you don't feel comfortable doing the deals, then do not participate. It is only fair for everyone involved in this game. Very well said!

Deb - the rules are actually some of the most clearly defined pieces of government language I've ever read. Some things have been amended, but they've remained fairly constant since July 29th. And I have to say that for the short amount of time the NHTSA has had to put this together they've actually done a fairly decent job.

It is purely American to lash out against the government (that's what made us America in the first place), but our government doesn't do everything wrong. Yes, the CARS Program has been hell for all of us. The fact that only a few have seen a dime is disheartening. But this is all the cost of doing business under the program. If you can't stomach the costs, then don't do the program - it is really that simple.

14 days of mystery. I feel like charlie and when I get that golden ticket, i'm goin' to that chocolate factory, grabbing as many ever-lasting gobstoppers I can. Oh yeah, I'll sell'em to Slugworth...he pays up front, with no attachments necessary.

What rules? Not only was it tough to get the rules from NHTSA at the beginning, but they've changed so many times since the inception of this horror story it's impossible to keep up. I don't blame dealers for not delivering their new vehicles until the money is assured and I do feel bad for the consumer, but our hands are tied by the government. Perhaps some of us don't have the confidence in our government's promises as others do.
As a foot note: It has nothing to do with "floating the cash" it has everything to do with getting the cash.

I cannot vouch for other dealers, but I can tell you that we and none of our competitors are making customers wait to take delivery of their cars under this program. It sounds like these dealerships being mentioned here are either paranoid or don't have the cash to float any deals - either way, they shouldn't be participating in the program.

I think the NHTSA would be quite upset to hear about some of the practices I'm hearing. There are extremely stiff repercussions for those who don't play by the rules.

Dealers who don't play by the rules piss me off because they hurt our entire industry's reputation (and I'm not just talking about the CARS Program here).

Same here, we bought a car on 7/24 and dealer submitted CARS paperwork on 7/29 -- still waiting on the new car too. Really frustrated with the slow paperwork. Wish there was a way to check status besides calling the dealer every other day.

We waited for our dealer to sign up for CARS on 7/24. He submitted our deal on 7-28. Two weeks later we are still waiting to take delivery of the new car. Dealer says the deal is still under review by govt. We can pick up the new car if we write him a check for the CARS voucher amount. Govt sure didn't think this thru

I finally got through by way of the consumer help line. It's good to know the folks that are getting the discounts are well taken care of, while the dealers hang out to dry. But, I spoke with a very nice person who, after pleading a little, tranferred me to a live dealer support person who, told me to expect delays. Thank you so much for that tidbit....
However, at least i know (or do I) that 13 days under review is not uncommon. It will be fun telling my boss that after two weeks they couldn't read the registration date, or something fun like that.

Wow! I now feel for my dealer (somewhat). My Dealer has cashed both my $500 deposit check AND the check we gave from our bank. We financed through our own institution. He has been paid in full according to the purchase order. We signed everything on 7/31 including signing over the title of our Jeep. I still don't have my 09 Altima. I believe this car should be mine and the dealer can wait for the Feds. I see the point that he potentially stands to lose a lot if even half of his deals fall through - but - maybe he stands to lose more if each and everyone of us walks away completely from the deals. Put the plates back on it and give me my Jeep back and give me a check along with the interest I've accrued and the deal is off. It's a lot to gamble. I just want my new car:-(

Yes we get through after redialing several times. Hang up and hit redial. They aren't much help though. They can't "look" at any of them. I've had 6 rejections and each of them for different reasons even though one of the reasons(not writing junk automobile, cars.gov on the back of the title page). I didn't do that on any of them but I've only had one of the 6 rejected because of it. I cant make any sense of it. I've had no approvals and I sent them about the same time.

I have had 15 submissions since 7/29 and all are still under review. we stopped delivering cars as a result and have had two deals cancel as a result. Is anyone having any luck getting through on the hotline?

The reject codes can be found at the following link :