Cash for Clunkers Causes Low Inventory, Vouchers Proposed to Allow Buyers to Receive Car Later

The cash for clunkers rebate program has had a huge response from consumers. Congress even had to add $2 billion more to the program to keep it going, as it ran out of the initial $1 billion in the first week.

One of the problems dealers are having now is that some are out of the vehicles that qualify to be purchased through the government program. Dealers previously said they had too much inventory on their lots they couldn’t sell.

Now in its fourth week, the government is considering a proposal for a voucher program that would let consumers take delivery later of new cars that are unavailable now, USA Today reports.

Import vehicles sit in a lot, waiting to go to dealer lots. Now dealers say they are experiencing a shortage of inventory due to the cash for clunkers program.

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., and Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., sent a letter to Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, asking him to consider allowing car shoppers to use vouchers to order cars from auto manufacturers, finalizing the sale after the car arrives.

Miller says she’s heard from many dealers in her district who say they’re out of cars that qualify and that it could be weeks or more than a month before they receive a shipment of new cars.

There are many groups who say they are being left out of the cash for clunkers program and that it is hurting them. Used car dealers, charities that take vehicle donations, mechanics and automotive parts companies are all being affected by the CARS program.