REPORT: All those clunkers messed up with no where to go
We found out which vehicles were the most popular "green" clunkers in the Car Allowance Rebate System that ran its course earlier this fall, but it won't take much sleuthing to discover where all these clunkers have ended up. According to the AP, the disabled SUVs, minivans and trucks (mostly) are still sitting on scrap lots around the country. One recycler in Minnesota has acres crammed with 4,000 cars and can only dismantle about 100 cars a week. This is a problem, because all of the clunkers are supposed to be recycled and dealt with within six months of when they were turned in for the rebate that was worth up to $4,500. The American Recyclers Association said before the program ended that the clunkers would be recycled "according to the rules set forth under the CARS program to achieve the highest of environmental standards. With protecting the environment being a major component in this legislation, recycling these vehicles is the next logical step." The ARA is now asking for more time to properly recycle the vehicles. Sounds reasonable, no?
[Source: AP]
Photo by dno1967. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ghen 8:08AM (10/26/2009)
Might sound reasonable yes, but look at what they did to the dealerships. We were allowed to make deals up to the deadline, but the paperwork had to be done and sent to the government the same day?? Heck, I would have been happy with an extra 2 days for paperwork. Instead, we had to shut off the CARS program at our business 2 days early to avoid the problem I'm sure hundreds of others had.
And then they wonder why 95% of the paperwork that was sent in has problems and needs to be resubmitted.
Well I'm not bitter, so I hope they do give more time to the salvage yards. They're even less equipped than your average dealer to actually handle a deadline. That kind of business is completely foreign to them.
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nrb 12:38PM (10/26/2009)
Your dealership didn't get the memo then. You had several days (I don't remember exactly how many, but it was at least a week) after the end of the program to submit the paperwork.
Having said that, there was no shortage of confusion, so it really is possible that your dealership didn't get the memo.
Ghen 8:08AM (10/27/2009)
Quite possible for sure!
Knuckles 10:29AM (10/26/2009)
I wonder how green this deal really was. I pass by a recycle yard occasionally and the clunkers are parked side by side in rows 1/4 mile long and 15 rows deep. Hoods are up, parts have been salvaged, and they're leaking anti-freeze, trans and engine oil, brake fluid etc. Nice additions to the ground water.
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Woodenbee 10:45AM (10/26/2009)
I thought all the fluids were drained at the dealership no?
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ebow 11:30AM (10/26/2009)
Salvaging every last useful part before chopping them up for scrap to recycle sounds the most reasonable to me. It's reduce, reuse, recycle in that order.
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Phil L. 1:57PM (10/26/2009)
I agree.
But that's not what CARS was about. It was primarily an economic incentive program. It called for destroying the vehicle's engine (using a sodium silicate solution; so the motor oil was taken out, but someone still needs to cleans up the sodium silicate) before it went to the scrapyard. You say goodbye to much of the "reuse" portion of the useful engine parts when the internals are junk.
Julius 10:46AM (10/27/2009)
I agree also - though there are ALOT of parts available for a car outside of the engine. The majority of the time I'm scavenging from scrapyards, I'm NOT looking for engine parts.
I'm all for letting the scrapyards taking the time to salvage these parts. We may have done a disservice to the less-financially-well-off by removing serviceable vehicles from the road - we shouldn't force those who may still own those vehicles into more expensive NOS or repro parts.