Why Some Sold Cars Are Still Sitting at the Dealer

About a month ago the president signed the cash for clunkers bill into law. It's designed to give drivers a financial incentive, up to $4,500 to get rid of their older cars for more fuel efficient ones. We told you about the details in a previous Fact Finder Report. The program has gotten a lot of attention and sparked a lot of interest, but there's been a delay in getting things rolling.

A viewer wanted to know what's the hold up and where do things stand now?

The answer is tonight's Fact Finder Report.

If you look around the lot at Bill Marsh Hyundai in Traverse City you see more than a dozen green sold signs. But the cars are still sitting here and not in their new owners' driveways.

Bill Marsh Jr. says, "The Program hasn't been finalized. The details of the program have been put out by the federal government but they have not completely finalized all of the stipulations and regulations so we're waiting for that to happen."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is implementing the program which it now calls the "Car Allowance Rebate System." Organizers were given 30 days after the bill was signed into law to hammer out the details on regulations and implementation. But the program technically runs from July 1st through November 1st. So vehicles purchased since the beginning of July could qualify for the rebate. And some dealerships are counting on it.

Marsh says, "It's working very well. So far we've taken about 15 advance orders on vehicles."

While that's good news for Hyundai, it's a little harder to do across town at Bill Marsh's other dealership.

Marsh says, "we're a little tight on inventory with general motors plants having been closed for a couple of months. We're anticipating quite a few more vehicles coming in. This program is scheduled to run until November so we'll have plenty of vehicles by the end of August."

In the meantime car owners have a lot of questions. Not only about if their car qualifies, but how the program works. Some important things to keep in mind: You do not need a voucher and you do not have to register anywhere, the dealer will take care of that and put the credit toward your new car. And the program is in addition to any dealer incentives.

And while they are waiting for the program to officially take off, some dealerships are using the time to get customers up to speed.

Marsh says, "we set up an 800 number a hotline here in our dealerships for that reason because people have a lot of questions."Does my car qualify, of so how much does it qualify for, that sort of thing. So people can call in and talk to a customer advocate and get all of the answers they're looking for."

I talked with a spokesperson for the Car Allowance Rebate System, or what we used to call Cash for Clunkers. When I asked about the delay he said they don't consider it a delay. Even though the program was supposed to start July 1st. He said they were given 30 days after the President signed it to work out the details on how to implement it. The President signed in June 26th and they plan to have the details finalized by tomorrow, July 24th. I asked if there were any plans to extend the program past the original November 1st deadline to make up for the lag. He said no.

So what do you think about this? Leave your comments below.

Click here to go to the government's official C.A.R.S. website.

If you want to call the Bill Marsh Automotive hotline dial 1-800-59-MARSH during business hours.