Customers who trade in their  clunkers might just walk away from a Chrysler dealership paying to to about $10,000 less than usual for a new vehicle with the help of trade-in deals and rebates.

President Barack Obama set aside $1 dollars for a “cash for clunkers” program that would give anyone who returns their old, fuel-inefficient cars about $3,500 to $4,500, allowing the program to run for at least a few months.

“This is focused on less fuel-efficient cars,” said Ralph Mahalak Jr., co-owner and sales director at the Monroe Chrysler Dodge-Jeep SuperStore. “You turn in your old ‘93 Dodge pick-up truck and turn it into me and we sell it to a scrap yard. They’re going to scrap it, so we take less fuel-efficient vehicles out of the market place; so it will be better for the environment.”

Mahalak Jr. said that he speculates the billion-dollar budget will run out within the next few weeks.

With an average of $4,000 given for every “clunker,” only about 250,000 people could take advantage of the deal, he said. He already has 10 people at his store who have signed up for cash for clunkers, he said.

“If every store is like my store, the program will be over in a matter of days,” he said. “Customers better do this sooner rather than later if they want to be one of the first 250,000 nationally. It’s a game of musical chairs, and right now you really don’t want to be left without a chair when the music stops.”

Until July 31, customers can also get a $3,500 to $5,500 rebate at Mahalak’s store or any Chrysler dealership, with a lifetime unlimited mileage warranty, without any down payment, he said. Everyone is eligible for this, even if they don’t turn in a clunker.

“It’s going to be wild credits,” Mahalak Jr. said.

Tags: car sales, Chrysler, Monroe Dodge

This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Wheels.
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