Got a clunker?

[westcliffe01]

Duffster, I have kept track of the past couple of winters in WI and they have been brutal. I am not joking when I say that I have many people who work at my office who have showed me their heating bills running $350 - $500/month (on natural gas) in homes that cost upwards of $350k and were built within the last 5 years.

 

[Double Orange]

My loan doesn't cost you or any other taxpayer anything and the interest charges contribute towards gross domestic product, which is apparently what makes the wheels turn and keeps all of us in a job.

So if I wasn't going to pay for the car, what are you suggesting ? That we all steal cars in the future ?

And name calling is lowball.

You are an Idio..t
Don't bother replying I have myself on IGNORE

 

[westcliffe01]

Here enters the thorny issue of the "real" cost of fuel, including occupying foreign countries in order to secure supplies. You still think the big picture is just about the direct fuel cost ?

Your fuel savings doesn't return a dollar to the tax payer that paid the $4500.

Thats pretty simple math.

 

[westcliffe01]

Every vehicle as an asset is a dead loss. Every used vehicle starts as a new vehicle. The TDI is the first new car my wife has ever owned. We only have these things because we need them. Whether we need 6000lb gvw vehicles to pick the kids up at school or go grocery shopping is a different matter.

If any automaker is going to stay in business, people have to buy cars. So if people are going to buy cars, and if america today uses more fuel than it should be using, and if the people who own the oil are not nice guys (Saudi's, Russians, Chavez and others) the question is simply what you will buy next ?

Take your 15000. loan at current 10 yr bond rate 3.45% you loose!
Hows that bit you asx.

 

[tallyho8]

You stole $4500 from tax payers.

I believe you are being a little harsh when you accuse someone of stealing just because they participated in a govt program that you disagree with.

I'm sure many say people on welfare are stealing our tax dollars.
And people on food stamps.
And banks that get subsidies.
And General Motors.
And Chrysler.
And AIG.
And people who make legal deductions on their tax returns.
And people with children in public schools.
And people on disability.
And people who ride the subsidized bus or rail system.
And people who got a rebate check this year.
Or millions of others that the govt spends tax dollars to support in one way or another.

But most of these people are not thieves, they are Americans, utilizing the system available to them, made possible by you, the taxpayer and voter.

All Americans are responsible for these programs because the politicians that you elected approved them. If you disapprove of a program that your representative voted for, let him know, email, send letters, get petitions signed, make phone calls, etc.

TBNers are a great bunch and can surely discuss programs such as these without being highly critical of those you don't agree 100% with.

 

[westcliffe01]

I believe pumkin time has arrived. Good evening to you.

 

[rcrcomputing]

The problem is that you don't understand that the scheme actually makes sense. You didn't do the math to figure out whether you could break even. And, worst of all, apparently the old gas guzzlers that in most cases had a "new" sticker price higher than my import are considered a better investment ?

Our government has an obligation NOT to forcibly take money from me to help YOU buy a car. I consider it a lack of moral values to take the clunker deal. Doing math on it serves no purpose other than to determine at what price you are for sale.

 

[westcliffe01]

RCR, what do you mean ?

I was in a situation where the vehicle I had was close to the end of its life. I could have gone out and looked for another like it (used) for something between $12-18k. I would not be saving the $2300/yr that I can because of the exceptional fuel mileage of the Tdi. I would not have qualified to get the $4500 CFC deal, nor the $1300 tax credit due to the high mileage and exceptionally low emissions (50 state legal diesel). I would have paid a higher interest rate on the used vehicle.

So, one way or another I needed to spend the money to buy something else. If everyone who went out to buy a car came back with something that got 40mpg it would be a very good thing. The drop in demand for fuel would probably cause the price of crude to drop. That would in time lower the price of NG and propane, so it would cost less to heat my home too.

The way the CFC program was structured deliberately rewards people for making what is apparently a difficult decision to downsize to something more economical which will hopefully swing the pendulum the other way on reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

 

[rcrcomputing]

Here enters the thorny issue of the "real" cost of fuel, including occupying foreign countries in order to secure supplies. You still think the big picture is just about the direct fuel cost ?

Which country? We must really be making out by occupying... Ummm, where's the money or any other oil we are securing? Please provide proof of your statement.

 

[rcrcomputing]

RCR, what do you mean ?


The way the CFC program was structured deliberately rewards people for making what is apparently a difficult decision to downsize to something more economical which will hopefully swing the pendulum the other way on reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

What I mean is, it is wrong to take taxes from me or anyone else to "reward" folks for buying a new car. That's not right.