Dealers Hope for Payment as Clunkers Program Ends

WASHINGTON -- The wildly successful $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program has generated more than half a million car sales. Now dealers hope to get paid. With hundreds of thousands of consumers having driven off in new fuel-efficient vehicles since the program began in late July, many car dealers worry about further delays in getting repaid... Chuck Eddy, a Chrysler dealer in Youngstown, Ohio, completed more than 100 Clunker deals in late July and August and wrapped up his final deal on Saturday afternoon. He considers the program a "true, true stimulus" but said he's still owed $390,000. "I still haven't been paid my first dollar," Eddy said. "That just makes you a little nervous." Some members of Congress have urged the administration to speed up the payment process. "It is up to the U.S. Department of Transportation to respond to the applications submitted by our auto dealers in a fair and timely manner," said Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. The National Automobile Dealers Association recommended that dealers e-mail claims to the clunkers Web site, CARS.gov, to create a back-up paper record in case they couldn't get their deals in on time through the online submission process.
Source: The Associated Press