Harkin on the floor about $10,000 incentive for buying new car

[Muttocracy]

I thought he said if you have a 10yo car - did anyone else catch that - got interrupted in the middle of his floor speech so I missed a lot of it. :(

C-Span 2
http://c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN2_wm.aspx

there's an income limit - missed the amount - $50 indiv, $75 couple?

[Thrill]

1. Make it only for American cars

[Muttocracy]

9. I missed most of the details - got interrupted at home. nt

[Rosco T.]

32. Define 'American Car'...

.. my Honda Element was built in Ohio.

[OhioChick]

2. If one has a 10 year old car....

There's usually a reason for it. (No $$$$)

[Sarah Ibarruri]

4. Exactly! nt

[Xipe Totec]

5. Of maybe it's just a well built and maintained car

Probably not American.

[RB TexLa]

7. I have an American made and a foreign made vehicle that are 12 and 20 years old.

No need to replace either of them.

[xocet]

23. Nissan versus GM

Currently, I have a 13-year-old Nissan 200SX with 125,000 miles on it. It runs fine and is essentially ok for its age. Earlier, I had a pair of Fiero's. They were problematic.

[TroglodyteScholar]

24. I drive a 13 year old Ford

It's got 200,000+ miles on it, is only moderately well-maintained, and still runs great.

[MissB]

6. Or we're really cheap

This would nudge me closer to a new car purchase.

But it would also probably kill the used car market.

[Muttocracy]

11. I'm not totally clear on the part about having a 10yo car but I though he said that

I missed a lot of his talk - got interrupted at home after I posted :crazy:

[Cronus Protagonist]

14. I had my Ford Explorer for over 12 years and it was in damn good condition

I only sold it to buy a Mustang, another AWESOME American made car. Now, that got repo'd so there goes my chances of a bonus! What about us poor peeps who had a repo or BK and can't buy a car any more???? Forgiveness?

[OhioChick]

15. Nah.....You screwed.

;-)

I've always owned American made cars and they were kind to me. I took care of them, maintenance, etc. and throughout the years, they all gave me well over 150K.

[IDemo]

17. Mine's 16 and only has 45k miles

That and being unemployed will likely make it my last vehicle.

[OhioChick]

18. Didn't you have an interview recently?

If so, how did it go?

[IDemo]

20. No. I've sent my resume out to a few places, but it still needs serious work

Plus I'm still undecided whether to hang in there pursuing another electronics position or look into another field; healthcare??

[OhioChick]

21. I hope you hear back soon from a few of those places

And I wish you the best of luck. :hug:

[IDemo]

22. Thanks, OC. We're all in this together

:hi: :grouphug:

[OhioChick]

28. We sure are, IDemo..

:grouphug:

[GoesTo11]

3. Have we just gone crazy?

Throwing money at the investment banks, $15k gift to home buyers, $10k to car buyers? This is like a suicidal person giving away everything they own.
Stimulus is fine, but throwing (our) money to absolutely worthless purposes - just gifts for people, is insane.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. How is that going to help if you don't have a job?

I have a fourteen-year-old car that runs fine. Even though I have a job right now I wouldn't spend any money on a new one, even with the incentive. And most new cars cost at least $20K, so you'd still have to come up with another $10K. That's a lot of money if you have no job.

[OhioChick]

10. You're absolutely right. n/t

[Richard D]

12. My car is 15 years old . . .

. . . and a Ford. Still runs great, passes smog, and is comfortable. Would cost way more than 10K to replace.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. Spend!! Spend!! Buy!! Buy!! "On Sale Now!!

Seems like that's what got us into this mess.

[OhioChick]

16. Right you are! n/t

[TahitiNut]

19. Two cars here - a 19-year-old LeBaron and a 32-year-old Monte Carlo.

The LeBaron has 108,000 miles and the Monte Carlo has 48,000 miles.

:shrug:

Just HOW MUCH energy is consumed in manufacturing a (new) car these days???

:eyes: :eyes:

[Waiting For Everyman]

25. I'd do it, I have a 10 yr. old Malibu and I'd get another one, only

I wouldn't get financed because of my late husband's medical bills.

Once again, a give-away to those who are ok anyway.

[Historic NY]

26. I've got a 62, 35, 34, & 10 yrs old vehicle......all American 2 GM & 2 Chrysler

for the right price I'd buy a new truck.

[Horse with no Name]

27. This is what I have to say about THAT

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4730700

[Historic NY]

31. He should have checked out a credit union, the interest is tax deductible

if he could get an home equity loan.

[Horse with no Name]

33. He didn't want a home equity loan

He wanted to finance a truck and had $20,000 CASH to put down on the truck.
GMAC and Ford both refused to buy the note.
He actually had the money to pay for the entire truck in cash, but that is why he is in the mess he is in.
He has bought and sold 4 vehicles in the last few years. All of them were new but since he paid cash, that doesn't count.

I think what really irritates me is...you can PURCHASE a good credit score if you are willing to spend the money to do it.

Banks need to rethink how they finance loans. Obviously the credit score method is NOT working...hence the trouble they are in.
Maybe they need to go back to the "old days" where they looked at real data like cash on hand, amount of down payment, guaranteed income and general creditworthiness. Not everyone who has a good credit score is creditworthy...and conversely people can be creditworthy WITHOUT having a good credit score.
The credit score is determined solely by owing more money which may (or may not) be paid back in the long run. IMHO that entire concept needs to be scrapped.

[SheilaT]

34. The basic issue with credit scores

is that you have to show a history of making payments, preferably on time.

It's the Catch-22 young people starting out find themselves in, although the credit card companies have been quite happy (perhaps until recently) to give almost everyone credit.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these days someone who runs a little late on making payments is a more desirable person to lend money to, because then the lender will feel certain to collect late fees and such.

Personally, if I had $20,000 for a truck I'd have bought one used for that sum of money.

For what it's worth, I always pay cash for my cars, second hand. It's quite interesting going to a dealer, especially as a woman, and never let them get me into a discussion about payments. I simply dicker about the price, because I know what I can afford, and then write the check.

[Horse with no Name]

35. Me too Sheila...I totally agree

He has money from a tragic accident when he was younger. He spends money like water.
His mom has tried to curb it and I encourage him to be more "selective" in his spending.
We've not been successful at it...but I did feel pretty fortunate that I got him to go to his local bank instead of signing the 18% papers (which he would have).
It is a work in progress...at best.:(

[DJ13]

29. Hey, thats great...... except

Who has a secure enough job or a credit rating that hasnt gotten screwed up by the credit card companies lowering their credit limits so they can qualify for the loan?

[Muttocracy]

30. still looking for the text online - the clerks must have had a crazy day today. nt

[slipslidingaway]

36. Link to video

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/vidLink.php?b=1233799140&e=1233800340&n=2

Text should be up on the cspan site tomorrow, use the calendar on the left

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/congress/

[Muttocracy]

37. thanks - except for having to listen to McCain again ;-)

[slipslidingaway]

38. YW - good luck :) n/t