Car Buyers Make ‘Mad Dash’ to Dealers as Clunkers Program Ends

Bernie Saric has watched the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” program burn through more than $2 billion in car-purchase assistance. As the program enters its last weekend, she said she decided to grab her share.

Saric, who works for an auto-parts maker, plans to trade in her 1996 Ford Explorer this morning for a 2010 Ford Edge, two days before the program expires Aug. 24.

“I definitely felt the pressure to make a decision and say, ‘If I felt good about a car I test-drive, I have to go for it,’ ” said Saric, of Howell, Michigan, who declined to give her age. “It’s like a mad dash to get a deal done now.”

The clunkers plan, which offers auto buyers discounts of as much as $4,500 to trade in older cars and trucks for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles, has recorded more than 489,000 dealer transactions valued at $2.04 billion in rebates, according to Transportation Department data released yesterday.

Last-minute shoppers looking to capitalize on the trade-in program may have few cars or dealerships to choose from. AutoNation Inc. and Group 1 Automotive Inc., two of the country’s largest car dealership groups, said yesterday they will opt out of “cash for clunkers.” Some independent dealers have done so, too, citing cumbersome bureaucracy.

Bryan Mason, 40, of San Francisco, founder of an Internet start-up company, said he had planned to buy a new car to replace his red 2000 Jeep Cherokee with 133,000 miles during the next couple of weeks.

Filling Out Paperwork

“When I heard the program was ending on the news last night, I was here this morning when the doors opened,” Mason said yesterday, while filling out paperwork to buy a 2009 Honda Fit from a dealership in Oakland, California. He said it was the only place that had the car in the color he wanted.

“I’ve had my eye on it,” he said. “I am here today because I wanted to make sure all my paperwork is processed in time.” link....