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Consumers send our staff emails every day with basic questions on the CARS program that are already answered on the NHTSA website (cars.gov) as well as this website. We are pleased to help them but we also decided to make a simple checklist to save on time and energy.

The Cash for Clunkers Consumer Checklist can be downloaded by clicking on the icon on the right.

Print out this checklist on your computer. The form was designed to save consumers time in qualifying for the CARS program as well as submitting their purchase for reimbursement at a local new car dealer.

If you would like a local dealer to contact you about your clunker trade-in, you can complete the form on the left or call any local new car dealer in your area.

Understandably, there are many source of information on the program that may appear to be in conflict. Consumers also do not want to believe that they cannot participate in CARS for small lapses in insurance or registration.

Many consumers have told us stories that due to layoffs or financial stress, their clunkers were taken off insurance for a few months or a late bill cause a lapse in their clunker registration. Unfortunately, these requirements are not flexible under current NHTSA rules.

If consumers want to change the rules, we encourage you to voice your vote by signing the Cash for Clunker Petition at www.nocashforclunkers.com

CARS Consumer Checklist

If you don’t have a printer, we have include the contents of the PDF checklist below:

We have created a consumer checklist that dealers and consumers can use to make sure that if you want to particapte in the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) that you have all the documentation you need to qualify. You can click on the icon on the right, or cick here, to download this form and print it out for your personal checklit.

Please gather the documents listed below before you go to your local dealer.

Be prepared with your clunker information to ensure that you have a smooth transaction.

Better Organization = Smoother Submissions

Before you call or visit a local new car dealer, understand these non-negotiable requirements:

• If you cannot show continuous insurance and registration for 12 months, you will not qualify.
• If you are the new car purchaser, your name must be on the title of the clunker
• If you have a lien on your clunker, you will not qualify.
• If your clunker is not qualified on www.cars.gov , you cannot qualify regardless of your actual mpg.
• You must be able to drive the clunker to the dealership.
• If your car is not listed on www.cars.gov a dealer will not be able to process your sale.

CARS Document Checklist

Please bring these five documents into the dealership when you are ready to place an order for a new car under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program. Check www.cars.gov for official program updates before you go to a local dealer.

1. A valid driver’s license.
2. A clear title in your name or jointly owned with your name included. If you recently paid off a lien, you should bring your lien release letter or the previous title that is stamped paid.
3. Proof of continuous insurance for the past 12 months. Documents to bring can include:
   1. A declaration page from your insurance policy showing dates of coverage.
   2. Insurance cards that cover the last 12 months
   3. A letter from your insurance company certifying continuous insurance
4. Proof of continuous registration. Documents to help prove this include:
   1. Registration cards that cover the last 12 months
   2. Experian registration search report (dealer can run this report)
5. A print-out of the www.FuelEconomy.gov website page that shows that your clunker qualifies. This will save you time from assuming that your car currently qualifies.

I have been following the Cash for Clunkers bill for a few months and decided to create a handful of blogs to capture the potential consumer response to the bill if it was approved.  My early work writing about the Cash for Clunkers bill has been rewarded.  We had created a number of blogs because the official name of the program was fluctuating between “Cash for Guzzlers” and “Cash for Clunkers”.

One of our websites hit the mark.  www.cashforclunkersfacts.com that now has over 40,000 page views a day and has helped thousands of consumers learn about the bill.  The website has also helped over 500+ forward thinking car dealers better position themselves in Google search.  

Dealers everyday are being added to our blog’s marketing directory because of our organic search visibility.  If you type the word “Cash for Clunkers” and then add any state name or any car brand, our website will most likely be on Google Page One search results.

• Cash for Clunkers Florida – Page #1
• Cash for Clunkers Ford -  Page #1
• Cash for Clunkers Toyota – Page #1
• Cash for Clunkers Phoenix – Page #1
• Cash for Clunkers Bill – Page #1
• Cash for Clunkers Program – Page #1

Our website has assisted consumers with specific questions about the program by directing them to the right answers.  Often those consumers concerns were best answered by directing them to the NHTSA hot-line.  We have also provided the most active consumer forum to discuss the Car Allowance Rebate System.  Our WordPress blog project is the perfect example of how Internet marketing professionals can help our government launch a consumer facing program.

The Cash for Clunkers bill empowered the NHTSA to administer the $1 billion in funding and they created the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).  The official government website is http://www.cars.gov.  Our non-government consumer blog and forum is most likely the second most visited website in the USA about the consumer clunker credit program.  We are working side by side to help consumers learn about the program.

Hundreds of car dealers have contacted us to be listed in our free marketing directory.  Many others have called us to promote their dealership with press releases, corporate profile pages and lead generation.  We believe that the services the PCG Digital Marketing offers will deliver the best return on their investment.  In addition to our services we have recommend the excellent third party services offered by Cubic Marketing and ADP Digital Marketing.

Cash for Clunkers Marketing

Here are some things that we have learned from this project and past marketing efforts on a national scale:

1. Many car dealers were reluctant to spend any money in advance of the official start of the program despite our urging that the “early bird” gets rewarded in Google organic search. 
2. In this economy car dealers are not in the mood to take unnecessary financial risks. The uncertainty on how the CARS program would work chilled their heels on spending and continues to hold back funding until the final rules are released on July 24, 2009.
3. Organic search optimizatioon takes advance planning. Car dealers have been late to that game because of their cautious stance on this program.
4. Being late to organic search optimization increases car dealer online advertising costs because accelerated visibility is more costly.
5. Car dealers as late as today (7/15) have called us to say that they are now ready to start online marketing and that they have not done anything yet to connect with local consumers or customers about the program. 
6. Regardless of how well we predicted the future in this one case, car dealers are very cautious on increasing their advertising budgets on new things.
7. Database mining of existing customer databases as well as sources like Polk may providing the best lists to target for mailers and telemarketing calls.
8. Our consumer data collected on www.CashforClunkersFacts.com was the first published study of what models consumers would be trading in and what brands they were most likely to purchase.  This data should be guiding car dealer data mining efforts.

No Sure Things for Automotive SEO

As we look back at previous national marketing campaigns that we were asked to create, not all have been as successful as the Cash for Clunkers program.  When BMW announced that they would bring the BMW 128i and 135i to the United States we created the #1 websites for the search phrases “bmw 128i” and “bmw 135i”.

When BMW announced the final pricing on these cars the air was let out of the Internet marketing balloon.  In this case having the #1 website in Google nationally doesn’t make a difference if a car is in tight supply and is priced to compete with the 3 series.   

We are grateful that most of our organic marketing campaigns have generated great traffic for our clients that have delivered a strong ROI.

Car dealers would would like to leverage the power of our WordPress microsites for sales, service or parts should give us a call at 732-450-8200.

If you have been disqualified from participating in the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), you urged to join a new online petition which will be sent to Congress.  Many consumers have participated in the Cash for Clunkers Facts blog at http://www.cashforclunkersfacts.com and shared in the SPEAK-UP forum about why their clunkers will not qualify despite their poor gas mileage.

Consumers whose cars are rated as averaging 19 MPG or more, based on government estimates, are not eligible for a credit regardless of their actual miles per gallon experience.   Many have expressed their outrage that such an arbitrary line was chosen especially when the condition of the clunkers has such a big impact and fuel economy.

MPG Rating Set By Federal Website

Consumers are  angry over the government’s standardized fuel ratings which are posted at http://www.fueleconomy.gov .  The fuel ratings do not take into consideration wear and tear to vehicles which prevents them from attaining the MPG numbers the vehicle was originally estimated to achieve. 

The NHTSA is only responsible for implementing the program and is not responsible for the restrictions of the bill.  The bill was written by our legislators in Washington. Therefore, a new website was established as an outlet for consumers to be heard by the sponsors of the bill. 

The PCG petition website (www.nocashforclunkers.com) is taking comments from consumers who want their opinions sent to Congress.  By joining the Cash for Clunkers petition, consumers will add their names to the petition list that will be sent to the original sponsors of the Cash for Clunkers legislation.  The goal is to make sure Congress hears their voices and those of frustrated consumers around the country if additional funding is requested. 

Clunkers Just Over the Line

The most common complaint from consumers is that the Federal website rates their “clunker” at 19, 20 or 21 combined mpg.  Consumers are adamant that their vehicle’s condition prevents it from getting anywhere near that mpg number.  For example, one reader wrote in to the site, “I have a 2001 Infiniti I-30 with 220,000 miles. The EPA MPG says I am getting 20 mpg. That is a joke. I have 220,000 miles on my car. I would be lucky to be operating at 18 mpg.”  These types of complaints are flooding the www.CashForClunkersFacts.com blog site. 

Another consumer wrote, “Regarding the Car Allowance Rebate System. I currently drive a 1995 model car that I have owned for 12 years. According to the website fueleconomy.gov, it has a “new” mpg rating of 20 which means that I do not qualify for the CARS program. The MPG when the car was new was 22. This is disappointing as I do not understand how a change of ONLY 2 mpg is calculated on a 14 year old vehicle!”

NET 10 Proposal

The ‘No Cash for Clunkers’ website suggests an alternative qualification model called:  NET-10.  If a consumer trades in their “clunker” for another new vehicle that gets at least 10 mpg  more than their current clunker, they would qualify for the $4,500 credit. 

This type of revision will accomplish the fuel conservation and environmental goals of the bill and will also remove the penalty from consumers who have a car that is operating at much less of a fuel efficiency than the government’s standardized estimates suggests. 

For more information on the No Cash for Clunkers petition, consumers are encouraged to visit http://www.nocashforclunkers.com/