complicated question for car dealers/salesman

[shamrock]

tomorrow June 30, is the 23rd anniversary of my accident paralyzed me from the shoulders down.
I still own and use a 87 Ford 150 Club wagon that I bought after my original accident, back then the roof and floor had to be cut out and replaced to make the vehicle accessible, it was over 50k.

I saw this cash for clunkers as a good chance to get a newer vehicle and save a little money. Dodge/Mercedes make a van called a sprinter. It has a v6 Turbo diesel, and one of the selling points is the economical gas mileage. Also the fact that the vehicle is very tall, has made adapting it much easier, no raised roof, no drop floor. Just purchase the van and purchase and install lift.

This new cash 4 clunkers program is pretty specific, lots of regulations and guidelines. My old vehicle was easily found on fuelenergy.gov and the combined mpg is 12. In order to qualify for a 4500 dollar rebate, the Dodge sprinter has to be listed to get at least 2mpg better.
Various reports from car & driver, Edmonds etc. all have the vehicle getting in the mid 20' smpg. This should be easy. No way!

On the web site fueleconomy.gov, (which you use to establish figures on your old & new vehicles) doesn't list the Dodge sprinter passenger wagon anywhere, doesn't even list the Dodge sprinter cargo van, which are everywhere now. I've called Dodge, Department of transportation, Department of energy etc. etc. no answers.

4500 is a good chunk of money for me. This money was left to me by my Dad that passed couple months ago.

As usual dealer is a shit head. I've put a sizable deposit on the vehicle, but refuse taking delivery until I could get this straightened out. Today dealer calls saying I have to finalized deal before July 1 or lose 2000 on June incentives. WTF:thefinger

any help?

Shamrock

 

[BADTODABONE]

Fvck the dealer if they won't help you out!

http://www.cars.gov/

What I've read, maybe tough to qualify....good luck, I hope the link helps if you've not already seen it.

 

[BADTODABONE]

Call a State Rep in your area.....I'd be pissed.

 

[gardenweasel]

that`s an excellent idea that btdb had,shammy...given your circumstances,i have to think that one of your local pols/congresscritters would jump at the chance to help you out....


either that or innocently call the newspaper and ask if they have any info that could help you out...

fully explain your situation and definitely mention that your dad recently passed away....

you`ve been dealt some pretty shitty cards my friend....you might as well use,good or bad,what god gave you...


i can`t believe you don`t qualify for the rebate...and btw,that dealer is a p.o.s.,imo...

 

[The Joker]

I work with car dealers all over the state of Kentucky and most of them will screw everyone to the wall....however - some are struggling right now and they can't afford to be pricks so I would drop the deal with that dealer and find another one who will work with you. Most of the time it's the sales person who can push stuff through....I have learned.Try dealers throughout your state and maybe even surrounding states. See what happens.....


Also - car dealers are getting "Wind Up" letters from the manufactures and "Wind Down" letters.

Wind up means they get to keep their dealership.

Wind down means they have until October 2010 to get rid of their inventory before they are closed down. If you find a Dodge dealer who has gotten a wind down letter with a Sprint in their inventory - you could get a great deal without the 4500...

 

[shamrock]

thanks for the ideas guys, one thing I didn't mention which is important.

With the current economy and automobile situation in the country you would think a Dodge dealer would bend over backwards to move a vehicle. However the Dodge sprinter comes in 2 basic categories, cargo van (2 which every Dodge dealer has dozens, because of their mpg and cargo space, UPS, federal express, and many other companies are snapping them up). And secondly sprinter passenger wagons. Unlike cargo vans these have windows and more interior options than the cargo van i.e. carpeting, headliner, better stereo etc.
anyway, they also come in 2 wheel bases 144 & 170, 3 different Hts. and 2 different engines. I wanted the simplest, small wheel base, lowest height, and the v6 Turbo diesel. After searching all of New England, I found 0 of these. After a 500 mile search, found 2, one in New Jersey, one in Pennsylvania. Had them bring the New Jersey 1 up. But I told them about this cash 4 clunkers deal before they even searched.

 

[snoozer]

Like someone else said, I would contact local newspaper or (even better) local news station. The last thing this dealership wants is to be seen on TV not working with a disabled person.

I would play it up that you were not really looking for a new car, but with the offer that the government is giving and you having a chance to support the american auto-industry, you wanted to do what you could.

 

[The Joker]

Like someone else said, I would contact local newspaper or (even better) local news station. The last thing this dealership wants is to be seen on TV not working with a disabled person.

You would think this would be the way to go but....car dealers are the number one advertiser with TV and Newspaper. They won't do a story that will piss off their advertiser.

 

[Griffin8s]

Also , I not very sure about this but I have been told even though it has past that all the details are not out yet on how they collect the cash and also how to qualify for the program. Our GM talked about it on Monday and right now our dealership isn't doing anything with the program till I thought they said July 22nd or something when the details have to be figured out. Of course it's not like we are expecting a rush to our dealership being that we are a Caddy dealer.:mj07: Shamrock, I think the only thing to do is research and may have to wait a month till this thing gets going. Besides of course the dealer will tell you that the $2000 rebate for June will not be there. But it might be $3000 in July. They don't know till July 1st! (If they work the same as GM does.) I know this doesn't help but might see it from the dealer's side a bit.