WASHINGTON (AP) — The wildly successful $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program has generated more than half a million car sales. Now dealers hope to get paid.
The deadline for car dealers to submit reimbursement paperwork for the federal car incentives ended Tuesday night, a day after the government halted new sales under the program. Dealers received extra time to submit records for the car rebates as the government's Web site set up to handle the program struggled to accommodate dealers' rush to submit last minute claims.
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 for the $3,500 or $4,500 per vehicle incentives despite assurances from the Obama administration.
Through early Tuesday, dealers had submitted 665,000 vouchers totaling $2.77 billion.