Local dealers give mixed praise to 'Cash for Clunkers'

Anthony Santoro planned to drive his 1996 Dodge pickup truck through the winter, but the deals and rebates he was offered Friday were too good to pass up.

Santoro, of Itasca, purchased a new black 2009 Dodge pickup at Wickstrom Auto Group in Barrington through the federal so-called "cash for clunkers" program. He watched the news with anticipation as the funding for the program was up in the air Friday.

The House of Representatives voted midday to rush $2 billion into the program - so wildly popular that it nearly ran out of money in less than a week.

"Everyone is amazed how quickly the money went, but it shows how popular it is," said U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, a Western Springs Democrat who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Called the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, the program is designed to help the economy and the environment by spurring sales of newer, more fuel-efficient cars. Car owners can receive federal subsidies of up to $4,500 for trading in their old cars for new ones that feature higher gas mileage.

"I wanted to take advantage of the program before it went away," said Santoro, 41, who earned $4,500 in the replenished clunkers program. The owner of Three Guys Pizza Pub in Itasca was offered another $3,500 rebate through Dodge.

"It was a great deal. They should have done this earlier to help stimulate the economy and keep more people working in Detroit," he said.

The purchase was quick and easy for Santoro, who had to slip away from his pizzeria on the busiest day of the week.

The process was not as easy at all suburban car dealerships Friday as managers grew frustrated with paperwork and lack of information from the government, causing some customer relations problems.

This was the case as Mary Ann Bartlett was ready to trade in her Dodge Durango for a Chevy Traverse at a Palatine dealership early Friday afternoon. She was negotiating the deal until her salesman disappeared.

"I've been in this dealership for two hours, and I am no closer to buying a car," she said.

She walked out frustrated.

Steven Gall of Ela Township waited for 40 minutes at the same dealer without talking to a salesperson about whether he would qualify for the car purchase program.

But the process went smoothly for Anne Swartz of Lisle who traded in her 20-year-old Ford Mustang convertible for a more efficient Ford Focus at Packie Webb Ford in Downers Grove. The cash for clunker program helped her decide that scrapping the Mustang for a safer vehicle for her 16-year-old son Michael was the best decision.

For their part, car dealers have mixed feelings about the program.

"There are a lot of complicated rules set by the government," said Daniel Szweck, sales manager at Sullivan Buick Pontiac GMC in Arlington Heights. He has seen a lot of window shoppers and fewer than 10 buyers utilizing the program.

Norm Zienty Jr., owner of Fair Oaks Ford in Naperville, said he's sold about 50 cars since the clunkers program went into effect and "sales are up about 30 percent." But so is paperwork. Zienty said it has been difficult to process the clunkers and wait for approvals to destroy the cars.

"Sometimes I've been up until 3 or 4 in the morning just processing the paperwork," Zienty said.

In perhaps an unintended effect, the program has slowed down business for Bensenville-based Victory Auto Wreckers. Before, customers would call Victory directly to get cash for their old car. Now, those customers have been going to the car dealerships to get the government's money and extra incentives, said Victory President Kyle Weisner.

Still, the slowdown could be temporary as the program gets more cash, draws in more customers and hopefully streamlines the paperwork he said.

"After seeing how this program has become so popular, running out of money in just days, it's very clear that it truly is an economic stimulus," Weisner said. "Of all the economic stimulus packages that were approved, this is the only one that truly has stimulated the economy."

Meanwhile, Jim Spellman, owner of Libertyville Chevrolet, calls the program "tremendous." He said salespeople were in his showroom until 11 p.m. Thursday night selling cars.

Andy Perlon, a sales associate at Village Pontiac in Naperville feels the incentive has been positive. "Business has picked up 35 percent," he said.

He agreed that the paperwork can be cumbersome, but added "if it brings in more business, who cares?"

Wickstrom Auto Group saw a sales increase of about 30 percent last week as well.

"This was our biggest week in years," said owner Richard Wickstrom.

He expects he has taken in about 60 clunkers through the government program.

Daily Herald staff writers Marni Pyke and Anna Marie Kukec contributed to this report.

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