re: #256 Capitalist Tool

sure… mine was just a whimsical tag onto your post.
Beyond that, I didn’t think the cash for clunkers program was effective anywhere near what it cost taxpayers and that some results of it’s implementation served as prime example of the law of unintended consequences at work.

One example in particular- a lot of lower- end but perfectly serviceable vehicles were abruptly taken out of the market. This resulted in an attendant rise in market price for used vehicles, with the greatest impact falling on those who could least afford it.
There has also been an upswing in theft of older models, usually for parts, and almost always from some poor working guy who barely makes ends meet and had no comprehensive theft insurance on his former $1700 pickup and will have hell paying for it’s now more expensive replacement so that he can get to work and feed his kids.

Dude, as a guy who knows mechanics, hangs out with mechanics who flip cars, and who just trolls cragislist and autotrader looking for deals just because its fun, it’s actually pretty damn easy, yes, even in the height of Cash 4 Clunkers, to find a car for very little.

You know what got clunked? shitty Caprices, big V8s, big thirsty and crappy trucks, big overengineered BMW 7-series and S-classes and bloated Caddys that would cost a fortune to get up to working order. NOT THE KIND OF CAR FOR SOMEONE ON A BUDGET.

in the height of cash for clunkers, friends of mine have scored mindblowing deals on Craigslist for their cars. I don’t believe for a moment that cash for clunkers somehow ruined the used car market. That’s bullcrap, because I watch the used car market for fun. It may be a thing you SUSPECT, but it doesn’t seem to reflect reality. That’s what we in America call “Talking out of your ass.”

This whole demonizing the cash for clunkers thing, it’s all talking points, you seem to like talking points a lot!