FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Jeannine Fallon/Chintan Talati
Edmunds.com Corporate Communications
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Cash for Clunkers Results Finally In: Taxpayers Paid $24,000 per Vehicle Sold, Reports Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — October 28, 2009 — Edmunds.com, the premier resource for online automotive information, has determined that Cash for Clunkers cost taxpayers $24,000 per vehicle sold.
Nearly 690,000 vehicles were sold during the Cash for Clunkers program, officially known as CARS, but Edmunds.com analysts calculated that only 125,000 of the sales were incremental. The rest of the sales would have happened anyway, regardless of the existence of the program.
Ironically, the average transaction price for a new vehicle in August 2009 was only $26,915 minus an average cash rebate of $1,667.
“This analysis is valuable for two reasons,” explained Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. “First, it can form the basis for a complete assessment of the program’s impact and costs. Second—and more important—it can help us to understand the true state of auto sales and the economy. For example, October sales are up, but without Cash for Clunkers, sales would have been even better. This suggests that the industry’s recovery is gaining momentum.”
Edmunds:Cash For Clunkers Cost Taxpayers $24K Per Vehicle Sold

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In addition to costing taxpayers a lot of money, cash for clunkers also destroyed 690,000 RUNNING cars, many in good shape. Those car should have gone to car donation charities and either sold or given to the poor so they would transportation to work.