|
||||||||||||
|
|
'Cash for Clunkers' a success? Depends on who you ask
The sales crew at Morries Mazda will tell you that getting customers to bite on a $4,500 'cash for clunkers' government discount has been a walk in the park. Getting the Feds to pay for it... is another matter entirely. On Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association released new numbers that suggest 7,500 Minnesota consumers have purchased a 'cash for clunkers' vehicle. Despite a computer system set up to streamline the application process and expedite payment, just two percent of those transactions have been approved, which is basically a government assurance that the program discount will be covered. "I voted against the second track of funding only because I want to make sure the program is working, completely, before throwing more money at it," said U-S Congressman Erik Paulsen, R-MN, who dropped by Morries Monday morning for an impromptu 'town hall' style meeting with the staff. Paulsen says he is concerned with the mountian of paperwork that has to be completed by dealerships and customers, and the rash of computer glitches that have surfaced since the program began last week. At Morrie's, office support staff have been coming in at 3 a-m some mornings to avoid the computer crashes they've experienced when the government server is busy. As of Monday morning, Morrie's Mazda had moved 60 'cash for clunkers' vehicles, and not a single one had been approved. "When we deliver them, we have to pay for those cars so all this clunker money sits on our books in 'receiveable'," said Morrie's owner Morrie Wagener, "and I think company wide we're going to have close to a billion dollars out." Ask the staff, and there is a truckload more optimism. "There was more positive energy in the business than there has been in a couple of years," says Morrie's Chief Operating Officer Karl Schmidt. "Our inventories are at a two year low, we've taken our full monthly allocations (of cars) at most of our stores, manufacturers don't have the inventory so they're going to have to build more cars which is a positive thing." Salesman Andre Prasad gives the program an enthusiastic thumbs up. He describes the customer crush as 'chaotic' and 'insane', but in a good way. The extra money he made will be used on improvements to his home, which will give work to the struggling home construction industry. "Getting a new driveway put in is huge, and those guys are just beggin for jobs, and it's been satisfying to pay them," Prasad explained. System wide, the Morrie's family of dealerships has sold more than 420 'cash for clunkers' vehicles in just over one week's time. Although the future of the program hangs on an expected vote this week in the Senate, the sales force isn't backing down a bit. Schmidt says they will 'keep on clunking' until the government tells them to stop. A spokesman for Senator Amy Klobuchar says she voted for the initial run of 'cash for clunkers', but says the Senator will need assurances that dealers will be paid, and program glitches shored up before she will consider voting for more funding.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
|
 MORE HEADLINES
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
