Quality Engineering Career News by UQSI

NEW YORK, /PRNewswire/ — When the government’s Cash For Clunkers program ended on August 24th, dealerships that experienced high sales with the program, went through a huge withdrawal. Participating dealers in the privately funded Automotive Stimulus Program, which is ongoing, have been able to maintain this surge.

Some of the largest automotive retailers in the country created a privately funded stimulus program this July to provide additional incentives for consumers to make it easier for them to get a newer more fuel efficient vehicle. The dealer funded Automotive Stimulus Plan was designed to complement the government’s program and to compensate for some of the gaps that don’t allow consumers to purchase pre-owned vehicles or chose a short term lease.

National sales since the end of the government’s program have slipped dramatically but participating dealers in the Automotive Stimulus Plan have maintained positive results and jumped in market share because of the short number of competitors. For instance, Brian Benstock from Paragon Autogroup in Woodside Queens, one of the Plan’s participating dealers, reports that Paragon Honda has suffered less of a pullback in new car sales since the end of the government’s program, and no reduction in used car sales due to the privately funded initiative. Paragon was in 17th place nationally prior to May, and they moved into the 5th position during the Cash For Clunkers period and are currently in 6th place nationally with the Auto Stimulus Plan.

In addition, Rick Case Automotive and Germain Automotive, two other leading automotive dealers participating in the private program, have also gained in September, despite the end of the government’s program. In fact, Rick Case Automotive is currently in fifth place nationally, which means two of the program’s participating dealerships are in the top ten nationally out of more than a thousand dealerships.

As a result of the success the dealers are seeing, the Automotive Stimulus Plan which was originally slated to end on November 1st has been extended until the end of the year.

The Automotive Stimulus Plan is a private sector program funded by retailers to provide incentives to consumers that will help the economy and the environment at the same time. To qualify for an incentive a consumer must select a new or pre-owned vehicle that gets 2mpg better mpg than their current vehicle, which is the same requirement the government program has for SUV’s but this applies to all vehicles under the dealers plan. If a consumer does not have a trade, they can participate if they select a vehicle with 2mpg better than the government’s mpg requirement of 17mpg. The Automotive Stimulus Plan gives consumers up to $4,500 in incentives towards the purchase or lease of a new or pre-owned vehicle.

“Under our stimulus program a customer can get a new Accord for $5 a day which means they can drive a car for practically free when you deduct the gas savings,” said Benstock.

To make it easier for consumers to qualify for the program, the dealerships are launching a new Stimulus calculator next week to show consumers among other things, the estimated gas savings that they can receive by upgrading to a more fuel efficient vehicle.

The Plan is not only helping the environment and the economy, but it’s also helping the participating dealerships get a leg up on their competition and helping consumers to take advantage of savings above the normal year-end discounts that the dealers provide.

“We think this is a great time to buy, when you combine the ASP plan, the governments tax credit allowance, and finance credit allowance, the savings are much greater than the $4,500 allocated for the CFC program alone,” says Benstock.

“Most consumers are unaware of the ability to deduct finance charges for any car purchased during 2009, and most consumers are not aware that you can write off New York State sales tax for any vehicle purchased in 2009,” added Benstock.

“The Automotive Stimulus Plan is a total package combining the manufacturer’s rebates, huge dealer incentives, with once in a lifetime government subsidies, there has never been a better opportunity to buy,” said Rick Case of Rick Case Automotive.

The Automotive Stimulus Plan incentives vary by region and dealership based on the make and model of vehicles they sell. Consumers can learn more about the program and begin connecting with participating retailers by visiting the website: www.AutoStimulusPlan.com.

Automotive Stimulus Program Requirements:

1. Current vehicle is a 2006 or older
2. Current vehicle is operable
3. Current vehicle has been owned for a minimum of 6 months
4. Current vehicle has been registered for a minimum of 6 months
5. Current vehicle has been insured for a minimum of 6 months
6. The replacement vehicle has to be more fuel efficient
7. Incentives vary based on current vehicle and desired vehicle (visit www.AutoStimulusPlan.com for details)
8. Incentives vary by State, Make and Model. Incentives may vary in some states due to state laws that regulate to automotive advertising and promotion

About www.AutoStimulusPlan.com

www.AutoStimulusPlan.com is funded and promoted by some of the largest automotive retailers in the country. Participating dealers are domestic and import licensed new car dealers who have agreed to provide additional incentives for consumers to get a newer more fuel efficient vehicle. www.AutoStimulusPlan.com website and communication campaign was built by Level 5, an automotive marketing and consulting firm that specializes in creating and implementing integrated programs for Manufacturers, Associations and Retailers. This stimulus plan is a private program and is not affiliated with the government program. For more information about the government’s program visit www.Cars.gov.

SOURCE AutoStimulusPlan.com