As many of you may know, there is a new program out there which will allow you to receive up to $4500 from good ole Uncle Sam for trading in your old inefficient car or truck. Here are a few details of the program, you can read the complete bill here.

Your Trade-In:

1. Must be registered and insured for 1 year.

2. Must be newer than 1984 (Classic car nuts rejoice, nobody will be trading in grandmas 1957 Chevy)

3. Must be rated at 18 MPG or below. (Read bill for calculation formula)

4. Will be destroyed. The dealership MUST disable the engine by removing oil and replacing it with a Sodium Silicate solution which will burn up the bearings and seize the engine plus leave a coating in the block which will make saving the engine for rebuild economically unfeasible. Your car is then taken to the scrap yard and crushed.

5. You will only get scrap value ( -$50 for the dealer to use for administrative costs)

Your New Car or Truck

1. Must be financed (or purchased outright) or leased for a 5yr. or longer lease period.

2. Cars must achieve a rating of 22 MPG or above, trucks are 18 MPG or above.

3. Depending on the difference in MPG between your trade-in and new vehicle you may receive $3500 or $4500. 4 – 9 MPG difference you get $3500, 10 MPG and more you get the full $4500.

Stressed out about the financial meltdown facing this country? Need a new car? It seems counter-intuitive to be thinking about a new car, but some times it is unavoidable. If you car is old and broken down, or if family changes necessitate a larger vehicle you have little choice but to start shopping.

The first thing to consider is buying new or used? I would strongly look at used cars right now since the price will be less and the last thing you need right now is more debt. We have a quick and easy link to search for a used car. Also don’t forget to search local papers and bulletin boards. As always AutoEducation.com has some excellent information on buying a used car.

If you have to buy new, make sure your credit is up to snuff. It has been reported that GM Finance is only writing loans to customers with over a 700 credit score… this eliminates about 58% of the people in the USA ! That’s not to say if your credit is below 700 you can’t get financed, you may have to pay a higher rate or go to a smaller lending institution. A great place to start your new car buying experience, is at SmartCarQuote.com a site which I created to help people buy new cars at the lowest prices.