cash for clunkers engine seizing

I'm a tech at a toyota dealer and we started seizing the engines on the cash for clunker cars today. what a blast that was. there's nothing like seizing a engine at full throttle.
This is how we seize the engines.
First you get the engine up to operating temperture, then drain the oil, start the engine back up with no oil in it and pour in a 1/3 of a quart of this sodium solution and then plank the gas pedal untill she seizes up. fun fun fun.
believe it or not i would say at least 60 percent of the cars that when traded in for this program are 95-99 jeep cherokees and dodge dakotas, 30 percent Furd explorers and windstars and 10 percent gm cars.
The mopars are my favorite ones to seize. lol.

Not to burst your bubble but it sounds like waste of a perfectly good car
and waste of my tax money. I hope this isnt a slippery slope that will
eventually outlaw us driving our old cars.

Unfortunately, that is the absolutely worst thing that could be done with what a lot of people call "clunkers". By destroying those vehicles, you ruin the chances for someone to get a reasonably priced vehicle into the hands of the average person. Not only that, but some of those cars have some decent parts on them. Again, when you destroy them, you lose all those parts. When someone needs that part, they're either gonna need to spend huge bucks on a part that is getting hard to find simply because all the cars that coulda been used as parts cars are rendered useless cause some douche in a suit has no idea how a vehicle works on Capitol Hill.

What ever happened to the programs that, I don't know, actually used these "clunkers" for a good cause? You know, when someone didn't want a car anymore, they could give to a group that would refurbish the vehicle and give it to someone that really couldn't afford a new vehicle. If those didn't exist before, that would be a hell of a lot better than what's going on now...

And, of course, what's the point of destroying these gas guzzling "clunkers"? Environmental responsibilty? As if! As a matter of fact, Toyota did a study that stated that the factories and shipping methods for a new vehicle means that that vehhicle will never use more fuel and resources than what it took to make the vehicle itself! You're wasting more fuel making these "efficient" cars than you think you could ever possibly save in the entire life of the vehicle! And don't get me started on hybrid vehicles! Sure, 60 mpg, blah blah blah, but what will happen when their batteries need to be thrown away? You can't recylcle battery acid very well...

And who can forget, what's going on with the cash incentives for this? Buy a new vehicle? Hopefully American? Maybe from GM (Government Motors at this point)? Sure they have good incentives, but guess what? The Government owns 70% of GM. They're just gonna make even more money off of you when you spend it on a new GM car, AND they'll get the raw materials from the car you just let them destroy! It's a perfect win-win for them! You'll let them win! I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS, AND ALL ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO SAY IS, "Hehe, we got to blow up an engine today! Awesome!"

I mean absolutely no disrespect to the OP, but this kinda stuff just makes me furious. I understand that it's supposed to be a big booster shot in the arm of the American Economy, but it's definitely not the smartest way to go about it....

You Damn right Indy! I for one am pissed by the amount of people who just go with what they are told by the media & government. If you believe that CFC program is good for anything besides lining the government's pockets, then you're probably also the type of person that believes all the pit bull myths (don't get me started), or that chicken nuggets are pure white meat, or that your vote for President actually matters. CFC ruined several good vehicles & apparently instead of just crushing the cars, now it appears by the OP, they are spending government money to "seize" the motors? What's the point if it's getting crushed other than waste tax payers' money & time?

BTW G3NUT, this is in no way a slant to you. If you're just doing what you're told & this is what the government wants, by all means, record one of these motors seizing up & post it on you tube. When my cousin got his first truck he wanted a 350 in it, but it had a 6 cylinder. I remember him draining the oil & throwing kitty litter in the motor so he could blow it & have an excuse for a swap. He fired it up & ran the piss out of it until it locked up. Not really a boom like we expected, the motor just started dragging really hard & suddenly it stopped. We were stupid kids, I bet that motor could have brought in $200 in 1997 dollars to go towards another motor.

This program is nothing but a barely disguised welfare program for the new car manufacturers, with a dose of forced green-nazi program thrown in. It's designed to force Americans into towing the line and giving up our way of life. It's communism in its purist form. It makes me sick to my stomach. And this BS about helping the environment, why the hell do they spend billions of dollars to pollute our skies with thousands upon thousands of tons of chemicals/metals via airplane spraying of chemtrails if they're really interested in cleaning up the environment?!

HATE TO DO THIS BUT I AGREE ITS A WASTE OF TAXPAYER'S MONEY...... VIDEO TO PROVE IT

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I never said i was in favor of the cash for clunkers program. i just like getting paid to seize a engine in a car that is not worth saving.
trust me when i say that they are not worth saving i mean it. these cars that people are bringing in are just that...clunkers.
unless your restoring a 95-98 dodge caravan or jeep cherokee or any other car from the mid to late 90's. then i guess those people would be upset.

they may not be restoring them but they will never find a good used part again, have to buy new or just junk it out if they cant afford the part

How about the 50,000 mile 95 Mustang GT at my local Chevy dealer?
Some dude turned it in for CfC.
I also heard of a 87 Cutlass in decent shape getting turned in,thats what pisses me off as an enthusiast,as a tax payer its that folks are getting 4500
for a 600 POS.

you guys have to remember that this is not a mandatory program.
i personally would not trade in a car to this program that i thought would have any value down the line.
but unfortunally not everybody in the u.s cares about cars except other then a means of transportation.

I think you nailed it on the head when you said most people think of cars as being disposable. I have nothing against you. I'd do it too if it was my job. There are cars that were crushed & could have been used by you, me, & other car enthusiasts, though & it breaks my heart.

Here's my thoughts:

Jeep Cherokees, although I'm not a fan, are one of the top budget off-road vehicles out there for beginners.
8.8 rears from Explorers are used in many smaller off road vehicles because of their strength & perfect width for smaller 4x4s.
My 1993 Jimmy qualifies. It has the 4.3 CPI motor that Samurai guys swap in for an awesome power:weight ratio.

I'm sure those don't affect non-off road enthusiasts, but here's some that hits us:
Most Corvettes & Z/28s qualify up until 2000!
Chevy Trucks with the 5.7 Vortecs qualify.
Caprices qualify.
Why should that bother you? Because all of those vehicles have great engines & Caprices even have suspension parts that are upgrades for G3s. Go to fueleconomy.gov & look up some vehicles. You might be surprised at what you find.

true, i would be upset if i saw a car being crushed that i could possibly get parts from to use on my car...but what are you going to do. most people just see $$$$$$$ for a pile of junk in there driveway when a progran like this comes around...

i know that we all have different opinions. this is only my point of view on the subject. but i'm not into building jeeps,dodges, and fords so when i see one of these types of vehicles being crushed it doesn't bother me.
but in the overall picture of things i guess your right it's not the greatest idea the goverment came up with...come to think of it have they ever come up with a good idea....

G3NUT wrote:i know that we all have different opinions. this is only my point of view on the subject. but i'm not into building jeeps,dodges, and fords so when i see one of these types of vehicles being crushed it doesn't bother me.
but in the overall picture of things i guess your right it's not the greatest idea the goverment came up with...come to think of it have they ever come up with a good idea....

One man's junk is another's treasure, my friend.

NO. The government hasn't thought of one good idea that I know of. Everything is about control. The more control they have, the less control we have. One day we will live in a communist country. Mark my words, because it's already starting & the sheeple are letting it happen.

I hear ya

G3NUT wrote:you guys have to remember that this is not a mandatory program.
I personally would not trade in a car to this program that i thought would have any value down the line.
but unfortunally not everybody in the u.s cares about cars except other then a means of transportation.

A car like a 96 Impala will never have a lot of cash value because it is considered a big car, and as far as the whole world is conserned a big car is worthless regardless of what it is. I love big cars! There will never be a better car made than a 96 Impala on a full production basis. I have a 73 LTD that is as well made as a Lambergini, but is it worth anything? No! No matter how good the condition is it will never be worth any more than the scrap value. There is more at stake than physical money issues when it comes to crushing a perfectly good 96 Impala or a 87 Monte Carlo or any other well made car. You will never see another car made with a full permiter frame and as far as I am concerned if a car does not have a full frame it is nothing. I know, Camaro fans will be cussing me out, but I dont care. JB

Have you looked at what really nice 96 Impalas go for?
A guy I know is selling his for 20 grand with about 15,000 miles on it.2 guys offered him 18 and he wouldnt take it. I was standing there when they
offered him the dough too. I have another good friend that the dealer he bought it from called him and asked him to sell the car back after it was
12 years old.His has about 10,000 miles on it and he turned down the dealer too.

IM with him, my dad wants a 94-96 Impala and they are all around 10K

First of all there was a guy that turned one in to the CFC program and 2nd, unless they are truly in mint condition, they go for a song around here. If you get one that is not the SS, then you can get it dirt cheap and drop in a 502 crate engine real easy and still not have as much in it compared to what a used Toyota costs. JB

All 94-96 Impalas are SS, unless you mean Caprices. Same story in my area, if you're lucky enough to find one they run you $$$$$$$$. I recently saw a 96 Black Cherry Imp for sale at $12,000 & it was high mileage.

The saddest part of the whole thing is that there ought to be some option for donating the car to the Salvation Army or another charity for a 4500 dollar voucher or something. There are a lot of poorer folks around who could really benefit from the use of one of these cars. I read that so far the number one car turned in under this program has been the Furd explorer, followed closely by F-150 pick-ups. Why crush the damn things when there are probably tons of people that could come up with a few hundred bucks to buy one of them from DAV and really get some use out of them. The charity would benefit, the buyer would get decent transportation at a really low cost, and the donor would still get their 4500 bucks.
BTW I would LOVE to explode the engine in ANY minivan I came across!!

Roadcaptain S3 wrote:The saddest part of the whole thing is that there ought to be some option for donating the car to the Salvation Army or another charity for a 4500 dollar voucher or something. There are a lot of poorer folks around who could really benefit from the use of one of these cars. I read that so far the number one car turned in under this program has been the Furd explorer, followed closely by F-150 pick-ups. Why crush the damn things when there are probably tons of people that could come up with a few hundred bucks to buy one of them from DAV and really get some use out of them. The charity would benefit, the buyer would get decent transportation at a really low cost, and the donor would still get their 4500 bucks.
BTW I would LOVE to explode the engine in ANY minivan I came across!!

I said the exact same thing in a letter to my congressman.

IndyG3 wrote:I understand that it's supposed to be a big booster shot in the arm of the American Economy, but it's definitely not the smartest way to go about it....

Agreed.

It may be a booster shot in the economy, but how long will that actually last?

Are the people trading in "clunkers" to get a NEW car considering the additional insurance costs when they make their purchase? Are they factoring in ... and fully REALIZING ... what a car payment means to their daily budget? How many of these new cars are going to be on the selling block in a few years, months, weeks ... because the purchaser realizes that ALL of the additional costs are too much....?



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how about when alot of people take advantage of this now and then in a few months when everyone that wanted a new car has one and the program has expired that there wont be many new cars sold??

They'll stir the pot some more, make everyone who has a new car freak out because their 2010 car doesn't get nearly as good mileage as a 2011 model, and the cycle will start all over again with making clunkers out of brand new or somewhat new vehicles.
As for the new car sales, American auto companies will win another bail out from the Government so the Government can give itself a check for a few trillion dollars. Problem solved!