Cash For Clunkers Ending

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The amount of paperwork with each Cash for Clunker deal has been the bane of dealers complaints. But ask them about the program and the sales went beyond their expectations.

Tom O' Steen says,"It has been phenomenal."

O' Steen is the president of Jacksonville Auto Dealers Association. "It has been better than any of us thought it would be," says O'Steen.

O'Steen says on the First Coast the program generated 1500 - 1800 new car sales. The biggest challenge for dealers, he says, has been getting paid.

"Only one-third of the estimated 700,000 vehicles have been paid," says O'Steen.

Dealers are expecting as much as $4500 per sale from the governments Car Allowance Rebate System.

"The paperwork has been a burden,' says O'Steen.

In fact, the government's computer system crashed Monday the deadline for the program because of the overload in filing the paperwork.

Dealers are pleased to see the Department of Transportation has extended that deadline until noon Tuesday.

But as the program ends, and the dealers assess its benefits, they say it was the right thing under the Recovery Act of 2009.

"When you look at the auto industry and what it means to this country and how many thousands it employ, I believe it was the right thing to do, even though it was a little challenging," says O'Steen.

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