Vehicle Maintenance vs Cash for Clunkers
Vehicle Maintenance is More Cost Effective than Cash for Clunkers
Routine maintenance on your car for an entire year actually costs less than one new car payment, and is much more successful in reducing gas usage and pollution than the “Cash for Clunkers” program. “Cash for Clunkers” was a government program that offered vouchers to people who traded in their old cars for new, more fuel efficient models. According to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), vehicle maintenance can save American consumers $30 billion in gasoline per year, versus spending $3 billion to buy new cars.
The “Cash for Clunkers” program is estimated to save 72 million gallons of gasoline per year. However, simple vehicle maintenance can save over 12 billion gallons per year, which equals all the gas used in Illinois, Michigan and Connecticut in one year. Not only that, but maintaining your car does not require any taxpayer money, nor does it require destroying vehicles that could be driven by people who cannot afford a new car, reports AAIA.
"Understandably the 'Cash for Clunkers' program was wildly popular among new car dealers, car makers and those consumers who have the ability to buy a new vehicle. However, the majority of Americans cannot afford a new car payment today, but they probably can afford to trade up to a newer used vehicle or make their current vehicle more fuel-efficient," says Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO.
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