Dealers to Feds: Where's Our Clunker Cash?

The Cash for Clunkers program certainly isn’t breaking any speed limits, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association, which believes the government is sitting on millions of dollars in dealer applications waiting to be reimbursed. “It is ludicrous at this point,” says the group’s president. “The customer is gone, the car is gone, and you don’t have your money.”

Dealers have to front the money for the program, giving customers vouchers for up to $4,500 for their old cars. In the three weeks that the program’s been active, 411,624 transactions totaling $1.7 billion worth of applications have been submitted. The Treasury says it’s aware of the problem and is working to speed up its turnaround time. (More Cash for Clunkers stories.)