Though the “Cash for Clunkers” program officially ended August 24, 8pm EDT, the Transportation Department decided to extend the filing deadline for dealers to Tuesday noon, Eastern Time (August 25) after reports of computer problems. The cash for clunkers website faced technical difficulties and was temporarily shut down, preventing many dealers from filing all the necessary paper work for their rebate claims.
The Transportation Department attributed the problem to an “overwhelming demand” even after a system upgrade was implemented to handle more online transactions. The extension should give many dealers some breathing room to submit all their requirements and claim their rebates under the cash for clunkers program. “Cash for Clunkers” is a landmark program by the Obama administration that gives rebates to people who trade in their gas-guzzlers for cars with better fuel economy ratings.
Deadliest deadline
National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) spokesperson Bailey Wood said that extending the deadline was a step in the right direction. However, he did mention that if computer problems persist, they would push for another filing extension.
Update: 08/25/09
The Transportation Department extended the “cash for clunkers” filing deadline for dealers to 8pm on Tuesday, August 25, 2009. This was the second extension announced due to technical difficulties and urgent requests from NADA.
Whether this deadline will stand remains a concern for NADA. Technical problems still persisted Tuesday around 1:45pm EDT, and the system went back up only around 3:30pm EDT. These delays are problematic for dealers scrambling to submit all their requirements within the new deadline.
If the problems continue, NADA spokesperson Bailey Wood said that they will push for their original request of extending the filing deadline to next Monday, August 31.
As of this moment, the Transportation Department has already been notified of the problems faced by dealers.
Please stay tuned for further updates.
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