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I don't like to be a nay-sayer, but Nay! Instead of the Government handing out stimulus checks and cash-for-clunkers (CARS) program allowances, why not just tax us less so we'd be more likely to buy a car in the first place? Why destroy wealth by bribing potential customers to buy a new car (economic stimulation!) using an anrtificial source of funding (our tax dollars?)

Here's the summary. The US Government spent $3,000,000,000 (man, that's a lot of zeroes) to purchase a little over 690,000 "clunkers" from private citizens in the form of a "rebate" to be applied to the purchase or lease of a new, more fuel-efficient "non-clunker." Those who had a qualifying vehicle and qualifying financial resources could participate in the "rebate" system. Dealers sold "more" cars and destroyed the trade-ins (per program requirements) by running the engines with sodium silicate in place of motor oil, turning the engine into a mass of fused metal, unsuitable (or undesirable) to even automotive recyclers.

I don't use the term "destroy" lightly, please go check out videos of CARS clunkers being destroyed.

Here are just a few unintended consequences to look forward to in coming months and years:

1) Economic indicators

Will we remember when strong economic indicator results come out for the quarter/year that a lot of the automotive retail sales were spurred by taxpayer-funded government giveaways, not actual raw, market-driven economic improvements? Will this lead us into other economic assumptions and a false sense of economic improvement? You can fool most of the people most of the time...

2) New car economy

Next month, next quarter, next year, expect new car sales numbers to be down corresponding to the large upturn in people who artificially decided to buy suddenly to take advantage of the CARS program.

3) Used car economy

The CARS program purposely destroys wealth by disabling (destroying) perfectly functional vehicles in the name of environmentalism. It removes cheap, used vehicles from the marketplace, dropping the supply of used vehicles and driving up the prices. Not everyone is out buying new cars and buying used cars is getting more expensive, affecting the poorest amongst us. Does this qualify as a regressive tax of sorts? You are providing new vehicles to financially capable buyers who may have been on the fence by destroying wealth and value thus putting the financial burden on those who would have been potential buyers of these so-called "clunkers." So much for only taxing the wealthy...

4) The environment

The environment, the alleged beneficiery of this program, will be the same 5 months, 5 years, and 5 centuries from now. This program will have no effect on the "big picture" of our global climate. Period.

5) Used parts economy

This one strikes close to home as I am actively keeping my car alive as long as I can on general principles (rest easy, my car is efficient enough not to qualify as a "clunker.") I rely on the availability of parts to repair my car and keep it safe and operational. When you start destroying cars pointlessly, and not recycling them, you reduce availability and artificially drive up prices of parts people need to repair their vehicles.

6) Donations to charities

Many of these Clunkers would have been destined to be donations for charities which accept them as tax-deductable gifts. A significant number of potential donations were just sold to the Government, reducing charitable-giving-by-car-donation for the near future.

Summary

So, in the face of (alleged) economic and evironmental ruin, our Government has designed a program to take a large amount of money from everyone, give it back to the middle-class (those who can qualify for automotive financing or have enough money saved up to buy a car) to convince them buy cars at an artificial discount to artificially (and temporarily) stimulate a small segment of our economy, while destroying existing wealth and driving prices up on used cars and the parts required to keep those existing cars operational. Any economic effect of this program will be short-lived, the environment will remain unchanged, and as a final coup-de-grace: charities can expect fewer automotive donations. This is governmental brilliance.

I've got a 1999 Dodge Avenger ES with (just now) 210,000 miles on it. It's my second Avenger and has been a very good car. I bought it new and have been the only owner. My first Avenger (1997) was totaled in a flood. Here's a list of some of the maintenance issues I've had over the last 9 years.

* I always religiously had the oil changed, Regular oil for the initial break-in, then synthetic oil only every 5K miles.

* If you abuse (or someone has abused) the transmission, I've seen (or had) them fail in as little as 40K miles. Take it easy, it's Chrysler's basic transmission, not a performance tranny. They use it in their minivans and Neons. Use common sense. Chrysler recommends changing the transmission fluid every 15,000 miles.

* The input speed sensor was replaced at ~16K miles under warranty. I replace the output speed sensor much later myself when it failed. The car went into "limp" mode (stays in 2nd gear) and all the gauges stopped working. The output speed sensor is an easy DIY fix with minimal tools. Maybe 10 minutes tops.

* My cruise control switch assembly (in dash) broke at ~27K miles and was replaced under warranty. The original and replacement both never worked right. Sometimes it works first push, sometimes you have to press it several times to turn the cruise control on.

* For a while I was bending the 17" aluminum wheels with regularity (half dozen wheel repairs at ~$165 each in the course of a year) on the mean streets of Atlanta, but haven't had any problems since we moved away. Replacement wheels are available for ~$165 + ~$15 shipping, so no more repairs. I've averaged about 1 wheel bent per year, but most of them were the 12 months I lived in Atlanta.

* The ball joints were replaced under recall at ~51K miles. No further problems expeienced.

* Had the rear main seal replaced at ~60K miles.

* Switched from OEM Goodyear Eagle RSA (nice performance, but soft tread compound that wears out quickly and ~$138/tire.) to Yokohama AVID V4S (equal performance for daily driving, harder tread compound that lasts more than twice as long as OEM Goodyear tire and ~$117/tire.)

* Chrysler tune-up service at 108K miles. Timing belt, plugs, filters, coolant flush, replaced transmission filter, gaskets, fluid.

* I've replaced 3 batteries in 9 years and 210K miles (normal.)

* I've got one badly fogged headlight (the other was replaced after an accident and hasn't fogged yet) from UV exposure. This is very common in cars this old. Sad, but the manufacturers probably weren't that concerned with how long the plastic would perform when engineering the car. "It's cheaper than glass, right? Let's use it..."

* The nose of the car has caught a lot of grief (and curbs) in its lifetime. We've had it repaired or replaced (after accident) several times and probably painted about 4 or 5 times. It needs it again now.

* The pressboard (donut) spare tire cover in the trunk gave way recently. I'm going to replace it with a thin plywood sheet cut to size.

* The switches that indicate the doors are closed both quit on me at about 175K after about 7 years. A trip to my local Pull-A-Part and $5 fixed that.

* The back seats are pleather, not leather. I consider this false advertising on the part of Dodge. They probably indicate this in the fine print somewhere...

* The rear suspension doesn't have a camber adjustment, so my car wears out rear tires as the wheels are kicked out on the bottom of the wheel more than the top of the wheel. Causes wear on the in-board edge of the tire. This is pain because you can't easily visually inspect the wear on this area of the tire. There are some ~$100 kits that replace a piece of the rear suspension and allow camber adjustment to eliminate this problem. I haven't tried them yet.

* Replaced alternator at ~163K miles.

* I've had a continual problem with the black tarry sealant used to attach the water barrier in the door leaking out the bottom of the door onto the door sill. I've scrubbed, scraped, used solvents, gunk remover and wasted a lot of time on this. The sealant is still leaking out 9 years after the car was manufactured.

* My torque converter lockdown clutch failed at 150K miles and the transmission followed at 157K. Rebuilt the transmission (Aamco - overpriced!) and haven't had any problems since. You'll get an error code and general transmission performance issues (slipping, slow shifting, clunking.)

* Lost the air conditioning pulley ~157K miles. Scared the bejezus out of me when this let loose at highway speeds. $367 repair for parts and labor.

* Recently (~190,000 miles) the car developed a front end shake under acceleration. If it isn't alignment, wheel balance, or a brake issue, check your halfshafts. Take the wheel off, grab the halfshaft and try to move it. There should be no play up and down or front to back. Check the CV boots and make sure they are intact and that each is clamped on both ends. They can look fine with the CV boot sheared apart. Get your hands in there, move the boots around and make sure they are intact. You'll get a little greasy, but you'll learn a little bit about your drivetrain.

* Front door speakers have disintegrated (paper cone) and need to be replaced.

* Infinity premium stereo blew out the front tweeters. I replaced them with same tweeter from Dodge dealer, but added a high-pass filter before reinstalling them.

* Driver's side door handle broke after 9 years of use. Obtained replacement OEM door handles for both doors (passenger and driver) for ~$30 total. 30 minutes to remove broken handle, 30 minutes to install new one. I could do it quicker now, but it's a little tricky getting in those small spaces in the door. Don't look in a junk yard for these, they are all gone.

* Window switch assembly is fragile and has been repaired several times. Switch drops down into door and usually can't be just reattached (the plastic it mounts to usually splits apart.)

* Front leather seats are starting to wear holes after 9 years. It's right where the seat's internal metal frame touches the seat surface on the side bolsters.

You'll occasionally hear horror stories out there about Avengers (usually multiple owners, with unknown owner history) but both of my Avengers were very reliable to me. Other than the above noted repairs, it was just minor fuses, bulbs, etc. Maintain the wearing parts (regular oil changes, brakes, tires (proper inflation and tire rotation) ) and the car just keeps on running.