Some customers who purchased cars during the 2009 CARS rebate program, popularly known as Cash for Clunkers, were entitled to a portion of the scrap value of their old cars, in addition to the government rebate of $3,500 or $4,500. What? And the dealerships didn’t tell them? Gasp!

Robert O’Koniewski, executive vice president of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, said his group informed every dealer in the state that they had to give customers a value estimate for their trade-ins, but did not say that money had to go to the customers.

“Nothing in the law said scrap value money had to go to customers,’’ O’Koniewski said. “If a savvy customer raised the issue, the value could be put into the price of the car.’’

If you think that you might be entitled to the scrap value from your own Cash for Clunkers trade-in, contact your state’s attorney general.

Seeking more cash for their clunkers [Boston Globe]

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