Oregon’s Attorney General John Kroger announced settlements with two automobile dealerships over paying consumers for vehicles delivered during the “Cash for Clunkers” program. The two dealers, Toyota of Gladstone and Larry Miller Honda of Hillsboro, will pay 236 Oregon consumers a total of $43,571 for the scrap value of the vehicles they traded in under the program.
In additional, Attorney General Kroger warned more than 200 other auto dealers in Oregon that they must comply with federal law and provide full scrap value refunds to consumers.
"Toyota of Gladstone and Larry Miller Honda of Hillsboro deserve credit for quickly agreeing to fix the problem when the Department of Justice brought it to their attention," said Attorney General Kroger. "The rest of the auto dealers in Oregon that accepted Cash-for-Clunker rebates need to obey the law as well."
An initial investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice indicated that many Oregon consumers may not have received the full refund they were entitled to.
Under the program, consumers received either a $3,500 or $4,500 credit for trading in a fuel inefficient vehicle. One additional feature of the program, which was not widely known, required dealers to return to consumers the full scrap value of the vehicle, although they were allowed to deduct a $50 processing fee.
When contacted, Toyota of Gladstone and Larry Miller Honda of Hillsboro readily agreed to fix the problem by swiftly refunding customers who had participated in the Cash-for-Clunkers program. Toyota of Gladstone paid 141 consumers an additional $20,020 in scrap value. Larry Miller Honda of Hillsboro paid 95 consumers an additional $23,550 in scrap value.