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SALT LAKE CITY -- The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill allowing people to trade in their old cars for vouchers going toward newer cars that get better gas mileage. But some mechanics say the bill worries them.
The "cash for clunkers" bill aims to boost new auto sales by allowing consumers to turn in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for vouchers worth up to $4,500 toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.
People like Main Street Muffler owner Rob Miller say they depend on old cars in bad condition. "If you take all these older cars off the road, the mechanic shops are going to just have a real hard time," he said.
Even if the car sales jump dramatically as they have in other countries, Miller says that does nothing to help him in the short term.
"[With] a new car, people don't need anything done to it and they generally take them to the dealers to have the oil changed because they're under warranty," he explained.
The older cars traded in then are destroyed, eliminating any possibility to work on them later. Miller says his business is already down 40 percent. But some analysts say they expect any effect on mechanic shops to be minimal.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
