This program offer vehicle owners with an incentive to retire their vehicle. If a consumer meets the income eligibility requirement, they will likely receive $1,500 for each vehicle they retire. Your eligibility depends on your gross household income, which must be less than or the equivalent of 225 percent of the Federal poverty level.
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
What Factors Impact Your Application?
You’ll need to apply for a vehicle retirement program in order to safely dispose of your vehicle and receive a financial benefit. Aside from meeting the required gross household income, your vehicle needs to have been participating in polluting California’s air for at least two years.
Another important factor when creating an application is that the vehicle needs to running and working smoothly. Some vehicle owners assume that their vehicle doesn’t need to start to be eligible for a vehicle retirement program as it’ll be taken apart to be assessed and used for parts. The vehicle needs to be able to start on its own, too, without the assistance of jumper cables or starter fluids.
With that being said, your car doesn’t have to start perfectly to be eligible, but it should be able to move forward 30 feet to get into the program for testing. The vehicle can’t weigh over 10,000 pounds and should include cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks. It should be the type of vehicle that is driven in daily traffic on roads.
If you plan to require your car, you’ll need to pay for a smog test, which not all car owners are aware of at first. A smog inspection is an essential requirement to verify that your vehicle is capable of being driven and safe to use. This information also allows the program to measure the emissions reductions during the retirement process.
Reasons to Retire Your Vehicle
Are you not quite convinced that you should retire your vehicle? Here are some of the top reasons to make a huge difference to your environment while experiencing some benefits for yourself, too.
Positive Impact on the Environment
The most obvious and beneficial reason to engage in a vehicle retirement program is getting your high-polluting car off the road. Car pollution is a huge concern, and although there are more eco-friendly vehicles available today, not everyone has the money to purchase a greener version.
Donating Your Car to a Good Cause
If you’re not interested in the financial benefits of retiring your car, you can donate your vehicle to a worthy cause that’ll use the parts for other reasons than building cars.
It’s Easy to Do
Unlike some application forms, the process isn’t grueling, but it’s quick and easy to do. Take a few minutes to answer the necessary questions for free and wait for the organization to get back to you — which is typically no longer than a week — with an answer. The application process is free, too, so there’s nothing to lose out on.
An Opportunity for a Greener Model
When you’re without your high-polluting vehicle, you might feel a little lost for a while. But just because you’ve handed your car into a vehicle retirement program, it doesn’t mean you have to be completely without a vehicle. In fact, there’s no better time than to switch for a greener model that emits little carbon monoxide.
Eco-friendly cars have a lightweight design that means they physically don’t take much toll on the road in comparison to higher-emission cars. They feature emission sensors that make you more conscious of your impact on the environment. Most eco-friendly cars are manufactured with LED lights, which are brighter than regular lights, though they use less energy. As a result, you’ll be able to drive better at night, and you won’t have to replace the lights either.
Another benefit of greener cars is that they improve the air pollution within your car—a factor that’s important to the driver and passengers’ health. These cars are equipped with air filteration systems that remove 99 percent of pollutants, contaminants, and bacteria. This prevents them from entering your car and lungs.
Reasons Your Car Might Fail Polluting Tests
The first step to a vehicle retirement program is understanding that your vehicle is creating harmful emissions and polluting the environment. This process involves polluting tests. If you discover that your car has failed the polluting test, there could be an array of reasons, which you could repair to make your car kinder to the environment.
Leak in the Vacuum System
A common trait is damage to or a leak in the vacuum system. This is usually caused by a gasket or rubber line wearing out in the system, resulting in a distinct, prominent smell. As a result, the vehicle increases the emissions it produces, having a negative impact on the environment. Your first call of action should be to have your vehicle inspected before further faults arise.
Fault with the Air Injection System
The air injection system has a job to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide emissions on a vehicle. As its name suggests, this system injects fresh air into the engine to create a balance to the hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide levels that are emitted. However, if the air injection system has a malfunction, it can’t create this balance, resulting in greater levels of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
Malfunction with the Ignition System
Another possibility for high emissions could be due to a fault with the ignition system, or high levels of rich fuel compared to fresh, clean air in the engine’s cylinders. If there’s a chance that this is causing your vehicle to emit high levels of carbon monoxide, the vehicle will require inspecting for a worn-out fuel pump, a malfunction int he O2 sensor, or leaks in the injectors.
Fault with Oxygen Sensor
Your vehicle’s oxygen sensor plays a huge role in assessing the amount of oxygen within the exhaust gases. However, if there’s a fault with the oxygen sensor, it isn’t capable of assessing these reasons and the sensor. The oxygen sensor’s fault could be due to a leak in the exhaust, which enables harmful fumes to enter the catalytic converter, resulting in higher emissions.
Ways You Can Reduce Your Car Emissions
Let’s say you aren’t successful for a vehicle retirement program. That doesn’t mean you have to neglect your responsibilities as a car owner. Instead, here are some ways to have a positive impact on the environment while still retaining your car.
Drive Less Often
The first and most obvious way is to not drive as much. Although cars are a convenient mode of transport, we can tend to rely on them too much when there are other methods of transportation available.
If you’re heading somewhere that’s within two miles, walk, run, or bike to your destination. This is a great way to take in your surroundings and embark in some exercise without contributing to any pollution in your environment. Alternatively, if you need a car because you’re collecting something, opt for public transportation or research ride-sharing services.
Drive Efficiently
For those times when you need to drive, do so efficiently. Apply the gas pedal gently to avoid a sudden surge of emissions. Go easy on the brakes too, by ensuring you’re always aware while driving so that you don’t have to brake suddenly. If you own a manual vehicle, try to drive in a higher gear as much as possible, although only do so when it’s safe. These tips will also help to save fuel, allowing you to spend less on gas.
Have Your Car Services Regularly
Services aren’t just a strategy to take your money, but they ensure your vehicle runs safely and efficiently. Don’t avoid a service update as an important component is to check your car isn’t producing too many emissions.
When your car isn’t being serviced, you can remain proactive and check your vehicle’s health yourself. For example, check the pressure on your tires every few weeks. Under-inflated tires burn fuel less efficiently, resulting in more emissions being emitted.
Don’t drive with unnecessary electric components switched on. Check that heated screens and headlights are only turned on when necessary and being used. Otherwise, you’ll burn more fuel than you’re actually using.