Buyers flocked to car lots in Hawai'i this week to take advantage of the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program, giving a shot in the arm to the state's struggling auto dealers.

Hawai'i dealers have sold an estimated 1,100 cars within the first week of the program, said Dave Rolf, executive director for Hawai'i Automobile Dealers Association.

"We anticipated that each dealer would sell around a dozen (cars) each, and we think that most of the dealerships have done that," Rolf said.

The program, which gives consumers as much as $4,500 each to put toward fuel-efficient cars when they trade in gas guzzlers, proved so popular that the initial $1 billion set aside by Congress was exhausted this week, well before the Nov. 1 expiration date of the program. The U.S. House of Representatives approved $2 billion in additional funding for the program yesterday, but the measure must still win Senate approval next week.

Mark Caliri, general manager of Honolulu Ford, called the program "very successful." Honolulu Ford has already accepted 15 trade-ins, and the car buyers have already driven their new vehicles off the lot.

"It certainly did ring a bell with consumers; if you're thinking about it, don't wait. It won't last until November," Caliri said.

Honolulu Ford has yet to dispose of any of the trade-in vehicles as it is awaiting instructions on how to disable the engine on the dealership grounds. Under the program, the dealers must scrap the "clunkers" and are not allowed to resell them.

The stimulus provided by the clunkers program is welcome news for Hawai'i auto dealers, who are enduring their fourth straight year of declining sales.

Rolf said the flurry of sales spurred by the program won't reverse the trend, but should help blunt the decline. In a forecast released before the program was unveiled, HADA had predicted sales of cars and light trucks would decline by 19.9 percent this year to 34,308. Hawai'i car sales peaked at 70,268 in 2005.

"If it continues at the rate we've experienced and if the Senate passes it as is, it's possible we could do 3,300 (cars sold) on that program if it's passed between now and Nov. 1. That's 10 percent of what we expected to sell in the whole year, from just that program," Rolf said.

RULES UNCLEAR

As popular as the program is, dealers are having to cope with its complexities. Rolf said that he received an additional 120 pages of rules nearly a week after the program started on July 24.

The program was briefly suspended on Thursday, and dealers are unclear on specific rules and don't want to risk having to bear the cost of a trade-in that doesn't meet program requirements.

Damien J.K. Farias, general manager of Maui Toyota, said that disposing of the engine on site is one of around 22 requirements that a dealer has to submit proof of to receive reimbursement. There are also title issues to contend with.

"In our case, customers are reluctant to give away the title before they know they're approved, but we can't get the car approved unless we have the title. It's the chicken and the egg thing."

Karl Brauer, editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com, said that while the rumors of the program's problems may be true, they are also exaggerated.

"The rules were complex, but ultimately pretty clear cut. You had to do a lot of reading, but it's rather easy to understand."