Dealers want end to Cash for Clunkers
National Automobile Dealers Association wants an orderly closure of program and again expresses concerns that funds are running out.
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The National Automobile Dealers Association is urging the federal government to begin shutting down the Cash for Clunkers program immediately.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, NADA said that, given the rapid pace at which deals are being done, it will be difficult to say when the program's funds may run out.
Dealers have complained of problems and delays in getting payments due to them under the program. But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said earlier Wednesday that all dealers would be reimbursed.
"They're going to get their money," LaHood said during a press conference. "We have the money to provide to them. We have put an enormous number of people on the task of processing the paperwork. There will be no car dealer that won't be reimbursed."
The NADA said, in its statement, that the group had "confirmed elsewhere" that dealers would not get paid if cash ran out.
Still, the dealers' group said that it had held meetings with officials from the Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Wednesday morning in order to reiterate concerns about the program.
"As the first order of business, NADA stressed the importance of addressing - as soon as possible - how the program will end, including the possible suspension of the program," the organization said.
NADA further warned that dealers who accept Clunkers deals at this point "face a growing risk that they may not be reimbursed.
The Senate passed a $2 billion extension of the Cash for Clunkers program on Thursday. The program quickly burned through an initial $1 billion in funding after its official kick-off on July 24. So far, about $1.5 billion of claims have been submitted by dealers who have sold a total of about 360,000 cars. 
