Car dealerships across America faced a wave of last-minute shoppers this weekend, rushing to complete Cash for Clunkers trade-in deals before the government shuts down the popular program this evening at 8 pm. The program offers Americans a voucher worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new car when they turn in an older, less-efficient car.

The New York Daily News reports, "Dealerships were swamped Sunday as drivers rushed to trade in their old cars in time for Monday night's deadline." Joe Clem, sales manager at New York's Koeppel Nissan told the Daily News, "It's been insane. We've gotten a whirlwind of people. I stay till 4 o'clock in the morning doing paperwork. This has been our best month ever."

CBS News adds, "The story is the same all over. At a Toyota dealer in Maryland, salesmen are hip-deep in clunker deals. And the back lot of Christian Gomes's Ford store on Long Island it's the clunkers themselves that run 60 deep." Gomes told CBS that he had "sold his entire inventory."

As of Sunday night, Transportation Department officials told reporters, more than 400,000 clunkers deals had been completed - likely many more, since government officials have been slow to process paperwork. The Washington Post reports, "The $3 billion program was expected to last until Labor Day, but the government said late last week that it was shutting it down because most of the money has been spent and it needs to process paperwork to reimburse dealerships."

Because the government has been slow to reimburse dealers, many have pulled out of the program early. We advise car shoppers looking to complete a Cash for Clunkers transaction today to begin their shopping on the phone - call local dealers to ensure that they are still participating in the program before leaving to begin your search. Do your research, and know the make, model, trim level and options packages you're interested in before engaging with a dealership. And remember, you don't have to take delivery from dealer stock - the Department of Transportation allows Cash for Clunkers trade-ins even if you are ordering a car from the factory, so it is possible to complete a deal for a car the dealer says he doesn't have on the lot, though you will have to wait for the car to be built and shipped to the dealer before you can pick it up, and you'd have to leave your clunker behind while you waited.

If you're interested in the Cash for Clunkers program, check out our Cash for Clunkers page.  If you're ready to buy, contact local dealers. For the latest news on the program, check out Cash for Clunkers news.