Clunkers deals net $65m in Bay State

Nationally, the three-week program that ended Monday night resulted in the sale of 700,000 new cars with rebate applications worth $2.8 billion, according to a report released yesterday by the US Department of Transportation. The popular $3 billion program, which offered drivers a $3,500 to $4,500 discount on a new car in exchange for an older, less fuel-efficient vehicle, gave a much-needed boost to automakers.

“From a sales perspective, it has been phenomenal,’’ said Robert O’Koniewski, executive vice president of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, which represents 441 dealers in the state.

He estimates Bay State dealers sold about three months’ worth of vehicles in three weeks, but he said the program has been marred by organization issues. Indeed, the program was so popular that the government was not able to process rebates fast enough, leaving some dealers to take out loans to cover the cost of the rebates.

“From the get-go, it has been a poorly implemented program from the feds,’’ O’Koniewski said. “Less than 5 percent has been paid out to dealers to date. That puts a tremendous strain on the cash flow for the dealers.’’

Adam Silverleib, dealer manager at Silko Honda in Raynham, said the program generated more traffic in his showroom, and he hopes sales will continue to be strong through the August model clearance event. However, Silverleib said payment has been an issue.

“It’s nice to do business, but it’s nice to be paid,’’ said Silverleib, who added that his best-selling models in the program were the Honda Civic, CRV, and Accord. “We can only assume that payment will be forthcoming in a much more orderly manner.’’

The DOT did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

But Bill Adams, a DOT spokesman, told the Globe last week that the federal government plans to get all rebates to dealers within a month. To help with processing the dealer application rebates, the DOT has expanded its team of workers to more than 2,000 people to handle the paperwork.

“We are focused on making sure they get their reimbursements, and have three shifts working across the country to make that happen,’’ Adams said.

Yesterday’s report did not break out the number of cars or top-selling models sold in Massachusetts under the program, but O’Koniewski, with the Massachusetts dealers group, said the best-selling models locally would probably mirror the national models because of their fuel efficiency.

According to the report, 84 percent of car buyers traded in trucks, and 59 percent bought cars. The average fuel economy of the cars that were traded in was about 15.8 miles per gallon, while the average fuel economy of vehicles purchased was 24.9 miles per gallon.

The five top-selling new models nationally were the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus, and Hyundai Elantra. The top trade-in vehicles were the Ford Explorer, Ford F150 pickup, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Dodge Caravan.

In New England, Rhode Island sold $10.6 million worth of cars through the clunker program; Maine sold $16.5 million, New Hampshire sold $23 million, and Vermont had $9.9 million in sales.

Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com.