Frustrated with delays, rejections and computer-system crashes, several New Hampshire auto dealers are making car buyers pledge to cover rebates if the federal government doesn't come through with checks under the Cash for Clunkers program.

Auto dealers say they are doing so because the federal government is a clunker when it comes to sending out rebate checks of $3,500 or $4,500 per car.

But a state consumer protection official said there could be a problem with such a pledge, and at least one customer has refused to sign it.

The New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association created the draft agreement earlier this month and sent it to members, said President Peter McNamara.

Some dealers aren't using the agreement. Others are negotiating the agreement into the deal. McNamara said dealers are having problems getting rebates from the federal government, despite a law that requires any rebate application to be answered within 10 days.

At Bonneville & Son in Manchester, the company has not received a single rebate, despite the 70 Cash for Clunker deals it signed since late July. Manchester Subaru has had one of 25 rebates approved.

In Swanzey, the dealership that includes Toyota of Keene is waiting for money from 130 rebates.

For some dealers, the IOUs surpass $500,000, McNamara said. "For any dealer, $100,000 represents a serious cash-flow issue if you don't know when it's going to come in," he said.

►Cash for Clunkers to end on Monday (6)

Bonneville has car buyers sign statements that terminate the deal if the rebate does not go through, he said.

"The government changed the rules a couple of times, and it kind of puts you on edge," said John Berry, general manager at Bonneville, a Chrysler-Kia dealer.

Consumers have had issues with the agreements.

State Rep. Fran Wendelboe of New Hampton wanted to trade in her 1996 Ford Explorer, with 216,000 miles, for a new Subaru Forester.

When her Cash for Clunkers application was bounced back, Belknap Subaru asked her to sign an agreement to hold her responsible for $4,500. She refused.

"I'm assuming that this Subaru dealership isn't trying to pull a fast one on me," she said. "All these dealers have got to be experiencing the same thing."

With a deposit already on the table and financing approved, the deal now hinges on whether her application will be approved.

Federal government rules say the dealer must deliver the car when the dealer submits the application for Cash for Clunkers, McNamara said. But he said the rules give dealers the option to require customers to sign a pledge.

"It hasn't been challenged in court," he said.

Richard Head, chief of the state attorney general's Consumer Protection Bureau, said there could be an issue with the agreement if the Cash for Clunker rebate was a key inducement for the transaction. An opt-out would seem problematic, he said. But he stressed that every agreement relies on the facts of the case.

He advised car buyers to check Web sites and other material to make sure their trade-in qualifies for the program.

Several dealers said applications were rejected for slight problems, such as illegible printing or a lack of insurance. And 10 documents have to be downloaded and input into the government's system, said Corey Luba, sales manager at Manchester Subaru.

"It's a paperwork nightmare," he said. A typo or sloppy printing can cause a rejection, he said.

He said his dealership doesn't ask buyers to sign a pledge. Rather, Manchester Subaru is careful to follow all the rules. For example, he recently rejected a Clunkers deal when the registration showed a one-day lapse.

The owner blamed it on the state registration office, but that didn't faze Luba.

"According to the rules, that car does not qualify," he said. "Another dealer might make the sale. I'm not going to take the chance. That's not my $4,500 on the line. It's the dealer's."