The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is expanding its popular Old Car Buy Back program, offering residents $2,200 for qualifying vehicles manufactured in 2002 or earlier. The initiative aims to reduce air pollution by encouraging the retirement of older, higher-emission vehicles.
The program targets gasoline and diesel-powered cars, light-duty trucks, vans and SUVs that meet specific conditions. Those conditions include, but are not limited to:
- Vehicles must be registered in Santa Barbara County for the past two consecutive years
- Vehicles must be in working condition
- Vehicles must be smog-certified.
Once accepted, the vehicles are permanently removed from circulation and crushed to eliminate their environmental impact.
“With the increased cost of used cars, these program changes are critical to entice people to retire their old, polluting vehicles and replace them with cars that use cleaner technology,” said Aeron Arlin Genet, APCD Executive Director. “Cleaner cars mean better air quality in Santa Barbara County and throughout California.”
According to the APCD, since its inception, the program has removed more than 8,100 vehicles from local roads, resulting in a reduction of approximately 1,000 tons of smog-forming pollution. The original version of the program offered $1,000 for vehicles model year 1997 or older.
For more information, including how to apply, call (805) 979-8271 or visit the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District website.
