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You have three weeks to get the Monte Carlo running, at least well enough to drive it to a dealership. The “Cash for Clunkers” program, which will pay consumers a rebate of up to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new car when they turn in an older, less efficient car, is about to begin.

Autoblog reports, “When President Obama signed the Cash-for-Clunkers bill into law back on June 24, the Transportation Department was given 30 days to set the official rules and regulations for the program that will put the plan into motion. According to the official CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) site, NHTSA intends to get the deed done a day early by July 23.”

The program is scheduled to end on November 1, 2009 - although Congress has provided only $1 billion worth of funding, so the program could end earlier if it runs out of funds.

Be wary of any dealership that offers to strike a deal before July 23. A website the Department of Transportation has set up to administer the program warns, “While the CARS Act makes transactions on and after July 1 potentially eligible for credits under the CARS program, interested dealers and consumers may want to wait until all of the detailed issues that must be addressed in the implementing regulations are resolved and the final rule is issued.” Dealerships aren’t prohibited from acting early, but the DOT warns, “If dealer choose to structure a transaction before the final rule is issued, they will bear the risks associated with later demonstrating that the transaction meets all of the specifications of the final rule.”

If a dealership offers to process a transaction early, buyers should make sure they receive the credit immediately, and not on July 23. The website explains, “The dealers should…give the credit to the consumer at the time of such transaction. The dealer would be reimbursed by NHTSA later if the dealer registers and submits.”

That hasn’t stopped some dealerships, and some carmakers, from jumping the gun. The Wall Street Journal reports, “SmartUSA, the U.S. sales arm of the minicar brand owned by Daimler AG, is offering qualified customers the opportunity to use their clunker bucks as the down payment on a Smart Fortwo they can drive away for $99 a month for three years, after which there’s a balloon payment.” Some are even piggybacking their own incentives on the government’s effort. The Journal notes, “AutoNation, Inc., the largest U.S. car-retailing chain, plans to offer customers who use clunker bucks to buy a new vehicle an extra $100 for every mile-per-gallon improvement they make replacing an old car with a new one.”

For details on how to qualify for the government’s program, see our Cash for Clunkers FAQ.

To keep up to date on the latest developments, check out our Cash for Clunkers page, where we’ve gathered the latest cash for clunkers news and what it means for you all in one place.