OTTUMWA — The Cash for Clunkers program ended this week and area dealers say it helped boost business, but not without a few headaches.

“I think it was really successful,” said Josh VanNess, manager at Vaughn Automotive in Ottumwa. “We saw a lot of people that had older cars trade them in for something that was going to get them more fuel economy.”

At Vaughn, the dealership sold nearly 35 vehicles through the program. VanNess said they ended their Cash for Clunkers deals a few days early so there would be time to complete the paperwork before the Monday deadline. The deadline to file paperwork was extended to Tuesday for dealers because of problems with the Web site.

Brian Starnes, general sales manager at Fesler Auto Mall in Fairfield, said they had issues with submitting paperwork through the CARS Web site on a daily basis. Regardless, he said, the program generated business.

“It was a great program as far as mission accomplished, it generated a lot of buzz,” he said. “[We had] more foot traffic, more lot traffic and more phone traffic.”

Now, dealers are waiting for their reimbursements from the government.

“We still have yet to receive a penny from the government,” Starnes said. In total, Fesler sold 28 new vehicles through the program. “I feel I will be funded on every deal, which is the issue.”

At Vaughn, they have received two reimbursements from the government so far. VanNess thinks the rest will come in slowly.

At Wagler Motor Company in Sigourney, salesmen there sold nine cars through the program, said Michael B. Wagler, president of the company.

He said the paperwork dealers had to file was overwhelming and took up to two hours to complete and submit for a single deal. Wagler said he has yet to see any money from the government.

“Overall it was a pretty good program, but it would be nice if they could pay us quicker,” he said, noting he hopes to get reimbursed within 2-3 weeks.

Russ Mikels, owner of Mikels Inc. in Bloomfield, said he stopped the Cash for Clunkers deals 2-3 weeks early because they were running short on new cars. The dealership sold three new cars through the program, and Mikels said he didn’t realize there would be a delay in the government’s reimbursements.

“They said you would be paid within 10 days of approval, but they didn’t say when they would look at it for approval,” he said.

As of last week, the CARS program recorded more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 million in rebates, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“I don’t think there’s going to be another program like this in our lifetime. A majority of people didn’t have a clunker, so there’s still a big percent of the market that wasn’t affected by this so they’re still going to be in the market to buy,” said VanNess.