Wheels turn for those deprived of automobiles

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

By NEIL MODIE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A limited number of Seattle-area residents who need cars for work but can't afford to buy them might soon find themselves driving former King County government vehicles.

The County Council yesterday authorized the donation of up to 50 surplus fleet vehicles a year to Working Wheels, a program that sells government cars for about $1,500 each to low-income families who need wheels to hold or accept jobs. The county might sell additional vehicles to Working Wheels at negotiated prices.

The city of Seattle already donates 50 cars a year to Working Wheels, but recipients must be Seattle residents. The county's participation will enable the program to expand countywide, said Susan Crane, executive director of Port Jobs, a non-profit jobs agency that founded Working Wheels last year.

Having sold 75 cars to working poor, "we're out of cars right now, so we clearly can use the county's cars," Crane said.

The program has about 300 applicants seeking cars, mostly sedans, that are worth at least twice the price the recipients pay for them, Crane said. All vehicles are reconditioned before being resold.

Past recipients have included a single mother who had to take three buses to her job; a man who supports his family delivering pizzas but whose car broke down, and construction apprentices who need cars to get to work.

"One of our first buyers was a Russian immigrant mother with eight children, and we got her a compact car because that's all we had," Crane said

Port Jobs contracts with the non-profit Fremont Public Association to operate Working Wheels.

The program sells cars only to people who have either a job or a verified job offer for which they need a car. Recipients must earn no more than 175 percent of the federal poverty level, which for a family of four would be $2,640 a month.

The typical Working Wheels car buyer earns about $10 an hour, Crane said. The Credit Union of the Pacific manages the program's loan portfolio, and the Federal Home Loan Bank provides a loan-guarantee fund.

People who have been convicted of drunken driving or a vehicle-related felony in the past three years are ineligible. Applicants must be able to afford to make car payments and pay for insurance.