Scrappage benefit 'lost in 88 days'
I rather suspect any benefits from this would most likely go directly to the dealer - they'd use it instead of giving the prospective buyer the usual 'discount' off the displayed price.

Can't really see it having that much of an impact on the car industry in any case - those of us driving a 10+ year old car are not likely to be able to afford to buy new and those that can afford it, are not likely to want a new car - I loved my old Trumpet - it had character & stood out from the crowd.
People would turn their heads to look as I drove passed

Yes, mixed reactions from 'What's that', 'Oh! Nice' and 'What a wreck' - but a reaction for sure

Try getting that amount of notice in a in a Mondeo


As for carbon footprint - don't get me started on the idea of replacing cars every 3-4 years...

On the face of it, scrappage seems a good wheeze. However, as shown on the BBC a week or so ago, it's actually more of a saving to buy a nearly new car over a brand spanker.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8041228.stm



On another site I frequent, I spotted a scrappage scheme advert from Fiat. Essentially, it made the cost of the basic Panda a fiver under £5k. It looked quite a good deal, but then I remembered I paid £1400 for my current car with 76k on the clock. A much better bargain, I think.

Then again, like you, I'm happy to run older cars. I don't think I've paid more than £2k for a used car over a decade. Once they reach a point where it's more expensive to maintain than buy another one, they get recycled.

Which is why, when I bought my car, it was a used car, barely six months old and not even 3000miles on the clock. But I saved over £3000 instead of buying it new. Far better than the measly £2k the Govt boasts.

My neighbour is doing up an Austin 7. I doubt he sees that as a way to get 2K off a Prius.

Scrapping a perfectly good car for the sake of £2k off a multi-thousand spend on a new car makes no sense.
Might as well sell your old car for whatever, put that towards your pot of money for the new one and buy second hand.

The German system works well (it was introduced in January).

The old car has to be over ten years old, must have been registered for the road in the owner's name for at least 12 months. They get €2,500 when it is scrapped, which they have to put towards a new car - the deal is only valid if you buy a new car. The "new" car can either be a brand spanking new car or a "Jahreswagen", which are nearly new (less than 12 months old).

The manufacturers are falling over themselves to get the business. Mercedes, BMW, VW, Fiat and a few others are offering a further €2,500 of their own to attract buyers. I think the new Fiat Panda works out at around €5,000 new, with manufacturer discount and the Abwrackpremie.

It does appear the UK variant is a carbon copy of the German one. However, in our ham-fisted way, we've managed not to make it work.

Also, bear in mind that any money spent on a new car in the UK doesn't ends up being spent on a foreign car, and leaks away from the UK economy. We don't make cars here any more.

(Actually, I know we do, but they're owned by furriners, so it's the same thing.)

I keep a car until the rust gets out of control. With an old car you can get away with paying £25 for an oil change. My mate has a BMW 320 diesel and he pays nearly £120 for an oil change from the main dealer. Sod that. Not to mention the £300-£400 services.

Spark plugs - £25
HT Leads -£30
Oil - a tenner!

Nowhere near £300!

My Mondeo diesel is still serviced by the main dealership. I got charge €30 for the last oil change...

Its most cost effective to buy a new car and then keep it longer, i.e use it. If you buy Japanese or Korean (but NOT Nissan as they are effectively now Renault and break like them too) and keep them, they won't break down and you can get proper use out of them.

The reason I would not buy 2ndhand just to save a few grand is during the 10000 miles you get on your 'nearly new' its probably either been thrashed from cold, drastically reducing the life of the engine had other mechanicals, often had kerbed wheels or other 'traffic furniture' damage, comes as stamped as being serviced but often won't have been even from main dealers, or may have been used for a school run of half a mile, doing hundreds of short journeys which is as bad as thrashing the life out of it from cold.

No thanks, I don't want to go sloppy seconds on my cars thanks. Before anyone scolds me for buying new, well someone has to and I tend to keep cars for 6-7 years or even more, our Honda is 7 years old, 99,000 miles its barely run in !

If you buy a new car then change it after a year or even less, or even 2 years that is frivolous if you have no other reason than you want a change. IMHO

As for buying used, cars over 5 years old with one owner and decent mileage are always the ones to go for, but finding out if its done 18000 1/3 mile journeys to school or soundly thrashed by rep man is always a good ploy.

My last "new car" was eight years old.

I figure by then anything that wears out or breaks from new will have been sorted out.

Ford servicing always has been cheap. BMW isn't quite the same. I'm lucky to have my brother service my Skoda, as he's an experienced tech. But I didn't have that option, I'd be looking at about the same prices as you.

As for the money going overseas Heather, people still get paid in the UK by those companies. I think I'm right in saying that some of the factories (Swindon Honda springs to mind as one example) have had to close for extended periods already and therefore, there has been a knock on effect on the British economy.

That said, this scheme isn't generous enough. It's like when your local electrical retailer offers 10% off a TV or whatever. It's a discount, but it's hardly worth it. My car is only 7yrs old, but if she was eligible, she wouldn't be going anywhere, as I can't get the same spec vehicle for anything approaching affordable even with £5000 off, let alone £2000!

My mum was quite keen to swap her Fabia for an Octavia (which she's been looking to do for a while). Unfortunately for her her car is only 7 years old.

What a waste of tax payers money.

Not really - if it helps to keep the people who work in the motor industry, steel and parts manufacturing in a job, it may actually generate income for the treasury. It would have ended up as Jobseekers allowance more than likely.

Unfortunately, if you own a car that is older than 10 years, chances are it is because you can't afford a new car and removing perfectly serviceable but 10 year old cars from the system isn't going to help them.