The car scrap scheme and me

[tony_ack]

The govenment has confirmed it will be introducing the car scrap scheme currently used in Germany. Here's what I understand of it so far:
*If you scrap a car more than 10 years old, you will be given £2000 towards the cost of a brand new car.
*In Germany, there are strict rules about the scrapped cars. They can be cannibalised for parts, but cannot be sold on as a whole car. This has been policed quite stringently, with penalites for those scrappies who break the rules.

On the face of it, a £2000 bonus isn't going to make me part with my mk2, but I think the implications for those of us with Mk1s, Mk2s and Mk3s are far wider than this

Will less ordinary people now break cars for parts, as there is a bigger incentive to scrap?

Will people with older prestige cars such as the GTI scrap rather than sell them if they're going to get less than £2000 for them, leading to fewer old GTIs on the road and increase in used values on the cars that are left (the marketshould balance out at used values of £2000+)? Good for current owners, but bad news for when you want to get your next GTI. Demand may also be increased by people buying cars worth less than £2000 just so they can scrap them and get the bonus.

Will scrapyards have an abundance of used GTI parts, making it easier and cheaper to get replacement parts? Oversupply of stripped parts has been reported in Germany. Again, will the market balance this - prices may get so low for parts, that it's not worth stripping a car, leading to a stabilisation in parts prices.

Could be good, could be bad, but it the scheme works as well as the government hopes, my mk2 has just got much rarer.

[sharpie]

i wonder; surely anyone buying a new car would buy any old sh!tter for a £100 or so and get the £2000 trade in?

[nige_s]

There ain't many people out there who own a sub £2k 10 yr old car with enough the cash to buy a brand new motor with potentially up to £2k discount.  If you shop around and drive a hard cash bargain you'll get about £2k off a new motor anyway.

I'm not wholely convinced that its beneficial to the environment either, car industry maybe.  I drive around in 23 year old car that returns a good 35mpg.  OK its emissions will not be as good as modern equivalent but at least I'm preventing another new car being built which consumes more energy and impacts the environment during its manufacture.  We throw away and consume too much these days, but that's what the country runs on.

[sharpie]

hard cash bargain you'll get about £2k off a new motor anyway.

yes - but that £2k discount would be from the dealer. the £2k you would get as a tax incentive would surely come from the govt meaning £4k off if you had cash?

[nige_s]

True, be interesting to see how they implement it.  Probably just apply to certified dealers that join the scheme.  But like I said people who use 10+ year old motors are normally not the ones who upgrade to a brand new vehicle.  Most people who buy new are the ones who change every 3 years anyway and are therefore unlikely to own a 10 year old.

All my cars are over 10 year, although the Saab has a couple of years to go.  Even then I would buy new, purely from the loss in depreciation, which the £2k bonus would take some of the sting away, but still not enough to me.

[Stronz]

I think its important to remember that this isn't just about getting people to buy new cars to help the struggling car industry and dwindling economy. If anything, its more of a way for the Government to try and get old cars off the road to help with lowering emissions and them hitting their targets.

With fewer older, less safe cars, their is also the potential for safer roads, with fewer road accidents resulting in deaths?

I am interested to see how this plan is going to work though.

[monkeyalan]

I drive old sub £2000 cars cos i can't afford a new one.

£2000 , even if it was a gift from The Government  , would not eneable me to buy a new car.

I suspect that 99% of people who own cars worth less than £2000 are in the same boat.

Almost pointless scheme.

[nige_s]

With fewer older, less safe cars, their is also the potential for safer roads, with fewer road accidents resulting in deaths?

Be interesting to see where that theory comes from as my Saab 95 will be 10 years old soon, the model is still in production and is effectively as safe as my 10 year old model.  Fact and figures required please or is that general assumption that the current government seem to be very good or not good at?

[Martz]

Not sure how many of us have the cash to buy a new car or how many of us want to have finance given the circumstances of the finacila state and job insecurity. Too many of these people that think of these ideas sit at a big desk with keys to their big cars and drive to their big houses funded by their big wages. They always look after themselves, this scheme fails to help the ones who need help the most. Our kids will be paying for this complete mess made by Labour. Shame on you all........................................................................................

[Stronz]

With fewer older, less safe cars, their is also the potential for safer roads, with fewer road accidents resulting in deaths?

Be interesting to see where that theory comes from as my Saab 95 will be 10 years old soon, the model is still in production and is effectively as safe as my 10 year old model.  Fact and figures required please or is that general assumption that the current government seem to be very good or not good at?

It wasn't necessarily aimed at you and your Saab, more towards some of the real sh!tters you see on the road that barely make it through the MOT that arent in production anymore. Agreed that it was a bit of a generalistion that newer cars are safer than old ones, but the point I was trying to put across is that a new model fresh off the production line will conform to all the latest ncap safety standards etc... whilst something a lot older wont.

I wasn't sticking up for the Government either -just trying to see things from all angles.