UK introduces scrappage scheme
April 23, 2009 by Matt Brogan
UK motorists are being offered £2,000 (AU$4,078) towards a new car if they trade in their existing car for scrap under plans unveiled by the Government in today’s Budget.
The decision applies to cars and vans 10-year-old, or older, and has been put in to place following the careful consideration of car industry proposals, lessons learnt from European schemes as well as concerns raised about the impact of such a scheme on other sectors of the economy.
The UK scheme, with £300m (AU$612 million) from Government and matched funding from industry, is intended to provide immediate support on a short-term basis to boost the car industry and its supply chain in the wake of falling sales. It will also get older vehicles off the road and encourage consumers to invest in new, safer, and potentially more environmentally friendly models.
“This is targeted action with a capped budget and for a limited time, designed to boost the whole motor trade,” said Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. “This will ensure that the benefits of a scrappage scheme are balanced with the needs of other sectors of the car industry such as the second hand market, maintenance and repair businesses, and other industries that produce consumer durables or on the taxpayer. The car sector is under huge pressure at the moment and the government is determined it remains a very important part of our manufacturing base. It invests heavily in research and development, supports highly skilled workers and a wider supply chain. These are vital to our future manufacturing and retail success.”
The scheme will be run by automotive manufacturers who wish to participate. It is expected to be operational from mid-May to allow industry time to prepare. There will be proper verification procedures to ensure the rules are followed, including audits by DVLA to avoid abuse that has been encountered in other countries.
“People will not only save hard-earned cash on buying a new car or a van for their business but they will know they are helping save jobs too,” said Business Minister Ian Pearson. “If you’ve got a vehicle that’s ten years old or more, you just need to talk to a participating dealer who will do the rest. You will get at least £2,000 towards a new one.”
Let us know what you think about this idea. Would it work here in Australia? Leave a comment now.
Print it: 
Every body knocks this concept in oz , i know it wont help GM/FORD with local manufacturing , but it will create activity in dealerships , confidence and sales will move upwards .
They will have to have a rule where only vehicles originally registered in the UK can be scrapped as part of this scheme. There are a lot of left hand drive vehicles running around where people have moved to the UK from mainland Europe. I can see the Russian Mafia sending over truckloads of old Ladas across the channel to be scrapped. Also this won’t work to the same degree in Australia as theer are a lot more 10+ cars in Oz than in the UK. In fact a car 5+ years is considered old.
Agreed.
Half of Australia’s car population would be older than 10 years! I run a ‘96 VS Commodore that is 13 years old now and there isn’t anything wrong with it.
I think these sorts of schemes would need to be very heavily regulated to stop people rorting them otherwise you will have jokers heading down to their local wrecking yard coughing up $200 for a car and then driving it around the corner to their local car dealership to trade it in for $4000.
MisterTwo is right, cars would need to be currently registered and probably older than 15 years for this scheme to work in Australia. Even after this there would be a whole underground dreaming up ways to rort the scheme using cars that were probably already destined for the scrap heap.
The scheme is good in theory and makes politicians feel all warm and fuzzy inside but is very hard to regulate well.
I scheme like this in Oz would have to push out to 15 year old cars (at least).
I imagine 2nd hand sales of cars under 2000 pounds will skyrocket in the UK after such a scheme. Unless there’s a minimum ownership period rule. People would be paying 1500 pounds for 100 pound bombs, just to save 500 pounds on the new car they were already going to buy… heh heh.
Bad idea. For too many reasons to list. Bad idea.
The question is – what will the editors of Car Advice say about such an idea should it happen here??
My money will be on “enthusiastic supporters.”
You read it here first!
The scheme might work fine for people who see cars as whitegoods.
Sorry, this aint me.
Of the 4 cars I have, one I’ve had since I was 16, the youngest is 6 and the oldest is 55 years. They all work fine.
Cheers folks,
Daryll Kerrigan
My Starlet is 11 – works fine, is in immaculate condition…
My Meteor GL is 25 – works fine (only done 143,692km), and only one body panel has a dent/blemish… however, i doubt it is worth $4k, and i am willing to part with it. so this’d be great!
This scheme will work like a charm.
It will resuscitate the car industry – at least to an extent.
There will be rules around this – so that no chaos will happen – like the one ppl are predicitng above.
You will not to have to sell the car for new if the one you have is immaculate.
But, like me, if the car is barely pulling, I will consider ditching it for a new one IF there is a grant like this. If not, i will keep dragging it to its last breath. Simple.
Those who are whinging prolly have no car to crap away – and they think someone else will get benefit out of it. Surely, they will.
Bring this rule soon!!!!
Old cars are part or our culture.
I’ve seen this idea work at a smaller scale before, At a dealership level where they promise $2,000 Minimum Trade in. The car must be in running order and in their name for the last 6 months. I can tell you it definetly works ! But i do support if the rule is only applicable to locally made carsonly. a little bias but i think if we dont support local jobs, who will ?
It is working in Europe so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work here. Also it is not compulsory, so if you want to keep your old bomb, you’re free to do so.. Bring it on!
I haven’t read any reasons in the above comments why it’s a bad idea, other than the potential for “rorting”, which can be avoided by appropriate regulation.
I do hope they decide to run this scheme here in Australia for one simple reason: it will boost the value of my classic car heaps, which is what I want since I would like to maybe sell it one day for a profit. So now is the time to modify old cars to then sell later for a profit!!
Trouble with minimum trade in deals in that your changeover figure is what really counts.
I think this could stir some sales, however will itbe all new vehicles on sale or exclude fully imported vehicles?
The local Holden dealer is currently having a sale, with a min $3000 trade-in, but it also applies to used cars on their lot.
Under this scheme ^^ the “industry” pays half and the Govt half.
Most new car buyers have a trade-in worth much more than this anyway.
Its a bit early to say its ‘worked’ in Europe given its been going for barely 3 months and has already cost them over 1.5 billion euro’s in Germany alone. Its been extended to the end of the year at the added cost of a further 3.5 billion euro. The point is, its a extremely expensive program to do. Whether we can afford that in Oz with our budget already shot to sh*te is debatable.
You would be foolish to think that driving a 10 plus year old car is OK. Comments like “It runs fine” just highlights to me that Australians have not yet got the message of what a safe and environmentally friendly car really is.
Benefits for personal safety, environment and economy are all the good reasons you need to action the scrappage program in Australia ASAP. The government would make the money back with GST alone so there is no real investment anyway.
I think its a good idea because it will allow people with old cars to buy newer cars. Japan and Singapore has these rules for years and their population drives cars which are modern. Come 2011-2012, all private cars in Europe will have ESP as standard. It will benefit people who have older cars and replace with something with better safety features.
It’s all well offering £2K for your old car, but people here in the UK don’t have the money to buy a new car, even with the promise of that much back. Your still going to have to fork out between £10-20K for decent family sized car.
Horse Says:
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
“Old cars are part or our culture.”
(I think you mean “of our culture” but oh, well).
You are entirely right with that sentence Horse! Cars are part of our culture, it’s history! You can’t get rid of history! So imagine if the scheme would go ahead in Australia! Which I dought.
Hear Hear Salesman – sensible comment indeed.
Advocate – what reasons you’re being a blinkered knob!!
Yes there will be some who will try to scam it. The scheme will, I reckon, be withdrawn after a year or three. Once the bulk of the mid nineties cars are gone then anything with a Euro 1, 3 or 3 is pretty much acceptable in terms of the environment.
This is only to kickstart car sales to help out ailing manufacturers who seemingly do not recognise on the whole they are over producing and stock piling.
Yes new cars are safer, but don’t forget not all of us want cars just to go from A to B, some of us want cars that excite, cars that have soul, not the plastic-fantastic mass produced cars of today that all look alike.
There are also those of us that can’t afford a new car, even with a $4000 incentive. And no matter how good a driver you are, no matter how new and state of the art your car is, there is always idiots out there who can’t drive that could crash into you and kill you.
For the last time you government people, stop wasting time and money with speed cameras, incentives, etc and give our drivers better trainning!!
Salesman, I drive a 79 HZ holden and it runs fine.
I also have a brand new suzuki sx4 which also runs fine.
The holden is a hell of a lot more fun though !!
The only reason i don’t don’t drive it ever day is i hate parking it in the street.
I think people who drive old cars for the love of it should be respected.
Horse – the older Holden may run fine. But a vehicle from the 70’s pollutes at about 20 times the rate of a current car. Ever smelt petrol from the rear end when you stood close by….unburnt hydrocarbons…wasted fuel….pollution I think they call it.
A flat rule will only send sales of the cheap imported cars.
I’d prefer to see a ruling where new cars get $4,000 off, or used cars purchased through a LMCT under 3 years old get $2,000 off. This will allow people who want need a larger car to afford one by buying 2nd hand.
And those vehicles being traded in must have been registered for atleast the past 12 months. That eliminates the potential rorting of the system somewhat.
Well, i guess we can’t all drive rad cars.
The more reliant robins off the road the better.
Not many Robins have survived now. Pretty much a rare sight on the roads, largely replaced by really dangerous Quad bikes.
Horse,
I have a HD X2 premier station wagon that also “runs fine”. It is not my daily driver, just a treasured toy. IMO their is nothing wrong with owning a classic car. It’s when i see a 1990 VN doing 130kp/h in the wet with three kids in the back that my heart jumps in my throat. Our workplace health and safety laws are better than our car safety laws. You can not smoke in a public place but you can drive a car with no ESP, ABS, Air Bags or even load limiting seat belt pre tensioners? As long as you have four good tyres and no exposed rust you are good to go.
For us Street Machiner’s and Hot Rodders that dont want our collectibles crushed for 3k I can see a smog law being introduced hopefully not as stringent as California’s ;)
That may get some of those tree huggers s*it boxes off the road too .
BM, you don’t have to take up the offer. Classic cars and hot rods in Australia i think will become more valuable as they become more and more rare. All classics i can think of are very well maintained and driven only on special occasions or at events. Its the rusted out unmaintained cars that need to be introduced to the “crusher”
Hey Salsy…..yeah I understand that ,I just think the Government will introduce some sort of smog law in the future to insure emissions of the older cars that dont take up the offer become environmentally friendly ;)
I heard the US have smog cameras……….they can assess the level of emissions when you drive past them and like speed cameras takes pics of your number plate if you dont meet the level required. Imagine that :(
I can remember when big Arnie introduced targets for low emission cars in California maybe 10 years ago, we all thought he was mad. As it has all unfolded, he looks visionary, now.
Hay B.M
Don’t fart near them, you will get your photo taken and deemed un roadworthy. Wow, a camera that takes a photo of a car that emits too many emissions? That sounds a little far fetched to me. Wouldn’t you have to be stationary for at least a few moments? I will try to Google that one i think. I hope Australia can avoid smog, in Korea it hangs around all day, you don’t get to look at a clear blue sky, and it is very depressing….
Cupid Stunt (and others)
Just wanted to let you know that I posted a large explanation of my earlier comments last night, and for some reason it was “awaiting moderation” and now has not been posted!
Blinkers weren’t on, I can assue you. Perhaps editors/moderators might want to explain why it didn’t make the cut?
No read it in a Popular Hot Rod mag years ago Salesman…
Found this when I goggled,California is real hard on emission levels………
“”California to Deploy Smog-Check Cameras
Pollution camera will initially issue warnings to drivers in Southern California.
Polluting carCalifornia’s South Coast Air Quality Management District is expected next month to approve the deployment of cameras on freeway on-ramps that will record millions of passing vehicles and issue warning letters to those it believes are polluting. The cameras will use laser sensors to measure hydrocarbons and other exhaust gases and will be spread in secret locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Current law does not yet allow the devices to issue expensive citations, so the program will begin by offering incentives for “dirty” cars to be repaired or scraped. Those who get a notice can receive up to $500 in repairs at select community colleges or $1000 for agreeing to scrap the car.
For the past twenty years, California has required cars to have emissions tested before a vehicle’s registration can be renewed. Current rules mandate annual testing for cars between six and thirty years old. Some see the new move as an admission that this smog inspection program has been a failure.
“We have known for at least 20 years that these inspection programs do not work particularly well,” Joel Schwartz a former smog-check executive told the Los Angeles Times. “The evidence has been overwhelming that they are failing to repair the high-polluting cars. There is fraud. And yet they have been popular with regulators and activists.”
This scheme is the same as the ozzie one. If you give someone 4000 for a 10 yr old car thats not enough to buy even a relativley new car, because the reason they drive the ten year old car is because they cant afford a new car. So whats the point. The mafia will definetly make a killing of this scheme.
Thanks BM. I have seen a laser measure temperature but never emissions. You know what they say. You learn something new every day. I am sure though if you have a classic car in California their would be some sort of leniency, i would hope?
C.A why not make the next “name the nine” a picture like the above crushed cars? I can see a Datsun Stanza, Ford Capri and Ford Escort. Can anyone make out anything else?
I can see a Vauxhall Chevette, Renault 4, Ford Granada, Lada Riva, Vauxhall Viva and a Ford Fiesta as well. This is an old picture as most cars on UK scrap heaps are between 10 and 15 years old.