Budget row over 2K payout to scrap a car

geoffky

i bought a new land rover in jan 08 and even then i got more than 4k off the price.so with these certificates they will just say 2k off or thats it......

loofer

I agree with what most ppl have said here. Most people who have 9yr old cars choose to because they can not afford an equivalent new (or nearly new) one.

My car is eight years old so it wouldn't benefit me much. An equivalent new car of choice for me would be £25K+ so being offered £2k towards it is peanuts. I would expect to negotiate a discount somewhere near that figure anyway, no matter how I paid, as long as I could afford it in the first place. So it's not an incentive for me.

Unfortunately there may be people who get take the bait simply because there car is worth around £500 and the thought of getting £2k for it is worth getting a loan for a new car.

I can just see all these Mfrs displaying these silly adverts just like these property developers like Wimpey. Fad adverts with naff schemes that make it out as though you're getting a good deal and making a really good investment.

However, I am still taken back by the figures that have been quoted by the motor industries on the continent, such as Geramany who quote a 40% increase in sales compared to last year. The initial desired affect has worked there.

Unless the masses new about the scheme 12 months in advance (unlikely) and went out and bought 8+ yr old cars.

busydaffodil1

mrstinchcombe wrote: »

The kind of cars you scrap are old cars that have run the course of their life, the kind of people that have these cars wont go from owning a "shed" to a brand new car. If they could afford a new car less £2k then they wouldn't have a car fit for the scrap heap in the first place.

I have to disagree.
Out of principle I refuse to pay full inflated price for a new car in the UK.
I would trade in my hubby's 10 yr old car for a new one with this voucher, without needing to take out finance.
Some of us drive old cars out of choice.....not out of necessity or lack of funds.

busydaffodil1

Graham_Devon wrote: »

The main problem with this is basically people who run these older cars, are less likely to have the cash in the bank, or the affordability to take on a loan for a few grand. It's like telling a first time buyer with no deposit on a house, they will pay 20% of their mortgage if they go buy a house. Thats fine, but they wouldnt be able to get the mortgage in the first place! This is no different.

This is a huge assumption or guess. It seems many responses here assume people who drive older cars, do so out of necessity & lack of funds. This is grossly unfair and pure assumption.
I, for 1, would trade in 1 of our cars if this voucher came in. The UK car industry have always been overpriced. This IS the only reason we chose to own a "banger".
And yes, our trade-up would be without loan or finance.

Cat695

busydaffodil1 wrote: »

This is a huge assumption or guess. It seems many responses here assume people who drive older cars, do so out of necessity & lack of funds. This is grossly unfair and pure assumption.
I, for 1, would trade in 1 of our cars if this voucher came in. The UK car industry have always been overpriced. This IS the only reason we chose to own a "banger".
And yes, our trade-up would be without loan or finance.

then you would still be paying an inflated price because dealers have already raised their prices and will do even more when they know you have 2k extra to spend.......you will NOT get a deal if you woalk in with one of those vouchers.

digipeep

I've just had a look at the classifieds in my local rag and saw a nice Ford Fiesta 1999 model failed MOT for £150. Might pick that up then when I need a new car just get my £2000 discount. Fabulous idea by the government.

bo_drinker

A lot of people go in to a showroom without a clue how to or are embarassed to try to negotiate a deal, 2nd biggest purchase most people make, they pay top dollar and lose 1000s by driving out of the showroom. It's a no brainer, buy it a year or two later when another mug has lost the biggest chunk. My old Tdi Golf will get me to where ever any one wants me to go and it's worth nowt, bought when it was a couple of years old and would gladly drive it for another five + :T Fruggle is the new bling.

JP45

Andrew64 wrote: »

I think that the people who take advantage of schemes like this are planning to buy a new car in the near future anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if sales in Germany totally collapse next year because everyone who's going to buy a car has done so.

Precisely. All it would do would be to produce an artificial short-term boost to car sales followed by an equivalent slump thereafter.

It would also divert consumer spending away from other areas. The German car scrapping scheme has already caused a noticeable drop in consumer spending on items such as TVs.

In short, it would be an utterly pointless waste of taxpayers money.

piggeh

I think the scheme has some weight to it, you only have to look at the figures in Germany to see how it could affect things. But, it's not going to make a massive difference to Jaguar Land Rover (who are one of the main employers in the car industry in this country) - their customers are very unlikely to be utilising this scheme as they probably already drive a car worth more than £2k and it's a small difference in price when you get to the higher end of the market.

It might make some difference to Nissan or Honda I guess.

JasonLVC

Commentators keep referring back o how succesful this scheme is in Germany. But we'renot Germany.

They are paid more than us, they are taxed more than us, they have a different culture to everything (like not being fans of mortgages/debt, unlike the UK where we go mad with a credit card).

So of course it works in Germany, Germans wil go out and buy German cars, made in Germany.

Do this in the UK and the cheapskate, poorly paid, over indebted Mondeo man will try and somehow scam the system and trade in loads of old cars and ebay the new cars to mak a quick buck or will buy the cheapest Korean made thing they can or the dealers will try to scam the system and make a quick buck by increasing prices or people will just get into more debt because they think there is a bargain here when in reality, £2k off a £15kcar which loses £10k in three years is just a rip off.

Theres better ways of improving the economy and this isn't one of them.