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Scrappage schemes 2017: Everything you need to know

Wondering what these scrappage schemes are all about? Recombu Cars has the lowdown, including how much money can be saved and whether they are actually a good thing.

It seems like everyone is offering some sort of scrappage scheme. Well, except the UK Government. That means you can potentially see some money saved on your next car or van purchase, but is there a catch and what manufacturers are involved?

What is a scrappage scheme?

Glad you asked, because the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask. Basically you trade in your old car and get money off a new car, taking your old gas-guzzler off the road and putting a cleaner one on it.

What are the scrappage scheme terms and conditions?

These depend entirely on each manufacturer, as we will now show you with a handy, potentially snore-inducing list of every manufacturer offering some form of scrappage scheme.

How much money can I save with a scrappage scheme?

As much as £8,000 and as little as £1,000, depending on the vehicle you are trading up to. Given the sheer number of cars available and individual scrappage scheme deals, we have lumped them and the terms and conditions under each individual manufacturer.

Which manufacturers offer a scrappage scheme?

Almost all of the major ones, actually, as you will now see and likely others will follow suit if they prove a success.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Abarth

Abarth flies under the Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) banner, which means it has the same terms and conditions. You can save £3,000 on the Abarth Spider and £1,095 on the Abarth 595.

Fineprint: Any car can be scrapped so long as it is Euro 4 emissions standards or worse, which means it was likely registered before 2009. You must also be the owner and have for at least six months and be buying the new car. It also must be registered before the 30th of September, 2017.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo ─ another FCA brand ─ has savings to be had on seemingly every car in the range, including the Mito (£2,500 on all except the entry-level spec), up to £5,300 on the Giulietta (same again) and the Giulia (same again plus the Quadrifoglio is exempt).

Fineprint: Exactly the same as Abarth above.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Audi

With Audi, you can save quite substantial sums on its cars, including £2,800 on the A1 Sportback, £4,000 on the A3 Saloon, £4,000 on the TT Coupe, £6,000 on the A5 Sportback and £8,000 on the Q7 e-tron to name a few. Q7 TDI, A8,R8 and RS models are exempt from the scrappage scheme.

Fineprint: The car must be a pre-Euro 5 diesel and you must have owned the vehicle for at least six months to qualify. Your car will also be scrapped.

Scrappage scheme 2017: BMW

BMW’s scrappage scheme is much less generous than Audi’s, with a flat-rate of £2,000 offered to all models except the M cars, which miss out. That includes anything from the 1 Series diesels to the BMW i8 and 7 Series.

Fineprint: It has to be a BMW or Mini and meet Euro 4 standards or less, which means something from around 2005 and before. The replacement must be an i3, plug-in hybrid or Euro 6 compliant with CO2 emissions up to 130g/km.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Fiat

Fiat has a more versatile scrappage scheme in place, although it only runs until the 30th of September, 2017. You can get up to a £2,125 saving on a Fiat 500, £2,500 off a 500X, £3,000 off a 124 Spider and £3,500 off a new Punto.

Fineprint: You can trade in any car that is Euro 1 to Euro 4 compliant, petrol or diesel, as long as it was registered before the 31st of December, 2009.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Ford

The smallest amount of scrappage saving on a Ford is £3,000, which applies to all models of the Kuga. You could also save £3,500 on a B-Max (Titanium, Titanium X), £4,000 on a C-Max (Zetec), £2,000 on a Fiesta (all except Style models) and £4,950 off a Focus Titanium or Titanium X.

Fineprint: All non-Ford vehicles registered on or before the 31st of December, 2009, can be scrapped.

You can use the scrappage scheme deal in conjunction with other deals, which is unusual.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Honda

No scrappage scheme from Honda, just yet. We will update the article if that changes.

Fineprint: N/A.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Hyundai

The i10, i20, i30, i40, ix20, Tuscon, Santa Fe and Ioniq Hybrid are all eligible, although there is some restriction on the engines you can have in the case of the i10 and i20. A Santa Fe is eligible for a £5,000 saving, while the i10 will save you £1,500.

Fineprint: All Euro 1 to 4 cars, whether petrol or diesel, registered before the 31st of December, 2009, can be used for the scrappage scheme.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Jeep

Jeep, another FCA company, is offering a scrappage saving of £3,500 on the Jeep Renegade.

Fineprint: Same as Abarth, see above.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Kia

Kia’s scrappage scheme is worth £2,000, assuming you want a new Picanto or Rio because those are the only two cars offered at this time.

Fineprint: The car you are trading must be seven years old and you have until the 31st of December, 2017, to make your purchase.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Mercedes / Smart

For a new Mercedes or Smart car, you can expect up to £2,000 as part of its scrappage scheme, whether that is a diesel, hybrid or electric.

Fineprint: The car must be Euro 1-4 compliant. Cars that are Euro 1-3 will get an extra discount based on the CAP Black Book valuation, while Euro 4 will see a trade-in price agreed. The offer ends on the 31st of December, 2017.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Mini

Same as BMW, which makes sense as Mini is part of the company. That means £2,000 for your old Mini or BMW.

Fineprint: Same rules as BMW, see above.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Mitsubishi

Want to buy the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid? Now you can get £4,000 off. Factor in the Government’s grant of £2,500 and that is a substantial sum of money saved. The new car is pretty good, too, if you avoid adding too many extras.

Fineprint: The car must be Euro 1-4 compliant and registered before 2010 and it must have been owned for at least six months. The vehicle is scrapped. The offer runs until the 28th of December, 2017.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Nissan

Unusually, you can get money off a used Leaf 24kWh (£2,000) as well as a new Micra (up to £3,600), new Qashqai (up to £3,500) and new X-Trail (up to £4,000). Visia models get no saving, Acenta has a saving of £1,000 and Connecta to Tekna+ offer £2,000.

Fineprint: As long as the trade-in vehicle is a Nissan, pre-Euro 5 and pre-2009 it should be eligible, plus there is an extra £2,000 on top of the usual amount. The offer runs until the end of September, 2017.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Renault

Renault offers a scrappage scheme saving plus what it calls a scrappage allowance of £2,000. So on a Clio, you can see £4,250, £7,000 on a Master Van, £5,200 on a Kadjar and £4,000 on a Scenic and Grand Scenic. The Captur, Kadjar, Kangoo Van and Trafic Van are also included.

Fineprint: The scrappage scheme covers cars and vans and the vehicle in question must be Euro 4 or older, registered before the 31st of December, 2009, and owned by the person buying a new car for at least 90 days. Vehicles part-exchanged will be destroyed.

Scrappage scheme 2017: SEAT

Money can be knocked off the Mii, Ibiza, Leon and Toledo if you scrap your old car, starting from £1,500 for the Mii rising to £3,500 for the Leon.

Fineprint: To be eligible for the Seat scrappage scheme, the car must be a pre-Euro 5 diesel and will have been owned for at least six months. The car used in the part-exchange will be destroyed.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Skoda

The Citigo, Fabia, Rapid / Rapid Spaceback, Octavia, Superb and Yeti can all be had, with a scrappage amount of £1,500, £2,500, £3,000, £3,500, £4,000 and £3,500, respectively.

Fineprint: The car to be scrapped must be pre-Euro 5 and produced before 2010. The owner also must have owned the vehicle for at least six months and it will be scrapped.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Toyota

Toyota has applied a scrappage scheme to just about every model that we can see, including the Aygo city car (£2,000), Yaris Hybrid (£2,500), Avensis (£3,500), GT86 (£2,000) and Land Cruiser (£4,000) to name some of them.

Fineprint: Any car can be used that is more than seven years old and the offer ends on the 31st of December, 2017. Ownership of at least six months is required.

Scrappage scheme 2017: Vauxhall

Trading your old motor for a Vauxhall can land you £2,000 towards an Astra, Adam, Corsa, Meriva or Mokka X. Nice and simple. The scheme has actually been going since November, 2016.

Fineprint: The car must be registered in the owner’s name and has been for at least 90 days. The offer ends on the 30th of September, 2017, which is when the vehicle must have been registered by.

Scrappage scheme 2017: VW

VW, owner of Skoda, is offering its scrappage scheme for electric, petrol and diesel models, including the Golf GTE (£5,000 plus £2,500 plug-in grant), e-Golf (£5,500 plus £4,500 plug-in grant), Polo (£2,800), Sharan (£6,000), Arteon (£5,000) and Tiguan (£4,000) to name a few. Vans are also included.

Fineprint: Pre-Euro 5 diesel cars produced before 2010 are eligible and it must have been registered in the owner’s name looking to upgrade for at least six months. The 31st of December, 2017, is the cut-off date and you have until the 31st of March, 2018, for it to be registered by.

Are scrappage schemes good, then?

They are good in terms of convenience and could well tip people into buying a car, but it is worth bearing in mind there is no such thing as a free lunch ─ and car manufacturers are likely to benefit, too.

You see, by giving you £3,000 to sell your old lump the manufacturer is getting your old car and a set discount it has set in place. The number has been picked to be enticing, but the reality is that stalling sales, Brexit and the diesel witch hunt mean you could potentially negotiate at least a similar discount yourself and keep your car.

It may seem like a kind gesture on the part of manufacturers, but it is likely just a neat spin on what is essentially a “price war” and one designed to undo a decline. New car sales drop by 9.3 per cent and diesels drop by 20.1 per cent in July, 2017, according to SMMT figures, so the problem is real.

As IHS Automotive principal analyst Ian Fletcher explained: “These schemes generate good headlines, but it is a price war by another name. Most of these schemes last until the end of the year but if the market decline continues we will see all sorts of other offers.”

Professor David Bailey, a car industry expert at Aston University, echoed the sentiment: “It’s not clear that the scrappage deals are worth more than the discounts buyers could haggle anyway given the softening of the markets.”

It is also worth considering that how many people with a 10-year-old car are in a position to upgrade? Chances are, if your car is that old you are trying to avoid upgrading (or perhaps just really like your car), care little about the planet or both.

What about the environment?

If you are feeling a particularly strong bout of eco-guilt and need to upgrade now, you can sleep better knowing you four-wheeled pollution maker is out of action. After all, air pollution is a bit of a problem for not just the planet, but also your health so taking the worst offenders off the road is a good thing.

Is there a UK government scrappage scheme?

At this time, no. It was never mentioned in the Spring Budget nor its Air Quality plans, which is odd if it really wants to lower CO2 emissions drastically in a short space of time. Even a new diesel is considerably cleaner than something from a few years ago.

When do the scrappage schemes come to an end?

In the case of Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Jeep you have until the end of September, 2017. Nissan’s scheme is also running until then, while virtually everyone else is choosing to stop in at the end of December, 2017. We get the impression we will see more scrappage schemes after this batch.

Why the sudden scrappage scheme frenzy?

Besides the apparent need to boost sales, there is also the fact the UK Government wants all new sales of petrol and diesel cars to cease from 2040, which is really not that far away. Though that is a bit of a side issue because older cars will still, in theory, be able to remain on British roads.

So should I wait to buy a new car, then?

If you really need a car now, go for it. But if you want the best deal, it may be worth stalling for just a tad longer to make haggling easier, especially if you are after a diesel. With buyers really put off them, there will be a lot of stock going nowhere – and that is likely to mean big discounts.

With that said, how much more expensive will a car be in a Brexit Britain? Based on the fact prices have already crept up in preparation and any potential new costs associated with leaving the EU, we doubt they will get any cheaper.

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