With a long-awaited government scrappage scheme failing to materialise, car brands have taken matters into their own hands.
Some of the best-selling and most desirable new cars can now be yours with a hefty discount if you hand over your older, more polluting vehicle. Manufacturers have been hit hard by ‘dieselgate’ and want to help clean up the streets by encouraging people to ditch older cars with high emissions.
Unlike the government’s old scrappage scheme, your old car might be spared the scrapheap too. Unlike true scrappage, several of these latest trade-in deals will spare your car from the crusher if it’s in good working order. So, without further ado, who is offering a scrappage or trade-in scheme and how do they compare?
Vauxhall Scrappage Scheme
Your trade-in
Most car owners will qualify for Vauxhall’s Scrappage Scheme, because the only rule for your trade-in is that it has to have been registered in your name and at your address for at least 90 days, with the correct details appearing on its V5C logbook.
The offer
Vauxhall is offering a £2,000 Scrappage Allowance towards a new car, but you’ll have to act fast as the offer requires you to order the car by 30 September 2017. The offer is open to private customers, Vauxhall Partners and small businesses.
Vauxhall cars you can buy
Not every Vauxhall model is being included in the deal, but popular versions of the Vauxhall Adam, Corsa, Meriva, GTC, Astra and Mokka X are available.
Ford ‘New For Old’ Scrappage Scheme
Your trade-in
Like Vauxhall, you need to have owned your trade-in for over 90 days, but Ford also stipulates it needs to have been first registered for the road before 1st January 2010, in a bid to get older models off the road.
The offer
Ford is offering at least a £2,000 Car Scrappage Saving, but some models can receive double this. To get the discount the new car needs to be registered between 1 September and 31 December 2017. All trade-in vehicles will be scrapped responsibly. Offers are also available on commercial vehicles including the Ford Transit van.
Ford models you can buy
You can even get your hands on the all-new Ford Fiesta with a £2,000 discount, but the savings on other models in the range are even greater. Choose a Ford B-MAX and the offer shoots up to over £3,200, while the Ford C-MAX MPV qualifies for over £4,000 of discount. Choose a Ford Focus in Titanium or Titanium X trim and you could get an incredible £4,950 off the price.
BMW Lower Emissions Allowance
Your trade-in
BMW is somewhat stricter with its criteria, requiring the trade-in to be registered with the same name and address as your new BMW and have been owned by you for at least 12 months. The old car must also be a diesel with an engine complying with Euro 4 or earlier emissions standards.
The offer
BMW is offering a £2,000 Lower Emissions Allowance towards a cleaner, more efficient model of BMW or MINI, until 31 December 2017.
BMW and MINI models you can buy
The deal is open to any BMW or MINI model with CO2 emissions of 130g/km or less, regardless of whether it is petrol, diesel, electric or a plug-in hybrid. That covers everything from popular versions of the BMW 1 Series or 3 Series to an electric BMW i3 or even the BMW i8 supercar.
Mercedes Diesel Changeover Bonus
Your trade-in
Mercedes is offering a very similar deal to BMW, but you’ll only need to have had the trade-in registered in your name for six months. Like BMW, it will need to be a diesel with a Euro 4 engine or earlier, because like competitors. Mercedes wants the scheme to encourage the public to replace the most polluting models with cleaner new cars. The trade-in also needs to have a valid MOT certificate.
The offer
There’s up to £2,000 towards the cost of a new Mercedes or up to £1,000 allowance if you choose an all-electric Smart model. In addition, owners of Euro 1 to Euro 3 models will also receive compensation when they are scrapped, while that handing over Euro 4 models will also receive their trade price. The offer runs until 31 December 2017.
Mercedes and Smart models you can buy
Mercedes is offering the discount on any new Mercedes with a diesel engine that meets strict Euro 6 emissions standards as well as plug-in hybrid models. Smart is limiting the discount to its zero-emission Electric Drive models, including the Smart Fortwo ED, Smart Forfour ED and Smart Fortwo Cabrio ED.
Volkswagen and Fiat trade-in schemes
While they haven’t launched a scrappage or trade-in scheme in the UK yet, the Volkswagen Group brands Audi, Skoda, SEAT and Volkswagen could do so soon, matching similar offers already introduced in Germany. Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Abarth are also offering discounts to those trading in older vehicles in Germany, so it’s possible they could extend it to UK customers.
