The thin end of the wedge

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7995928.stm

 the headline:

UK moves towards car scrap scheme.

While I fully understand the need to support industry, how long before it becomes law that any vehicle over a certain age will be scrapped?

I don't have any faith in this so called Government. The more cynical bit of me says that perhaps some minister somewhere has been promised a nice top the range car and bonus for pushing this.

[BobtailBogey]

i totally agree it wont be long till they push it way too far..

[Bush Tucker Man]

I saw a Citroen advert on TV last night, & they were offering a £2000 'reduction' for their 'scrapping' scheme

[Gordo]

This is a surprise, especially considering the government's desire for 'green' taxation.

Cars produce the bulk of their pollution during manufacture and disposal, and not when being driven around. So this scheme to persuade people to get rid of their old cars and buy new ones is nonsensical.

[KingWolf]

Well I'm off to search eBay for some old, cheap motors..... I can see a money making scheme here..... :dance: :dance: :dance:

Mark.

[Bob696]

All too often the UK government opts for the stick rather than the carrot on the grounds it is cheaper to punish someone than to encourage someone.

Other EU governemnts have opted for the carrot. I can't see the UK goverment giving up on the option for the stick. My guess for "extra encouregment" would be a major rise in road tax for cars over 15 years old.

[auf_wiedersehen_pet]

My guess for "extra encouregment" would be a major rise in road tax for cars over 15 years old.

So that will be most of us on here then!

[gtomo2]

just another way for the goverment to make poor people poorer. I have alwys bought cars worth at the most £3000 as i cant afford to pay any more for one. So does the goverment want me to get in to big dedt By only letting me buy newer cars around £7000 which i cant afford. And no chance of public transport been made better so we al need a car. Just getting so fed up with this goverment just hope who ever voted them in last time sees sence this time.

[crazymac]

This is a surprise, especially considering the government's desire for 'green' taxation.

Cars produce the bulk of their pollution during manufacture and disposal, and not when being driven around. So this scheme to persuade people to get rid of their old cars and buy new ones is nonsensical.

But you will never persuade the government on that viewpoint! As far as they are concerned, NEW cars are the answer to global reduction in pollution as they are cleaner emmissions wise! They are not interested in a "whole life cycle" viewpoint. And also of course, more of us in debt buying new cars will help them in many ways as well!!

[Disco Matt]

So that's a huge hole in the classic car record around this era then...

Good old AA. Apparently new cars are "much cleaner" and "much safer". And there I was thinking the driver was the most important part in vehicle safety after proper maintenance.

[davidlandy]

they should make company car tax cheaper - more drivers at our place are opting for cash instead and buying older cars.

[TDi90]

well i dont know bout you lot but it would take a lot more then 2K for me to scrap my beloved landy.
personally, im so atached at the moment, shes a money cant buy car for me...

[crazymac]

well i dont know bout you lot but it would take a lot more then 2K for me to scrap my beloved landy.
personally, im so atached at the moment, shes a money cant buy car for me...

Its a no Brainer isn't it?

Discovery worth £1200 realistically (if i'm lucky!)  but no finance on it and able to work on it myself.

Or £2k for it to go to the scrap yard and a loan for £30K so I can replace it with another Discovery that I would pay twice as much road tax, higher insurance and can't service it my self!!

They can Foxtrot Oscar!!

[lambert]

so, given my need of a heavy tow car for farming and other duties are the gov going to give me the other 25odd grand i would need to buy a nice new discovery? cos sure as hell the bank didn't want to know when i asked them.

making people give up older cars to help prop up the car makers will not work, the stimulus has to come from the public having affordable credit available to them. it is part and parcel of capitalism.

[V8MoneyPit]

As already suggested, it's not in the governments interests to encourage people to keep consumer goods longer rather than replacing them frequently. Not just cars, but televisions, washing machines, etc. If they tell us all to keep stuff longer they get less tax. Simples, at the Meerkat says.

We all know it is stupid. I would wager most people in government know it, but they don't want to admit it publically.

[muddyjames]

We all know it is stupid. I would wager most people in government know it, but they don't want to admit it publically.

They also have enough money to go out and buy all new leccy equipment too, and we all know that and they know that but dont want to admit it publicaly! :roll:

[crazymac]

We all know it is stupid. I would wager most people in government know it, but they don't want to admit it publically.

They also have enough money to go out and buy all new leccy equipment too, and we all know that and they know that but dont want to admit it publicaly! :roll:

AND THEY CAN CLAIM THE COST BACK ON THEIR EXPENSES!! SO WE GET TO CHUFFIN PAY FOR IT!!

[Range Rover Blues]

This is a surprise, especially considering the government's desire for 'green' taxation.

Cars produce the bulk of their pollution during manufacture and disposal, and not when being driven around. So this scheme to persuade people to get rid of their old cars and buy new ones is nonsensical.

Too true, but how much gov't polucy is actually about the environment anyway? to them it's just a great excuse to increase fuel tax.

[Range Rover Blues]

so, given my need of a heavy tow car for farming and other duties are the gov going to give me the other 25odd grand i would need to buy a nice new discovery? cos sure as hell the bank didn't want to know when i asked them.

making people give up older cars to help prop up the car makers will not work, the stimulus has to come from the public having affordable credit available to them. it is part and parcel of capitalism.

It's the fine distinction between offering an incentive and making it madatory.  As said, £2,000 off the price of a new car? I'm off to the scrappy to see what I can get.  If I have a choice then fine, I'll choose my old car and protect the environment.

Force me to scrap it and I won't buy another, they'll loose all that road tax, fuel tax and VAT.

Hell I might just waste all the money the've invested in me this year and imegrate.

[discomummy]

Hi,

just want to point out that germany & france have already got this scheme working probably because they have german & french cars - thus keeping the money in the country. name me a british car that is owned by the british that you or i could afford!

i will keep my disco as long as possible - after all i have written it off once already!

regards

ela

[Gordo]

Interesting article about the effect of the Germany scheme on the BBC News web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8003508.stm

The law of unintended consequences strikes again.

[carbore]

I agree if we had much of a car industry there may be a point to it, but we dont.

Also unless you swap for a smaller car then how much CO2 is saved, say 10yr old asrta 1.8 vs new astra 1.8 ? add in the C)2 cost of the new car/scrap the old car and it must take years to repay that CO2 debit it at all.

Basically its just to boost green consumerism, whihc is still consumerism but with added misplaced sumgness. 

Would they not be better off offering VAT off servicing/tuning by garages that would improve the running of mid life vehicles, keep them being reused (better than recycled) and also boost the spares/repairs economy?

Oh wait a minuet, small garages don't have huge pressure on political parties like vehicle mfrs do.

[Disco Matt]

I've long said that "recycling" is just a con to allow consumerism to keep going without guilt.

Reusing is much better, but I've yet to see efforts towards making things easier to repair or ensuring that spare parts are reasonably priced (as opposed to costing as much as the original device).

I'm far less interested in "100% recyclable" than I am in "Spares available".

[V8MoneyPit]

Would they not be better off offering VAT off servicing/tuning by garages that would improve the running of mid life vehicles, keep them being reused (better than recycled) and also boost the spares/repairs economy?

But that type of suggestion is sensible. So do you really think the governement would implement it? I think not because it just doesn't fit in with the public brainwashing that is 'being green'  :roll: