£2000 for a new car?

[wood1e2]

Is this really a good thing, the government looking to offer £2000 to anyone who buys a new car or one year old car in exchange for their old car. As long as the old car is more than 7 or 9 years old...!!!

Shouldn't we look at over production of a product not everyone wants?
Is puching people back into debt one of the reasons we are where we are?
Not only that high interest debt!!!

Environmentally an old car must be far better than a new car...being that the carbon foot print must outway the feul efficiency savings!!

Why not look at increasing the tax benefits for fleet car purchases and other company car owners.

 

[Moneyman]

Dont think about anything but votes even if it is a bad idea long term.
Gordon is a moron.

 

[The Pines]

Is this really a good thing, the government looking to offer £2000 to anyone who buys a new car or one year old car in exchange for their old car. As long as the old car is more than 7 or 9 years old...!!!

Shouldn't we look at over production of a product not everyone wants?
Is puching people back into debt one of the reasons we are where we are?
Not only that high interest debt!!!

Roll up, roll up. Get yourself mortgaged up on a depreciating asset. Idiots.

Environmentally an old car must be far better than a new car...being that the carbon foot print must outway the feul efficiency savings!!

I think the figure is something like... there is more pollution created in the manufacture of a new car than that car will produce for the first 150,000 miles on the road.
Yes, cars have lower emissions, and get much higher mpg, but body panels don't grow on trees, engines don't spring forth from the ground, and leather trim doesn't wash up on the shoreline.
There is a massive amount of pollution created in the manufacture of a car - just have a look at Wolfsburg for example (main VW plant). The place is covered in a thick dirty smog 99% of the time.

Why not look at increasing the tax benefits for fleet car purchases and other company car owners.

The Govt seem to want to do anything EXCEPT give tax rebates. They'd rather squander £000' billions on 'initiatives' than actually give people money back into their pockets.

 

[inspiremydesign]

I swear they said £2500? Still, the average people own cars for about 3-4 years, its impossible to run a car of 9 - 10 years old.. think about the repair and maintainance costs!

 

[Dawg]

I've run a 15 year old Merc and a 10 year old Volvo very well thank you. Great cars, more land yachts than cars, especially compared to today's Euroboxes.

(And its 2500 Euro,in Germany, £2000 in the UK)

 

[MH1]

its impossible to run a car of 9 - 10 years old.. think about the repair and maintainance costs!

Strange, most the world's drivers manage it no problem at all. The only reason think this way is they buy into the motor companies PR, a decent car should last for 20-30yrs these days, they just make more money by ensuring they do not.

 

[inspiremydesign]

I've run a 15 year old Merc and a 10 year old Volvo very well thank you. Great cars, more land yachts than cars, especially compared to today's Euroboxes.

(And its 2500 Euro,in Germany, £2000 in the UK)

____________________________________

Yikes! I would like the option of owning a classic but only if its value was climbing. But dont they produce more higher emissions compared to today's refined economical Euroboxes (excluding the luxury 4x4's) ?

 

[inspiremydesign]

Strange, most the world's drivers manage it no problem at all. The only reason think this way is they buy into the motor companies PR, a decent car should last for 20-30yrs these days, they just make more money by ensuring they do not.

__________________________

I can slightly agree to that. I bought my car brand new last july and I'm faced with RUSTED DISK BRAKES, squeaky brakes, oil leak :O! I'm so shocked - damn french cars!

 

[inspiremydesign]

I think the government should enform more economical solutions by now! Than offering money to upgrade cars, why not upgrade it to decent road bicycles, cycling gear, safer layout of bicycle lanes.. anyways.. princes charles recently warned us.. we have 100 months to act.. hmm.

 

[inspiremydesign]

before the whole planet goes AWOL in global warming*

 

[J-Wholesale]

...the average people own cars for about 3-4 years, its impossible to run a car of 9 - 10 years old.. think about the repair and maintainance costs!

My car's 11 years old. I'd buy a new one, but there's just nothing wrong with the one I have now. I did pay about £30 to get a little work down early last year to get it through its NCT (MOT), but that's about it. The advantage of driving an older car is you're never paranoid about it getting scratched or banged up, and chances are you don't have to take out any sort of finance to afford it.

The average person may own a car for 3-4 years (if a 5-10K loan qualifies as ownership), but I can see that changing very, very soon.

 

[Matt1959]

its impossible to run a car of 9 - 10 years old.. think about the repair and maintainance costs!

lol, I wonder how people will quote this our car is 10 years old, my vans 11 years old, and in terms of affordability cost little. Well made older cars seldom go badly wrong and if they do they are not dear to fix. The wallet emptiers are the newer cars that cost telephone numbers when they break down not to mention depreciation and buying costs....

 

[Esk247]

my estates 10 years old this year...got plenty of life in the old beast yet..156,000 miles and still able to tow a trailer around..why would i waste £15,000 on a new car??? just so i can have gadgets?? erm no actually because my estate is top of the range, air con, electric windows all round, abs, cruise control etc etc i can go on! why would i want to replace it???

if i spend £1,000 on my car this year in repairs its still cheaper than paying 10,000 to a salesman and ending up with a new car that will probably still end up back at the garage because of electrical problems or computer malfunctions.

its a government scheme to take all old cars off the road and replace them with new cars, thus gaining tax from sales, tax from increased insurance premiums on newer vehicles that are more likely to be stolen and bring it under the banner of 'oh look at us..we're saving the planet' BALLS! my car is perfectly fine, emissions tests are the same as a new car and if you keep it well serviced you can run a car for 300,000 miles without many problems. FACT!

 

[inspiremydesign]

lol, I wonder how people will quote this our car is 10 years old, my vans 11 years old, and in terms of affordability cost little. Well made older cars seldom go badly wrong and if they do they are not dear to fix. The wallet emptiers are the newer cars that cost telephone numbers when they break down not to mention depreciation and buying costs....

______________________________

I dont doubt that for a second but I was just raising a concern.. anyways.. now that everyone is currently focusing on carbon footprints and greener emission, its safe to say newer cars are 120% more economical than older cars.. wouldn't you agree?. It's built with the latest technology and highly upgraded to meet lower emissions.. old cars pollute the air quality, leaves a bad dusty old smell! Other day I'm driving behind a VW Beetle.. the smoke pouring out of that exhaust was shocking!! At one point, my view of the road disappeared! And more commonly, I've seen old cars break down on motorways .. dont you listen to the traffic news every morning.. ''car broken down at blackwall tunnel'' .. EVERY DAY!!!! Trust me.. its frustrating to sit waiting in a tunnel for 3 hours!!!
I'd say switch to cycling, motorbikes or public transport.. you'll do your credit cards a favour & your health.. AND the morning rush hour TRAFFIC

 

[Esk247]

______________________________

I dont doubt that for a second but I was just raising a concern.. anyways.. now that everyone is currently focusing on carbon footprints and greener emission, its safe to say newer cars are 120% more economical than older cars.. wouldn't you agree?. It's built with the latest technology and highly upgraded to meet lower emissions.. old cars pollute the air quality, leaves a bad dusty old smell! Other day I'm driving behind a VW Beetle.. the smoke pouring out of that exhaust was shocking!! At one point, my view of the road disappeared! And more commonly, I've seen old cars break down on motorways .. dont you listen to the traffic news every morning.. ''car broken down at blackwall tunnel'' .. EVERY DAY!!!! Trust me.. its frustrating to sit waiting in a tunnel for 3 hours!!!
I'd say switch to cycling, motorbikes or public transport.. you'll do your credit cards a favour & your health.. AND the morning rush hour TRAFFIC

sorry but i have to have a rant...public transport??? oookkk come to whitby and get on the 93 to middlesbrough, a place where i work alot...erm..can't do it! bus has broken down twice this week alone.FACT friend has to go to uni and is sick of breaking down..i don't see your employer taking kindly to that.

Cycling??? erm..in my town??? HAHAHAHAHA not a chance! no cycle lanes, large lorries on twisting country roads and nearest major town is 30 miles away

cars pollute?? erm when i rev my engine to go up a hill no smoke comes out of the exhaust at all..FACT..i've been followed around by friends and they're amazed how clean the engine is on my car, even the garage said its emissions where the same as a 5 year old renault clio...and its a 2 litre estate.

sorry for the rant but..come on..i've tried to be as good to the environment as i can but its hard!!

OH and while i'm in a rant..recycle??? SHOVE OFF! my nearest recycling centre is 2.5 miles away and to carry all the rubbish i have to get the car out! FACT no buses go to the recyling centre FACT

right i best go before i kick a stool over...again!

 

[wood1e2]

I had a look at a replacement for my D reg 205 TRD.

Peugeot 307 9.9% finance ok so thats not that bad. 3 years of £178 per month (current 205 costs me fuel £40), With a final payment of £5400 which is is less than the car will be worth 3 years down the road (based on the fact you can buy an 08 plate 308 for £7995)

Then you will be tied into main dealer servicing charges...which is where they make their money. In my limited experience 50% more expensive than a car mechanic away from the main dealer!! But then you infringe on the warranty!!

So really this is the Lord Mandy's lets give the tax payer £2000 to get into more debt!!

Fine when you earn enough to set up a blind trust!! Or need £250,000 for flowers/pot plants (or maybe that was the whole department!! can't remember)

 

[Chris H]

I couldn't afford to get a new motor, even if I wanted one. But it's good to see Gordon giving away my tax to those who can afford it.

Someone needs to remind Gordon, and Alistair just exactly whose money it is they're so keen to spend.

My Fiat is about 10 years old with over 100k on the clock. When it goes pop I'm going to buy a big old Volvo estate, petrol, auto. Mind you, I'll be paying for the privilege through artificial taxes set to generate income for Gordon and to placate the hippies.

 

[quikshop]

Lol, my car is 11 years old but was towed to that great Mitsubishi garage in the sky this weekend

I am in the market for a replacement car (no PMs offering me cars please ) but I will not be taking Gordon up on his German-copied scheme because it only applies to new or one-year old cars.

A 3 year old motor with less than 20k on the clock for a 3rd of the price of a new car (even after the 2k giveaway) will do just fine...

 

[quikshop]

AND another thing!

The Government should be rewarding innovation instead of paying industry to churn out more into an over-populated market.

Cars that run on hydrogen, natural gas powered cars and FORCING the petrol companies (cartel) to install a large enough network of refuelling stations for said technologies.

Tooooooooooooooooo many vested interests holding back genuine polices and thinking, I wonder which Oil Company Gordon will take a Directorship with once he's kicked out next year

 

[Moneyman]

i have a new car coming on monday as old people carrier is crocked. i was offered £200 for it! but now i am keeping it to see what i can get for a future new car when i replace the mazda.

It will like the stamp duty fiasco. the government hints at a discount and all trade stops and waits for the handout. Then you find in the detail that it only applies in special cases. I dont know how many jobs were lost as a result of the stamp duty wait but far more than will be helped by the measure.

Advance anouncement leaks just make things work.

 

[garyk]

I swear they said £2500? Still, the average people own cars for about 3-4 years, its impossible to run a car of 9 - 10 years old.. think about the repair and maintainance costs!

Hogwash! It is completely feasible to run older cars, in fact you're better off because your depreciation is much less and chances are you will probably be able to take it to many more garages other than the main dealer because it doesnt have service lights that need resetting. I have previously run two very old cars, one made in 1969 and one made in 1973 and could use either as a daily driver.

 

[Estimator]

They are desperate to keep the population in debt aren't they?
The roads of this little island are saturated anyway.
Gridlock, pollution, noise and daily misery for some just trying to get to their work so that they can pay more tax to the government.
The govt help us with congestion charges (tax) and car sharing lanes(fines)
We dont need newer cars, we need fewer cars.

 

[glennmid101]

The idea of creating artificial demand is a great way to waste money. Also what are the costs of administrating the cost, is there potential for fraud?

The government would be rewarding an industry that has fought tooth and nail against fuel economy, put back by decades, research into electric vehicles, and lumbered consumers and taxpayers with high fuel costs, and government bail outs.

It wasn't the environmental lobby how stood in the way of fuel efficient cars.

http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/

 

[NCA]

Being a bit of petrolhead I have 3 cars. 7,10 and 28 years old. The 7 and 28 year old ones are of siginficantly higher value than £2K. To replace the 10 year old one with the equivalent new model would be around £50K. A 2K discount is not going to induce me to buy a new one with the current economic outlook.

 

[easiprint]

______________________________

Other day I'm driving behind a VW Beetle.. the smoke pouring out of that exhaust was shocking!! At one point, my view of the road disappeared! And more commonly, I've seen old cars break down on motorways .. dont you listen to the traffic news every morning.. ''car broken down at blackwall tunnel'' .. EVERY DAY!!!! Trust me.. its frustrating to sit waiting in a tunnel for 3 hours!!!

A VW Beetle is a rather extreme case tho isn't it - you dont get many of those about these days, and they are much older than 10 years old. Most 10 year old cars are still capable of serving you very well.

I drive a 10 year old Volvo estate, and have had it years. Best car I have driven. I have hired new cars occasionally, but none of them are as nice as my Volvo to drive. 230,000 miles and still going strong, and never lets me down. All the gadgets I could want, and with it's personalised number plate, looks good too in my opinion.

And I have to disagree with you about old cars breaking down. When I'm up and down the M1 in the summer, the cars on the hard shoulder with their bonnets up are always under 4 years old. Just not built the same as they used to be. I certainly would not buy a new car.

 

[garyk]

______________________________

I dont doubt that for a second but I was just raising a concern.. anyways.. now that everyone is currently focusing on carbon footprints and greener emission, its safe to say newer cars are 120% more economical than older cars.. wouldn't you agree?. It's built with the latest technology and highly upgraded to meet lower emissions.. old cars pollute the air quality, leaves a bad dusty old smell! Other day I'm driving behind a VW Beetle.. the smoke pouring out of that exhaust was shocking!! At one point, my view of the road disappeared! And more commonly, I've seen old cars break down on motorways .. dont you listen to the traffic news every morning.. ''car broken down at blackwall tunnel'' .. EVERY DAY!!!! Trust me.. its frustrating to sit waiting in a tunnel for 3 hours!!!
I'd say switch to cycling, motorbikes or public transport.. you'll do your credit cards a favour & your health.. AND the morning rush hour TRAFFIC

You are making a big assumption that the car broken down is old, it would be interesting to see the actual figures, new cars break as well but I think running out of petrol is a common cause. Must say I did buy a mk2 cortina from ebay that I had to drive back from Kent and go through the dartford tunnel and I was absolutely $hitting myself and praying it wouldnt fail in the tunnel!

 

[inspiremydesign]

sorry but i have to have a rant...public transport??? oookkk come to whitby and get on the 93 to middlesbrough, a place where i work alot...erm..can't do it! bus has broken down twice this week alone.FACT friend has to go to uni and is sick of breaking down..i don't see your employer taking kindly to that.

Cycling??? erm..in my town??? HAHAHAHAHA not a chance! no cycle lanes, large lorries on twisting country roads and nearest major town is 30 miles away

cars pollute?? erm when i rev my engine to go up a hill no smoke comes out of the exhaust at all..FACT..i've been followed around by friends and they're amazed how clean the engine is on my car, even the garage said its emissions where the same as a 5 year old renault clio...and its a 2 litre estate.

sorry for the rant but..come on..i've tried to be as good to the environment as i can but its hard!!

OH and while i'm in a rant..recycle??? SHOVE OFF! my nearest recycling centre is 2.5 miles away and to carry all the rubbish i have to get the car out! FACT no buses go to the recyling centre FACT

right i best go before i kick a stool over...again!

__________________________

Lol Geez... calm down mate! I dont control public transport.. I was just sharing an opinion

Obviously you need a car for everyday life but some people use it for the most irregular things.. like going to the shop 5 minz away .. heh.. well I'll keep shtum if its to the market for the weekly shop, a bicycle wont be able to carry 10 plastic bags

I think the government expects us to pay some sort of tax like drivers.. then they might consider proposing safer cycle lanes, cycle only roads etc, but who knows..

 

[inspiremydesign]

You are making a big assumption that the car broken down is old, it would be interesting to see the actual figures, new cars break as well but I think running out of petrol is a common cause. Must say I did buy a mk2 cortina from ebay that I had to drive back from Kent and go through the dartford tunnel and I was absolutely $hitting myself and praying it wouldnt fail in the tunnel!

_________________________

Lol! Yeh I make over the top assumptions sometimes, I didnt notice my petrol finished one day.. and I blocked all the traffic on a very narrow one way road.. but thats something silly and my fault.

So who thinks this government scheme to give you £2000 to upgrade a newer car. I keep thinking, are they just doing this to restart public purchases in the car industry, we've all seen the news lately .. almost all car makers have suffered horrendously in the recession.
Who's thinking about taking up the offer?

Let us know

 

[Nickdavis87]

When a viable electric car hits the market i will sell my crappy Saxo.

 

[inspiremydesign]

Hogwash! It is completely feasible to run older cars, in fact you're better off because your depreciation is much less and chances are you will probably be able to take it to many more garages other than the main dealer because it doesnt have service lights that need resetting. I have previously run two very old cars, one made in 1969 and one made in 1973 and could use either as a daily driver.

________________________________

Hmm.. slightly agree with you there.. older cars are better because of depreciation.. a month after driving out the showroom last july.. the same car dealer valued it at £2000 LESS :O What the??
I was thinking about buying an old car but my mate recently picked up a free 1989 peugeot 307 from the scrap yard, gave it a new engine but..it leaks oil and breaks down everyyyyyyyyyy day!! I told the idiot instead of spending £3-4k fixing it up.. get a new car!!! Typical..

 

[garyk]

_________________________

Lol! Yeh I make over the top assumptions sometimes, I didnt notice my petrol finished one day.. and I blocked all the traffic on a very narrow one way road.. but thats something silly and my fault.

So who thinks this government scheme to give you £2000 to upgrade a newer car. I keep thinking, are they just doing this to restart public purchases in the car industry, we've all seen the news lately .. almost all car makers have suffered horrendously in the recession.
Who's thinking about taking up the offer?

Let us know

I don't think its enough and Ive heard dealers are taking a battering from wised-up punters anyway, i.e. having to slash thousands off the ticket price to shift em. As many others have said on here before it seems crazy pumping in millions of pounds when the massive amount of existing stock cannot be sold.

 

[inspiremydesign]

They are desperate to keep the population in debt aren't they?
The roads of this little island are saturated anyway.
Gridlock, pollution, noise and daily misery for some just trying to get to their work so that they can pay more tax to the government.
The govt help us with congestion charges (tax) and car sharing lanes(fines)
We dont need newer cars, we need fewer cars.

_________________

Great statement I'm a green eco enthusiast.. but occasionaly drive a diesel city car here and there. It sound like they do want to keep the population in debt.. last time I heard prime minister brown say.. keep spending your credit cards to get out of debt .. WHATTTT :O Isnt it the other way round....

I recently visited Venice, Italy.. to research the transport problems there.. Its quite a small island.. population of £60k -70k... I was there for 5 days.. but i stayed on the outer skirt in Mestre.. comparing it to venice which was car free.. due to the river - roads... mestre was misty, air quality was unbearable.. no sunshine! Clogged up roads with cars, buses, coaches.. and half of them were empty!

The point I'm trying to make is.. there is one person per car.. I didnt see not one bicycle or motorbike.. There was a bike parking station opposite my hotel next to the train station .. but it was locked up and abandoned!

Thats when my motivation started firing up!! GEt more people on bikes in the uk - especially London.. alot of people complain you cant get through traffic safely let alone park without getting it stolen! If the government wont do it .. We'l do it without them! No ProblemO! Although it will be sometime until we see a decrease in car use and increase in 2 wheels

 

[inspiremydesign]

I don't think its enough and Ive heard dealers are taking a battering from wised-up punters anyway, i.e. having to slash thousands off the ticket price to shift em. As many others have said on here before it seems crazy pumping in millions of pounds when the massive amount of existing stock cannot be sold.

_____________________________

I dont understand .. how are they going to shift the old stock? Theres a car supermarket near where i live.. which is called 'car giant' .. its hugeee.. size of wembley stadium.. but the cars havent been moving.. they've instead been pouring out on the side streets due to over stock, no purchases.. but they have quite low prices.. I dont get why they dont have customers. back in 2007 a range rover vogue would cost £45k .. car giants is £26k now.. ouch!

 

[MH1]

the cars havent been moving.. they've instead been pouring out on the side streets due to over stock, no purchases.. but they have quite low prices.. I dont get why they dont have customers. back in 2007 a range rover vogue would cost £45k .. car giants is £26k now.. ouch!

The answers simple, the market price of the range rover is still too high, when it falls toot he correct level then it will start to sell again.

The authorities around the world should be concentrating on reducing car production due to the over supply problems in the industry, to make the whole industry viable again. Making the huge bail outs dependant on reducing production capabilities would have been a start, and switching some factories to completely electric powered vehicles would be a step in the right direction.

My ten year old Shogun runs as smooth as silk, carries a family of five in comfort, and up to seven people at a time, and is used only when really necessary, my weekly fuel bill is under £40, it costs £95 to fill the tank.

I have no plans to change it, why would I? An equivalent new car would cost £35k+, which would then lose 60% of it's value in the first 3 yrs of use, whilst not doing the job any better than my present vehicle. I ran my last van to 360,000 miles before selling it after buying it with 96,000 on the clock, nothing wrong with older vehicles with some milage, as long as they are maintained correctly.

 

[dp0848]

I don't think its enough and Ive heard dealers are taking a battering from wised-up punters anyway, i.e. having to slash thousands off the ticket price to shift em. As many others have said on here before it seems crazy pumping in millions of pounds when the massive amount of existing stock cannot be sold.

Defiantly worth doing your homework if you are in the market for a new car. I purchased a new car just before Christmas - just a little run about for work. With a bit of negotiating I got the price down from £10,500 to £7,800.

 

[seasonsonline]

I ONLY EVER drive old cars, and I do it on purpose. I like old cars because they've got more character, they're cheap to buy, it's a form of recycling and it makes more sense to me to buy a car for a few hundred quid and get every last mile out of it.- Then you just move onto another.

Put it this way, as long as the car is in reasonable condition the costs are far less then buying a new car!- Plus, it's much more fun and you get to drive far more cars in the long run.

I consider myself a kind of "car eco warrior", giving the old cars one final chance before they are rejected and doomed for the junk yard.

 

[Esk247]

wasn't it ford who actually UPPED the price 'due to a worldwide recession' :|

as said in a previous post..knock the price of a new car down to a real price and more people will take the investment in a newer car and run it for 3 years. but with some little ford fiesta thing going for £12,995 when i can get a seriously stunning BMW thats 5 years old for £3,995 .. i just dont understand their thinking.

as said in another post..if they make a viable, electric/hybrid/fuel cell car that operates in a normal everyday, turn the key and drive, environment i'll scrap my old tank and go and buy one.

 

[garyk]

I ONLY EVER drive old cars, and I do it on purpose. I like old cars because they've got more character, they're cheap to buy, it's a form of recycling and it makes more sense to me to buy a car for a few hundred quid and get every last mile out of it.- Then you just move onto another.

Put it this way, as long as the car is in reasonable condition the costs are far less then buying a new car!- Plus, it's much more fun and you get to drive far more cars in the long run.

I consider myself a kind of "car eco warrior", giving the old cars one final chance before they are rejected and doomed for the junk yard.

Good on ya!

But please don't give an austin allegro, an austin princess or a morris marina a second chance, those things should never see light of day again!

Gary

 

[stevon]

Agreed with one of the posters (cant remember im absolutely steaming..)

Buy old cars... My BMW has got 175k miles on the clock, started it after sitting for four days in the freezing Aberdonian snow and it fired up like a champ. Absolutely tremendous. Cant beat it on the motorway either, easily runs smoother than any of the newer cars I've had (esp. the French ones)

Still won't put me off buying a 205 GTi this year though - best hot hatches ever produced bar none.

 

[PaddyPawsPetServices]

I think this idea is total madness, mere fact that the Government wants us to get into more debt...funny isnt that the reason why we are in this mess anyway!?

My personal opinion is that rather than setting up these silly ideas, and trying to get more debt on people who are already struggling, is that the government should give every working person 5k to do with whatever they see fit ( so long as its legal ) most would go and spend it, there by getting the economy going again.

Back to the subject of cars, my Dad bought a 406 diesel back in 1996, with nearly 250k on the clock, she is still going strong. My OH bought an R reg 406 last year with 60k on the clock, ( less than 1k ) and it will do us for quite a few years. They both have good MOTS, are reliable etc and probs better for the environment too than buying brand new ones ( not to mention better looking LOL )
I have my test booked for June, I will be spending no more than £800 on my car, im hoping ( really hoping ) for a decent late 90's auto Volvo!