Ford has just announced a brand-new scrappage scheme in the UK that will take any diesel and petrol car that’s made before 2010 and exchange it for up to £2,000 off some newer Ford cars.
The difference between this and conventional exchange deals is that Ford says all the cars will be scrapped effectively, resulting in a reduction in air pollution.
Ford aren’t the first company to offer an older car scrappage deal, however it is the first to accept petrol cars as well as diesel cars.
There is one caveat however which is that the deal is only available until the end of December this year.
Currently there are only two other major manufacturers that offer a scrappage deal.
BMW
BMW recently announced that it was starting a scheme called the Lower Emissions Allowance.
This allows you to trade in any Euro 4 (EU4) emission standard or below diesel vehicle.
If your car fits in that bracket then you can get up to £2,000 off any of BMW’s cars that produce emissions of 130g/km or less.
This also includes any of BMW’s iPerformance cars or the i3 or i8.
Like Ford this deal is only available until the 31 December 2017.
Mercedes
Mercedes also offers a scrappage scheme that they’ve titled the Diesel Changeover Bonus.
Similar to BMW this will only be available for diesel cars that fall between the Euro 1 -Euro 4 emission standard and just like BMW it has an expiry date of 31 December 2017.
If your car falls within this bracket Mercedes are offering up to £2,000 off any Mercedes Benz diesel car that features a Euro 6 rating, any of its plug-in hybrid models or even its Smart electric car range.
Volkswagen
VW’s scrappage scheme is impressive however it’s limited to just diesel cars.
The car company is offering £1,800-6,000 off a brand-new VW car as long as your current model is a diesel purchased before 31st December 2009 featuring a Euro 1 – 4 emissions standard engine.
What makes the VW deal really impressive is that technically you can actually get even more off if you choose to buy the fully electric e-Golf.
Not only would you get £5,000 off from VW but you would get an additional £4,500 thanks to the government’s electric grant.
Toyota
Toyota’s scrappage scheme is, sadly, smaller in value than VW’s but it does include both diesel and petrol cars. Again the car needs to be seven years or older.
The amount varies from £1,000 for Toyota’s C-HR hybrid, to £2,000 for a Prius. Oddly you can get up to £4,000 for a Land Cruiser.
Kia
Kia’s is very similar to Toyota’s in that it is open to both petrol and diesel cars that are seven years or older.
It’s a flat amount of £2,000 and applies to both the Rio and the Picanto. While Kia don’t have a particular focus on electric or hybrid vehicles the company still believes owners could save well over 1.5 tonnes of carbon with a newer model.
Nissan
Known as the ‘Switch Scheme’ this is a pretty comprehensive offering from Nissan.
This scrappage scheme is open to both petrol and diesel cars and like its rivals requires only that the car be seven years or older.
The company’s offering a flat fee of £2,000 off any Nissan Leaf, which combined with government incentives should reduce the cost by a hefty £6,500.
For the rest of Nissan’s line-up the savings can range from £1,000-5,000.
Renault
Renault have approached their scrappage scheme slightly differently which is that they’ve gone for a flat fee of £2,000 but then added it to their own discounts as well.
It’s also offering something pretty impressive for its ZOE electric car which is a flat £5,000 off in addition to the £4,500 government grant that’s then also available.
Is my car eligible for the scrappage scheme?
Most of these deals are contingent on you owning a car that falls within the Euro 1 - Euro 4 bracket.
The Euro 1 rating was introduced in 1992 as a means of identifying and forcing car manufacturers to slowly but steadily reduce the harmful emissions being produced by their cars.
Since 1992 this rating has gone up to Euro 6 which signifies only the most environmentally friendly petrol or diesel vehicles.
As a rule of thumb, if your car was built and first sold within the years 1992-2010 then it will more than likely be eligible for the grant.
Does the government offer a scrappage scheme?
Currently, no. What it does do however is promote the purchasing of either purely electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles with a special low-emissions grant.
This won’t let you scrap your old car but it will give you money off a new one depending on the make and model.
The official government guidelines are as follows:
Vehicles eligible for a grant
There are 6 categories of vehicle, based on CO2 emissions. The grant depends on which category the vehicle is in.
Not all electric or hybrid vehicles are eligible for a grant - only vehicles that have been approved by the government.
Category 1 cars
These vehicles have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 112km (70 miles) without any CO2 emissions at all:
BMW i3
BYD e6
Citroen CZero
Ford Focus Electric
Hyundai IONIQ Electric
Kia Soul EV
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive
Nissan e-NV200 (5-seater and 7-seater)
Nissan LEAF
Peugeot iON
Renault Fluence
Renault ZOE
Smart fortwo electric drive
Smart forfour electric drive
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model X
Toyota Mirai
Volkswagen e-up!
Volkswagen e-Golf
The grant will pay for 35% of the purchase price for these vehicles, up to a maximum of £4,500.
Category 2 cars
These vehicles have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 16km (10 miles) without any CO2 emissions at all:
Audi A3 e-tron
BMW 225xe
BMW 330e
BMW 530e
Hyundai IONIQ PHEV
Kia Optima Saloon PHEV
Mercedes-Benz C350 e (with 17 inch rear wheels)
Mercedes-Benz E350 e SE
MINI Countryman PHEV
Mitsubishi Outlander (except Commercial)
Toyota Prius Plug-in
Vauxhall Ampera
Volkswagen Golf GTE
Volkswagen Passat GTE
Volvo V60 D5 Twin Engine
Volvo V60 D6 Twin Engine
Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Momentum (2017 model year only)
The grant will pay for 35% of the purchase price for these vehicles, up to a maximum of £2,500.
Category 3 cars
This vehicle has CO2 emissions of 50 to 75g/km and can travel at least 32km (20 miles) without any CO2 emissions at all:
Mercedes-Benz E350 e AMG Line
The grant will pay for 35% of the purchase price for this vehicle, up to a maximum of £2,500.
Can I scrap my car and get a grant?
Absolutely. By combining both the grant with an eligible scrappage scheme you could get a maximum of £6,500 off a brand-new car.