Car Scrappage Scheme - Scandal

Our old Fiat Punto is not looking so good. Since it is 10 years old we have wondered about the govenment scrappage scheme and buying a new car.

The Punto makes about 41mpg with emissions of 161 g/km, at least this is what the Parker's Guide says - not bad for a 10 year old car.

I would have thought that the purpose of the scrappage scheme would be to stimulate demand for more modern and efficient cars. It is proving quite difficult to find one! The Skoda Fabia is particularly nice but they are hard to find (even new!).

What I find staggering though, is that the scrappage scheme applies to any new car. You can go and buy a Jaguar XKR which does about 20mpg and has emissions of just under 300 g/km, and get £2,000 for scrapping your old car - even if it is MUCH less efficient than the new one.

Clearly, the scrappage scheme is ONLY about stimulating the economy. It has nothing to do with encouraging us to buy more efficient cars. I wonder what would have happened if the scrappage scheme ONLY applied to cars which are tax bands a-c.

Disappointing Gordon, what a wasted opportunity.