44 MERCURY June 12, 2009 email: mercury@hertsessexnews.co.uk
WE'RE told there's never been
a better time to buy a new car
-- and for once it could be
true. STEVE WALKER looks at
the latest Vehicle Scrappage
Scheme deals . . .
O
NCE upon a time,
owners of 10-year-old
bangers had little to
look forward to beyond
the occasional, not entirely
unexpected breakdown fiasco
and an ever-increasing puddle of
oil outside their houses.
Then the Government introduced
its Vehicle Scrappage Scheme and,
at a stroke, wrecks that had been
cluttering driveways throughout
the land gained a value that
exceeded their material and
practical one: consign an old
clunker to the scrapyard in the
sky and the Government,
supported by the manufacturer,
will give you �2,000 off the price of
a new car.
Lots has been written and opined
about the scrappage scheme. Some
say it's good, others are firmly of
the opinion that it isn't. What we
do know is that it's fired the
public's car-buying imagination at
a time when confidence was low
and unsold new cars were
clogging up ports and airfields in
ever-expanding numbers.
The final judgement will need to
be reserved until the dust settles,
but after some initial hiccups the
manufacturers are firmly on
board and upbeat dealerships are
offering big savings on new cars.
It looks like a great time to buy, so
here's a rundown of what some
leading brands have got to offer.
CITROEN
MASTER of the special offer,
Citroen was never about to let the
scrappage scheme pass off
unexploited. Remarkably, it has
slashed the price of its Xsara
Picasso MPV with a �6,400
cashback deal that, together with
the scrappage incentive, brings
the effective price down to �7,995.
Citroen is also offering a �1,000
discount on all C5 and C6 models
in addition to the scrappage
bonus.
FIAT
FIAT'S comprehensive range of
new cars lends itself to the
scrappage scheme. With the
necessary Government discount
in place, the Panda is now
available for under �5,000 in
Active ECO guise and the larger
Grande Punto costs �6,695 in
Active form. Go for the practical
new Qubo model and there's a
�7,755 price tag when you trade in
a 10-year-old model, and the Bravo
family hatch could be yours for
only �9,995.
FORD
FORD is focusing its discounts on
its larger family-sized models.
There's �4,500 off the new Mondeo
while the Galaxy MPV has �5,000
cut from its asking price. The
discounts have been dubbed
Scrappage Plus in a bid to assist
customers in seeking out the deal
that best suits them.
NISSAN
NISSAN'S Sunderland
manufacturing plant plays a major
part in the economy, producing
the Micra, Note and Qashqai
models. The Micra is available for
�5,995 under the scrappage scheme
and Nissan is extending the �2,000
trade-in offer to vehicles of less
than eight years in age, so even
more motorists will qualify.
PEUGEOT
A SERIES of special edition
Peugeot models is being promoted
under the scrappage incentive
scheme. The 207 Verve special
edition guise is available for just
�8,740, a �3,300 customer saving.
The larger 308 Verve is also
available with a �4,300 saving,
with the 107 Urban Lite at �5,945.
RENAULT
RENAULT is offering some
Extreme-ly good deals as part of
its scrappage scheme promotions.
The Clio Extreme supermini has a
�3,500 saving on list price while
there's a �3,255 saving on the
Megane Extreme with the 1.6-litre
100bhp engine. The Grand Scenic
Extreme has a �2,500 saving which
should make it even more
attractive to family buyers.
TOYOTA
TOYOTA is emphasising the
British-built status of its cars. The
Auris hatchback is produced at
the marque's Burnaston plant
and, like all of the Toyota models,
it's offered under the scrappage
scheme.
VAUXHALL
THE whole of Vauxhall's
extensive car and van range is
subject to a �2,000 discount under
the scrappage scheme. There are
also supplementary offers such as
5% cashback deals and 0%
finance. The British-built Astra is
offered in Life trim with a
discount of �3,870 in addition to
the scrappage scheme incentive.
VOLKSWAGEN
THE Golf and Polo hatchbacks are
the focus of the VW dealer offers
at the moment, but buyers can
also pick up the Fox city car for
�4,845 with the �2,000 scrappage
discount. The Polo starts at �6,345
and the Golf at �11,585, both rates
representing a cheap way into
Volkswagen ownership
VOLVO
THE Volvo models are being made
available with some great value
finance plans to coincide with the
scrappage scheme. The DRIVe
versions of the S40 saloon and V50
estate are offered with monthly
payments of �300 and �305
respectively. The C30 DRIVe S with
Start/Stop technology begins at
�210 a month.
Who's
up
for a
scrap?
Who's
up
for a
scrap?

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