Best car scrappage schemes in 2018 revealed

A scrappage scheme lets you trade in your old car and replace it with a more efficient new model with a hefty discount. 

While the government dragging its heels with a proposed diesel scrappage scheme, 26 car manufacturers took the decision into their own hands by offering discounts on new models when drivers trade-in older vehicles during 2017.

All the major players had a scheme of some description, including the VW Group – including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda – BMW, Ford, Mercedes and Vauxhall.

Some of these offers have now expired, but 16 car makers have extended their offers into 2018 – find out which current deal is best and what the biggest discounts are when you hand over your ageing vehicle.

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Which car brands still have scrappage schemes?

Some 26 car brands offer scrappage schemes in 2017, however around half expired at the end of the year.

That leaves 16 manufacturers who have extended – or introduced – their offers into the new year, most of which run until the end of March. 

Are motorists using scrappage shemes?

Research by independent car buying site, carwow, revealed that motorists want a significant discount if they’re to swap their old banger for a greener alternative.

More than 50 per cent of UK drivers said that they wouldn’t consider anything less than £3,000 compensation to consider a move towards cleaner vehicles, whilst one in six would be looking for a minimum of £7,000.

So how many drivers took advantage of schemes last year?  

At the end of June 2017, Vauxhall confirmed that over 5,000 drivers had utilised its deal after just two months. With similar schemes running in 2015 and 2016, the car maker – now owned by the PSA Group – said it had scrapped more than 20,000 old cars (and shifted 20,000 new ones) through the incentive.

Ford and Volkswagen, which have provided schemes since August and September 2017 respectively, claimed to have swapped more than 15,000 older vehicles for greener Euro6-compliant models by December.  

Can I trade-in my car?

Not every manufacturer-offered scrappage scheme is the same, as you’re going to increasingly find in this article. That’s not just true for the new models you could be buying but also the ones they’re willing to take from you.

Most of the brands accept both petrol and diesel models, though the VW Group manufacturers (Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen) will only take diesel examples.

Almost all of the schemes are only applicable to cars registered before 2010.

Here’s what the different car brands are happy to take:

Dacia: Any Euro 1-4 rated DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 December 2009

Ford: Any Euro 1-4 rated DIESEL or PETROL car or commercial vehicle registered before 31 December 2009

Hyundai: Any Euro 1-4 rated DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 December 2009

Kia: Any DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 March 2011

Mazda: Any Euro 1-4 rated DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 December 2009 

Mitsubishi: Any Euro 1-4 rated DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 December 2009

Nissan: Any Euro 1-4 rated DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 December 2009

PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroen and DS): Any DIESEL or PETROL car more than 7 years old

Renault: Any DIESEL or PETROL  car (subject to an appraisal of its road-worthy condition at a Renault participating dealer)  

Toyota: Any DIESEL or PETROL car registered before 31 December 2009

VW Group (Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda): Any Euro1-4 rated DIESEL car registered before 31 December 2009

What other trade-in restrictions do I face?

Again, not all the brands have the same restrictions beyond the fuel type and age of the car as listed above.

Some demand that you’ve owned the car for longer periods than others. For instance, Mitsubishi, Toyota and the VW Group brands say they will only deal with those who have been the registered keeper of the trade-in car for a minimum of 6 months.

Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan Peugeot, and Renault  are more lenient, though – they only ask that motorists have kept their cars for 90 days to qualify for their offers. Mazda goes a month shorter, requiring just 60 days ownership ahead of ordering the new car. 

All the brands will accept cars made by other manufacturers. For instance, you still qualify for the Ford saving if you hand over an old BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

Which new models will I get a discount on – and how much could I save?

Yet again, there are plenty of inconsistencies. We’ve broken each brand down and given you a quick overview of what’s available, though we suggest visiting each manufacturer’s website to find out more if you’re interested:

Dacia – offer on Sandero and Duster extended until 31 March 2018

Only the Sandero and Duster are eligible for the Dacia Scrappage Scheme. Why not the Logan MCV estate? We don’t know.

The savings are pretty small – £1,000 off a Duster SUV and £500 clipped from the RRP of the Sandero supermini – but considering their low purchase prices in the first instance, the discounts are actually a good percentage of the overall cost. 

Ford – extended deal now expires on 31 March 2018

Ford is being generous with the range of petrol and diesel cars you can choose from, though they’re all subject to different discounts (just to make it a little more confusing).

For instance, the scrappage saving when you want a new Fiesta is just £2,000, but you can save £4,950 on a high-spec Focus if you trade-in your Euro4-or-earlier motor.

Other models include the B-MAX (excluding Zetec, with a £3,500 saving), C-MAX (up to £4,700 saving), Kuga (up to £4,850 saving) and various Transit models with a maximum discount of £7,000. The new Ranger has also been added (up to £2,750 off the RRP). 

Hyundai – scrappage and emissions reduction scheme available until March 31

Hyundai’s scrappage and emissions reduction scheme has varying discounts across the range, including models themselves. For instance, an i10 city car qualifies for a £1,500 saving, though if you go for the 1.0 SE model that offer increases to £1,750.

Other cars included are the i20 (up to £2,865 off), i30 (£4,000 off), i40 (£3,000 off), ix20 (£2,000 off), Tucson (£3,500 off) and seven-seat Santa Fe (£5,000 off).

Oddly, the car Hyundai should really be persuading drivers to purchase is the Ioniq range, which includes a conventional hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full electric version. However, only the the standard hybrid version is available in the offer and with a measly discount of £2,000 off the £21,000 saloon. 

Kia – incentive runs until the end of March 2018

The Korean car manufacturer is only discounting its smallest models – the Picanto and Rio. 

Both are eligible for a £2,000 saving. With that, you get the brand’s market-leading seven-year warranty. 

Mazda – new car needs to be registered by 31 March 2018 to qualify 

Mazda’s scheme is available on a select few models, though the restriction is that any new vehicle you buy has to emit less than 130g/km of CO2. The Japanese brand is also offering bigger discounts on models with diesel engines than those with petrols, seemingly in a push to clear stock of oil burners.

Models and savings: Mazda2 (petrol only with £2,500 discount), Mazda3 (petrol models offer a £4,000 discount and diesel £5,000), Mazda 6 (petrol models offer a £4,000 discount and diesel £5,000), CX-3 (diesel only with a £3,000 discount). 

Mitsubishi – offer expires on 27 March 2018

The model most buyers will be interested in is the Outlander PHEV – the country’s best-selling hybrid car. The Japanese brand is offering a £4,000 scrappage allowance on the vehicle, which you can then combine with a £2,500 saving through the plug-in car grant to pocket £6,500 of the RRP. 

But there are other savings to be had too: £2,000 off a Mirage supermini, £3,000 off the ASX compact SUV and £5,000 off a diesel-powered Outlander 4×4. 

Nissan – ‘Switch scheme’ open until 2 April 2018

The Nissan ‘Switch Scheme’ is unlike any other scrappage offer featured here. Yes, you have to own an older diesel or petrol car for at least 90 days, but when you trade in you could get a discount on, wait for it, another used car. That’s only the case for second-hand Nissan LEAFs which are elgible for ‘up to’ a £2,000 saving.

There are deals on new models, too, but only with a maximum £2,000 off the RRP of models including the Micra, Juke, Qashqai and X-Trail. Go for the Acenta trim level on any of these and that discount drops to just £1,000. 

PSA Group – save up to £6,000 on a new Peugeot, Citroen or DS until March

The French motor group is quick to point out that any discounts available here cannot be used in connection with any other deals and in some cases is knocking more off the price of diesel models than petrols in a bid to offset the decline in sales of oil burning cars. Luckily, some of the savings are pretty big. Here’s what’s available in 2018:

Peugeot: 108 (£1,750 off), 208 (£2,750 off), 2008 (£2,750 off), petrol 308 (£2,750 off), diesel 308 (£3,750 off), petrol 308 SW (£2,750 off), diesel 308 SW (£3,750 off), 308 GTi (£2,750 off), petrol 3008 (£2,000 off), diesel 3008 (£2,500 off), 508 (£6,000 off), 508 SW (£6,000 off) and Partner Teepee (£2,500 off).

Citroen: C1 (£1,750 off), C3 (£1,750 off), C3 Aircross (£1,700 off), C4 Cactus (£3,900 off), C3 Picasso (£6,400 off), C4 (£5,000 off), C4 Picasso (£4,200 off), Grand C4 Picasso (£4,700 off), Berlingo Multispace (£2,500 off).

DS: DS 3 (£3,500 off, DS 3 Cabrio (£4,500 off), DS 4 (£5,000 off), DS 4 Crossback (£5,000 off), DS 5 (£5,500 off).

Like Ford, Peugeot and Citroen also has a range of vans with discounts of up to £7,000 + VAT off the Peugeot Boxer Van and Citroen Relay Panel Van.

Renault – Upgrade Event expires on 31 March 2018

Renault’s traditional scrappage scheme ended in December, but the French car maker has launched a new ‘Upgrade’ package on part-exchanged cars – though only if you want to buy one of the three SUVs it sells.

On the plus side, any car can be traded in, as long as Renault deem it to be of a roadworthy condition. The part-exchange value will be boosted by varying amounts depending on which model you choose.

Go for a petrol-powered Captur and Renault will add £250 to the value of your trade-in car – choose the diesel-powered compact SUV and that will increase to £500.

The bigger Kadjar is subject to a part-ex boost of £500 and £1,500 on new petrol and diesel models respectively, while anyone who chooses the new Koleos will get £2,000 added to their trade-in vehicle value. 

Toyota – Scrappage also extended to end of March

The Japanese car manufacturer has included pretty much its entire model range, from the Aygo city car to the Hilux truck.

Discounts vary depending on which model you want, with the smallest being £1,000 off the C-HR and C-HR Hybrid SUVs. The most substantial saving is £4,000 off a new Land Cruiser 4×4.

Making up the entire availability range is the following: Aygo (£2,000 off), Yaris and Yaris Hybrid (£2,500 off), Auris and Auris Hybrid (£3,500 off), Verso (£3,500 off), Rav4 and RAV4 Hybrid (£3,500 off), Avensis (£3,500 off), Prius (£2,000 off), GT86 (£2,000 off), Hilux (£2,000 off) and Proace (£2,000 off).

Toyota’s deal was due to expire at the end of January but has now been extended to 31 March 2018.

VW Group – Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen schemes extended until 31 March 2018

With Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda models all inclusive of the VW Group’s scheme, there is a wide range of models up for grabs. These range from £1,500 off the dinky Seat Mii and Skoda CitiGo to an £8,000 discount on an Audi Q7 e-tron SUV.

Volkswagen’s latest line-up of plug-in hybrids is also inclusive of the offer, with cars like the hybrid Golf GTE (£5,000 off) and pure-electric e-Golf (£5,500 off) up for grabs. 

The all-new Polo has also been added to the scheme from mid November, with £2,000 off when you trade-in your old diesel car. 

The biggest issue with this offer is that it is only applicable to those with older diesel cars – anyone with a pre-2010 petrol will have to consider one of the alternative incentives. 

Volkswagen said some 5,000 pre-Euro5 diesel cars had been swapped for more efficient new cars since its incentive was offered.

Drivers will have to order a new VW, Audi, Seat or Skoda model by the end of March and have it delivered by 30 June if they want to take advantage of the scrappage discounts offered. 

Which one is the best value scrappage scheme? 

Renault’s offer isn’t a traditional scrappage scheme and provides the lowest financial appeal. The restriction to just SUVs will also alienate some buyers.

The French carmaker’s sister brand, Dacia, is also low on our recommended list as it only offers relatively small discounts on two cars in the range – the Sandero and Duster – and you have to have owned the trade-in vehicle for a minimum of 90 days. That said, a £500 off the price of a car that costs just £6,000 new isn’t a bad deal at all. 

Kia’s deal is similar in that it is limited to just its small cars, though the £2,000 saving on a Picanto or Rio is good value considering their lower list prices. 

Toyota’s offer is competitive, though the savings aren’t as tempting as some rivals and there is a requirement of a minimum 6 month ownership of the vehicle you trade in.

Mazda’s offer provides substantial savings on some good cars but is cannily providing bigger discounts on diesel examples than petrol to shift vehicles that have fallen out of favour with buyers in recent months.

The VW Group’s scheme – including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda cars – hands out some of the biggest discounts at the moment, though it has the restriction of only being available to those with an old diesel car to trade-in.

We highly rate the Mitsubishi scrappage scheme – you can trade-in an old petrol or diesel car and pocket big savings on the popular Outlander PHEV. The only reason it misses out on featuring in our ‘best offer’ group is because the trade-in ownership period is longer than the better schemes – 6 months – and the deal expires marginally earlier (March 27) than most of the others.

The Hyundai scrappage and emissions reduction scheme provides some good savings on models across its range, especially the large popular SUVs like the Tucson and Santa Fe, but we’re hugely disappointed that they’re only offering £2,000 off the price of the Ioniq Hybrid and the plug-in hybrid and full electric models aren’t inclusive of a scheme that’s meant to encourage drivers to go green. 

Nissan was one of our recommended schemes, but the extension of their offer has seen a reduction in the discounts provided. Now all models are subject to a maximum of £2,000 off, which isn’t as good as the best deals. 

The better options are from Ford and PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroen and DS). Not only will they take an older diesel OR petrol car as part of the scrappage deal, you can get the most substantial discounts on some of their popular cars – like the Ford Focus, Citroen C4 Picasso and Peugeot 308  – and not be restricted to only being able to buy diesel. All also only require you to have kept the trade-in model for 90 days.

Does this mean the government won’t be launching a scheme?

Government ministers are said to be consulting on the scheme in a bid to remove as many older diesel cars from the road, but Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has said it’s not the ideal option – possibly because it would cost the government a significant amount of money (the last one in 2009 reportedly cost £300 million).

Instead, it is calling on councils to make a more concerted effort to reduce emissions at 81 major roads it has identified that are breaching EU air quality standards.

If a government scrappage scheme does arrive, expect it be targeted to only the oldest diesel models, which may or may not include Euro 4 cars.

Does the discount apply to the retail price of a new car or the price I can negotiate? 

No, all offers are on top of any discount you can already haggle on one of the eligible vehicles. However, some of the brands – including Peugeot and the VW Group makes – specifically state that the scrappage offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other existing offers. Check the manufacturer websites to find out more.