Monday 29th September 2014

Scrappage carnage detailed

New document reveals all models scrapped under the 2009 scheme - read and weep

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The scale of the Shed carnage wreaked by the 2009 scrappage scheme has been revealed in a new document that shows the complete breakdown by make and model of all 392,227 cars that went to the breakers in return for a £2,000 discount off a new car. The list, generated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in response to a freedom of information claim, makes for grim reading when you see what we've lost for ever.

Do we spy an Alpina'd E36 3 Series there?

You can look at the list yourself (click on Download CSV to see the whole thing) and decide which ones would have made more for the owner had they done the sensible thing and sold them on the open market. The BMW 2002? Audi Quattro 20V? Morgan 4/4 Convertible? The playing field is pretty level in that all cars scrapped had to have a current MoT so were in theory roadworthy.

It's hard to fathom how enthusiasts could have made the decision to destroy what they must have loved at some point (all cars had to have been owned by the person doing the scrapping for at least a year).

Doing some quick sums on the Excel document showed 101 Porsches bit the dust, split between 944s and 924s, but also three 928s. A Triumph Dolomite Sprint was scrapped, as were nine Triumph Spitfires and quite a few MG Midgets. It's sad how cars that will be loved one day in the future were culled - a whopping 45 Jaguar XJSs hit the 'heap for example, out of 731 Jaguars in total. It's also sad how it hastened the demise of cars that weren't really loved, but you want to see every now and then. Cars like the Skoda 130, the Peugeot 505 GTI family, the Mitsubishi Tredia (okay, maybe not that).

Hyundai boasted of the cars traded in for scrap

But there were also cars that were or would have become bonafide classics, like the Honda Integra R, Ford Capri 3000 Ghia, Lancia Delta HF, Lancia Beta Spyder, Fiat X1/9 (11 of them!) and the Mercedes 560 SEC.

A warning before you go searching the document: the inputting of names was atrocious. BIS blames the manufacturers for this, for which read the dealers. How many ways can a junior salesman spell Citroen? Let's count: Cireon, Citeon, Citoeon, Citreon, Citron, Cittoen. Some spellings raised an eyebrow - Ford Fista Encore, anyone?

The scrappage scheme was important in that it did pull the country's car industry out of a horrendous pit - sales in November 2008 dived 36 per cent compared to the previous November. Scappage scheme cars accounted for around fifth of all cars sold in that 10-month period, which cost the government £400 million. As expected, scrappers mainly went for budget cars - the biggest winner was Hyundai, which shifted 47,000 cars under the scheme, 26,000 of which were the i10 city car.

Tough to learn, especially when you see a TVR S2 on the list of cars that died to make that happen.

[bmthnick1981]

What a shame. Alpina B7? An M5? Lots of Merc 560's and 600's. Shame the govt couldn't allow enthusiasts access to this vast stock for a flat rate of £1k or £2k per car.

[smilo996]

Just as important all the other cars that will die prematurely because of the cost and availability of spares an utter shambles, which it seems benefiotted imports no end.

Not to mention the possibility of selling the cars to developing countries and upgrading their gun platforms from Toyota Hilux pickups.

Imagine the prestige of having an XJS with a 50cal machine gun and some bloke sticking out of the sunroof, boots off in order not to scuff the leather or chopping the back off a 928 to make a V8 pick up.

[JamesHayward]

There's a Jaguar XK40 on there too. I really hope that was a typo on the V5 of an XJ40...

[Mr_B]

BMW M3's , 850's , 750's , 540 Touring, Alpina, 635's.... shame.

[trunks82]

505 gti? we had a grey estate.proper pos but i loved it as it said gti on the back. havent see one on the road for years!!

Edited by trunks82 on Monday 29th September 14:39

[IanCress]

People must hve come to the conclusion that the car wasn't worth £2k. Difficult to come to the same conclusion with cars like an M5 on the list. Perhaps sellers were desperate and just need quick cash?

[loudlashadjuster]

bmthnick1981 said:

What a shame. Alpina B7? An M5? Lots of Merc 560's and 600's. Shame the govt couldn't allow enthusiasts access to this vast stock for a flat rate of £1k or £2k per car.

I'm sure there were very good reasons that most if not all of the cars that were ostensibly worth saving ended up crushed.

We see the PH-worthy names and like to think they were worth saving, but in reality most would probably have been rusty, poorly-maintained junk, or been accident damaged or MOT fails but still within the terms of the scrappage scheme.

[Lowtimer]

Not necessarily at all.
The only reason the Government wanted them crushed was to boost demand for new cars, by reducing the supply of old cars, rather than moving old cars around

[Truckosaurus]

For the more fancy cars I wonder how many were actually in proper working condition, and not recently crashed or succumbed to a fatal breakdown.

Did the scrapped cars actually have to be independently verified? Could the dealer and punter be in cahoots and strip a rare car for spares first and just send the shell for scrap - therefore earning double-bubble for the car.

[bmthnick1981]

loudlashadjuster said:

bmthnick1981 said:

What a shame. Alpina B7? An M5? Lots of Merc 560's and 600's. Shame the govt couldn't allow enthusiasts access to this vast stock for a flat rate of £1k or £2k per car.

I'm sure there were very good reasons that most if not all of the cars that were ostensibly worth saving ended up crushed.

We see the PH-worthy names and like to think they were worth saving, but in reality most would probably have been rusty, poorly-maintained junk, or been accident damaged or MOT fails but still within the terms of the scrappage scheme.

I think a current MOT was one of the requirements of the scheme; http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1...

[FRA53R]

Scary stuff! Haven't made it through the entire list, might be screw-eyed by then, but even the first few entries are upsetting.

[mcflurry]

I wonder how many of these (ex) owners were offered less than £2000 for the cars before going to the dealer?

If they were that good, someone would have spent the £2001 or more to save them IMHO.

[Roo]

I was running a Hyundai dealer during scrappage.

We had a few people turn up with cars that some people would consider to be classics.

Those that worth more than the scrappage allowance were taken in as normal part exchanges and sold on.

There were some absolute horrors that, despite being MOT'd, really only were worth scrapping.

[Steamer]

Truckosaurus said:

For the more fancy cars I wonder how many were actually in proper working condition, and not recently crashed or succumbed to a fatal breakdown.

Did the scrapped cars actually have to be independently verified? Could the dealer and punter be in cahoots and strip a rare car for spares first and just send the shell for scrap - therefore earning double-bubble for the car.

I was just thinking that.

I dont think they had to have a current MOT - they could be towed into the garage.. I'm not sure about arriving with a pile of bent scrap on trailer and claiming it was an M5 would qualify.

[Baz2000]

80+ Morris Minors

[xRIEx]

loudlashadjuster said:

or MOT fails but still within the terms of the scrappage scheme.

Even MOT fails of some of those cars must have been worth more than the £2K trade in, given they must have had an MOT within the last 11ish months - the cheapest Morgan 4/4 is £19k on AT.

I'm sure someone handy with spanners looking for a project would be happy with a restoration 4/4 for £3-5K - throw£10K in and there's still a bit of profit margin if that concerned them.

[Lowtimer]

mcflurry said:

I wonder how many of these (ex) owners were offered less than £2000 for the cars before going to the dealer?

If they were that good, someone would have spent the £2001 or more to save them IMHO.

Only if that 'someone' had known the car was up for sale.

A lot of people are not interested in selling car privately and always do trade-ins, so their cars never get advertised here and the other websites.

[jon-]

I really hope that BMW 2002 was just a 2002 year generic BMW model, otherwise...

[xRIEx]

Steamer said:

Truckosaurus said:

For the more fancy cars I wonder how many were actually in proper working condition, and not recently crashed or succumbed to a fatal breakdown.

Did the scrapped cars actually have to be independently verified? Could the dealer and punter be in cahoots and strip a rare car for spares first and just send the shell for scrap - therefore earning double-bubble for the car.

I was just thinking that.

I dont think they had to have a current MOT - they could be towed into the garage.. I'm not sure about arriving with a pile of bent scrap on trailer and claiming it was an M5 would qualify.

Had to have a current MOT when I enquired.

[loudlashadjuster]

bmthnick1981 said:

I think a current MOT was one of the requirements of the scheme; http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1...

No, you could use an MOT fail within 14 days of MOT expiry. I should know, I managed to turn £100-worth of scrap ex-Micra into £2,000 off a £4,995 Panda.

Sold the Panda three years later for £3,200

Edit: Link to archived DirectGov page explaining the rules

Edited by loudlashadjuster on Monday 29th September 15:03