Scrappage Scheme

[montstable]

Hi All,

After speaking to my dealer today I found out some alarming news. I ordered my Scirocco on June 19th and was promised that it would be delivered early September time, which is well within the scrappage scheme 4 month limit. After hearing absoloutly nothing from the dealer for a month I decided to send an email requesting delivery dates, which was ignored. I sent another email asking for more information as I would like to put the deposit in premium bonds until it is needed rather than just leave it in my account. The dealer got back to me yesterday with a build date of the 15th October, with delivery possibly two weeks after that.

I called up the dealer and expressed my concern that the date was well outside of the 4 month period. He assured me that this was worst case scenario. Not happy with the response I asked him what would happen if this scenario came true. He said that Volkswagen would "look after me" and should it happen they would give me £2000 for my old car anyway (its worth about £500).

As I have an invoice for the car less the £2000 for the scrappage scheme, does this constiutute a formal contract meaning they would have to sell the car to me for that amount, or could they simply cancel the entire agreement and not give me the car after waiting 4 months?

Has anyone else had the same problems, and if so what have the dealers responses been?

Thanks everyone.

[ZephyR]

Was told a similar story by a local Fiat dealer when ordering my daughter's Fiat 500 (12 - 16 lead in).
At least they are consistent but I guess only time will tell if it comes to the crunch. Good luck.

[trix]

Hi Montstable

I'm in the same situation, I ordered 23rd June & got my car booked on the scrappage scheme mid july. my build week is currently week 42 with delivery looking at mid nov (i was originally told i should get it in sept, then that it was going to be built in Nov!!) my dealer is in the school of thought that they can cancel & reapply for the scrappage part way through (ie mid aug time before the 59 plate rush) to extend the 4 month window.
I am trying to get confirmation that this can be done from the department of business inovation & skills who seem to have the most information on the scheme but they currently haven't learnt to respond to an email so going to try & see if they can pick up the phone tomorrow
will let you know how i get on.
alternatively i will be getting my dealer to sign something (possibly in blood) that they will honor the deal that was agreed with my car being 'worth' £2000

S

[montstable]

Hi Trix,

Thanks for that, let me know how you get on and good luck!

[Dr_Doug]

I'll certainly be interested to hear what they have to say Trix. The scheduled delivery date for me is also precariously close to the scrappage deadline.

As for 'VW looking after you'....I guess the likelihood of that probably depends upon how much the car you are 'scrapping' is worth....and how much of a discount was negotiated on the sale price.

Assuming VW was still willing to stump up their original £1000K contribution that would leave the dealer having to 'fund' the governments original £1000K. Not entirely unreasonable if you consider that they wouldn't now have to scrap your old car and could now sell that on (for at least a few hundred quid I would guess). If however, VW didn't honour their £1K (and you would have to ask yourself why they would....) then I don't know if the dealer could/would stump up the full £2K.

Not sure where you stand from a legal perspective on the invoice. Having read the small print on the contract I suspect they could just offer you a standard trade in price for your car and if that isn't acceptable - just cancel the deal and give you your deposit back.

[trix]

right just been on the phone to some muppet (thats an offence to muppets - seriously!) (i will be ranting so you have been warned) at the Department for Business, Inovation & Skills: conversation went something like this.....

me: Please can i speak to someone about the scrappage scheme
erk: eeeerr ok
me: I have ordered a new car using my old car as the scrappage incentive but the 4 month window..
erk: what 4 month window?
me: the 4 month window in which you have for your new car to arrive before you have to reapply for the money allocated to you
erk: oohhhhhh
me: it is looking like my new car is likely to arrive very close to or beyond the end of this window..
erk: when did you order it?
me: end of june but my car was booked on to the scheme in early july
erk: why?
me: because my dealer went on holiday & did it on his return
erk: but why didn't he prioritise booking your car on the scheme?
me: does it really matter?!
erk: ok so carry on
me: my question is can the scrappage allocated to my order be cancelled part way through & reapplied for & reallocated to my order
erk: are your tax mot & insurance still valid
me: yes
erk: when do they run out
me: my mot runs out sept but i plan to get the car remot'd if necessary
erk: why?
me: because i need a car on the road until my new one arrives?!
erk: oh
me: so can it be done?
erk: i don't think so (not at all convincingly)
me: can i speak to someone who would know & get a definite answer?
erk: eeeerrrr you need to speak to a policy advisor
[puts me on hold]
erk: they aren't here right now
me: when are they back
erk: ummmm 2?
[you get the idea]

so seems like my dealer may be a law unto himself but we shall see i will try & ring up again later but no doubt they will have gone home by then so if anyone else fancies battling with them to save me wanting to reach down the phone & throttle them it would probably best to ask to speak to a policy advisor straight away & the number is 020 7215 5000 (option 0)

good luck

edit: Montstable hope you don't mind i've used part of your quandry to explain other dealers views on scirocconet to get a broader view & help any others in the same pile as us.

[Dr_Doug]

A predictable lack of clarity from official channels....

Clearly the work-around we have discussed before (cancelling the order, releasing the reserved funds back into the governments 'pot' and then re-applying for a fresh allocation) is likely to be possible (provided there is money left in the governments pot at the point of re-applying)....but clearly it would be exploiting a loop-hole in the system and it may not be openly 'endorsed' by official channels - since it provides a mechanism for by-passing the '4 month limit' (and there must have been some sort of reason for having that limit in the first place).

For info, I was told by another dealer that they would simply 're-apply' if the time-limit expired. So its not just your dealer who thinks this should work.

[trix]

yup.

my dealer was talking about reapplying when the window ran out but what i kindly informed him was that the fund is currently looking like it will be used up by the end of oct.
so for example my window runs out about early to mid nov at the moment, yes i may be just be reapplying for the money my window had just released back into the fund but i'm sure there would be keen people there ready to snag anything that comes back once it has dried up leaving me without, & relying on the 'good nature' of my dealer to honor the deal we had agreed including the scrappage incentive.
it was after me informing him of the revised anticipated run out date on the pot that he mentioned the 'cancel money part way through & reapply to my (already processing) order' idea

S

[jc74]

Hi All,

...
As I have an invoice for the car less the £2000 for the scrappage scheme, does this constiutute a formal contract meaning they would have to sell the car to me for that amount, or could they simply cancel the entire agreement and not give me the car after waiting 4 months?

Has anyone else had the same problems, and if so what have the dealers responses been?

Thanks everyone.

Slightly different from your situation, but I helped my folks buy a mk6 Golf back in April, before scrappage was available since heavy discounts were available. They had an old car which may have been eligible (we didn't know details of scheme or if it would happen). Anyway, the dealer said if the car is a scrappage eligible car, then he would give the scrappage scheme amount for it if it were to happen.
This was done in person - not written on paper.
Anyway, scrappage scheme came in, but since the car had already been ordered, it wasn't applicable. After faffing about, and pushing the dealer to stick to his word, the car was buillt but they still couldn't get through the red tape to get the scrappage. In the end, they ordered another car of exact same spec, at the same price and it will arrive in September, and we will get scrappage.
Oh, there's a nice new Golf unsold sitting in their showroom now..

Bottom line, is if it's written you're getting £2000 in the invoice, you should definitely expect to get it - whether or not the dealer gets it!

[trix]

thanks for that jc. all my paperwork is next to the computer so just had a look & it states "part exchange allowance = £2000" (not even a mention of scrappage) so it should be fine

[montstable]

Hi Everyone,

Just had a look at my invoice and it says the same, part exchange = £2000 so I guess we can assume that is meant with or without the scrappage scheme.

If someone has or does successfully pick up a scirocco with the scrappage scheme (either within or outside the 4 month limit)can I ask them to post their exeriences here.

Happy driving,

montstable

[regandjuk]

Trix,

Thanks for pointing me to this thread.

One thing I didn't mention, but might be some comfort, is that my dealer strongly hinted to me that someone in a similar situation had already complained to VW when they went o/s the scrappage window and VW agreed to hush it up and honour the £2k. So if you fall outside, argue!!

[trix]

One thing I didn't mention, but might be some comfort, is that my dealer strongly hinted to me that someone in a similar situation had already complained to VW when they went o/s the scrappage window and VW agreed to hush it up and honour the £2k. So if you fall outside, argue!!

Thats a good point to know but the scheme hasn't been running for 4 months in the uk yet.
Having looked at my order form it doesn't mention the 'scrappage scheme' just £2000 part exchange & Monstable's is the same so looks like the £2000 definitely safe I just wonder what sort of running order they would want it in if it was a part exchange not 'scrappage' (my dad is making plans of removing the engine & taking it on a trailer now )

[jc74]

...Thats a good point to know but the scheme hasn't been running for 4 months in the uk yet.
Having looked at my order form it doesn't mention the 'scrappage scheme' just £2000 part exchange & Monstable's is the same so looks like the £2000 definitely safe I just wonder what sort of running order they would want it in if it was a part exchange not 'scrappage' (my dad is making plans of removing the engine & taking it on a trailer now )

You might want to check more carefully about the scrappage, since I was talking to someone who knew a local scrapyard guy quite well. Apparantely, they're doing a great trade right now!
However, they are not allowed to take majors parts out of the cars before scrappage. (Other wise they'd resell all the parts and not actually crush it!)
So best ok it with the VW dealer before you go ripping engines out! Otherwise they might well try and worm out of honouring their deal if all possible!

[ZephyR]

We were told by a Fiat dealer that provided your scrap car had tax and MOT when you registered it didn't matter if you brought it in on a trailer or pushed it in.
However in view of the fact that a driving force behind the scrappage scheme is the aim to get uneconomical polluting cars off the road I don't think it would go down well if you removed that dirty old engine with a view to running it in another car.

[trix]

i'll email the dealer tomorrow & ask if i'm able to remove 'components' from it...

[Kev]

yup.

my dealer was talking about reapplying when the window ran out but what i kindly informed him was that the fund is currently looking like it will be used up by the end of oct.

I've just been reading an article saying the same.
They're half way through the allocation of money for the scheme so if anyone's thinking of taking advantage of it you'd better get your skates on

[jc74]

i'll email the dealer tomorrow & ask if i'm able to remove 'components' from it...

Please let us know how it goes, because if so. I'll take the tyres, wheels, seats, ashtray, air vents, doors etc off my dad's old banger (still in v good nick) and sell them individually on Fleabay

Would be funny seeing people towing their cars in for part-ex with just the chassis!

[regandjuk]

One thing I didn't mention, but might be some comfort, is that my dealer strongly hinted to me that someone in a similar situation had already complained to VW when they went o/s the scrappage window and VW agreed to hush it up and honour the £2k. So if you fall outside, argue!!

Thats a good point to know but the scheme hasn't been running for 4 months in the uk yet.
Having looked at my order form it doesn't mention the 'scrappage scheme' just £2000 part exchange & Monstable's is the same so looks like the £2000 definitely safe I just wonder what sort of running order they would want it in if it was a part exchange not 'scrappage' (my dad is making plans of removing the engine & taking it on a trailer now )

I think they all say p/ex - mine does as well. Not sure how it'd stand up as a binding contract if they chose to refuse to give you the £2k (on the basis that they've entered into that contract based on the scrappage scheme) but tbh they're unlikely to want to fight it too far, the PR would be too bad for them.

Sorry - didn't make myself clear in above post . The guy who complained was given a delivery week well o/s the scrappage scheme.........after muchos complaining, VW agreed to honour.

[trix]

i'll email the dealer tomorrow & ask if i'm able to remove 'components' from it...

Please let us know how it goes, because if so. I'll take the tyres, wheels, seats, ashtray, air vents, doors etc off my dad's old banger (still in v good nick) and sell them individually on Fleabay

Would be funny seeing people towing their cars in for part-ex with just the chassis!

that may be slightly extreme jc74!!
i'm looking to swap the wheels on mine seeing as it had new tyres last aug & has reasonable alloys so if you know anyone wanting a set of 306 alloys instead of steels i'll listen to offers..

ah thanks for the clarification regandjuk maybe thats why it makes on mention to the scrappage scheme on the invoice..?