Back to the fewture

I note your support for the scrappage scheme. Is this the whole story? MoT service centres are immediately losing out on £4 million (30,000 cars times £45 times 3 years) income. Secondly the statement, often repeated in your column, that you should scrap a vehicle when an individual repair is more expensive than the car is worth is a motor industry herring. If I have a £400 car (probably generous for my R-reg Bravo) and spend say £500 a year keeping it on the road, I am no worse off than the depreciation on a £10,000 car would be in that same year. And the benefit does not go to Korea (or wherever). A significant part of it enriches my friendly local repair shop. The Bravo has been a bit of a lemon but still returns 7.9 l/100km on strictly urban driving. Crushing it to improve the prospects of Larry Lizard in the car showroom does not make economic sense.

Asked on 12 September 2009 by

Answered by Honest John

Yes, of course. By your thinking we could go right back to living in caves (well, some of us could, the rest would have to die), but eventually someone would invent the wheel and from then on we would see continual progress until we got back where we are today.

Tags: buying new cars scrappage scheme

Dear Honest John,

Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:

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