Ford has extended its van scrappage scheme. Originally due to end in December 2017, you can now secure a discount of up to £7,000 on a new Ford van by trading in an old banger until 31 March 2018.
What’s more, the 2018 Ford scrappage discount is available on the Ranger pickup truck, which was previously excluded from the offer.
How does the Ford van scrappage scheme work?
The rules have changed slightly, but in essence if you’ve got a car or a light commercial vehicle (LCV) that was registered before 31 December 2010 you can trade it in for a hefty saving on a new Ford van.
The old motor must have been registered to you for 90 days to qualify for the scheme, and the contract on the new vehicle must be agreed by 31 March 2018 – and the vehicle itself registered by 30 September 2018 – but otherwise that’s basically it.
How has the Ford van scrappage scheme changed?
The main difference for the extension is that Ford has decided not to automatically scrap trade-ins that are classified as ‘historic vehicles’ by the DVLA (the government’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency).
This is excellent news for fans of classic cars, which might previously have been consigned to death by the programme, regardless of their importance.
In addition, while the scheme was original introduced as a flat-rate £2,000 discount that could be combined with other savings, now Ford is offering variable scrappage discounts that cannot be combined with other offers.
Total discount amounts are largely unchanged, however, and on paper scrappage remains enticing.
How much money can the Ford van scrappage scheme save me?
The amount you save varies with Ford van model:
- Transit Courier: £3,650 scrappage discount on all versions
- Transit Connect: £4,250 scrappage discount on Base, Eco and Trend L1, £5,000 scrappage discount on Trend L2 and Limited
- Transit Custom: £5,000 scrappage discount on Base, £5,500 scrappage discount on all other versions – but not available on orders of the 2018 facelift version (which Ford refers to as the MCA, meaning Mid-Cycle Action)
- Transit: £6,500 scrappage discount on all versions up to 3,499kg gross vehicle weight (GVW), £7,000 discount on 3,500kg GVW models and above
- Ranger: £2,000 scrappage discount on the XL, XLT, Black Edition and Wildtrack, £2,750 scrappage discount on the Limited
So, the biggest savings are on the full-size Transit, the smallest on Ranger pickup – which wasn’t previously available via the Ford scrappage scheme at all.
Is the Ford van scrappage scheme good value?
That very much depends on the value of the vehicle you’ve got to trade in – if the scrappage saving is more than the vehicle is worth, then you’re quids in.
If the vehicle is worth more than the scrappage discount, hopefully the Ford dealer will point this out and offer you a different kind of deal.
But just in case, don’t forget you can use the Parkers Vans valuation tool to find out what your current machine ought to fetch.
Is the Ford van scrappage scheme good for the environment?
In terms of localised emissions, very probably. After all, all the new vans sold via the offer will meet Euro 6 emissions regulations, which should be good news for air quality, especially in city centres.
Older vans will soon start facing higher charges to drive in certain areas for this very reason – so this could be a good opportunity for a cost-effective upgrade.
