Scrappage Scheme Affecting Young Drivers Getting a Foot on the 'Motoring Ladder'

LONDON – September 23, 2009: The success of the government’s scrappage scheme could see young drivers struggling to get a foot on the ‘motoring ladder’, warns used car expert, Carsite.co.uk.

Tens of thousands of the cheap, first-buy run-arounds traditionally snapped up by 17-18 year old drivers have been scrapped from the market since May.

Coupled with the cost of road tax, rising prices at the pumps and ever increasing insurance premiums – getting behind the wheel of your first car has never been more difficult for young motorists.

Online retailer, Carsite.co.uk, fears that increased demand and rising prices for both ‘new’ and ‘old’ second hand models is putting a further squeeze on the important ‘first car’ buyer.

In September, amid industry calls for its extension, the Department for Business Innovation & Skills reported that more than 205,000 orders for new vehicles have been taken since the Government scrappage scheme was announced – with one second-hand vehicle scrapped for every new one.

As a result, the number of traditionally affordable ‘first-buy’ cars, such as older Ford Fiesta or Nissan Micra models, has been greatly reduced in the short term. In addition, last year’s collapse in new car sales means the number of affordable vehicles available in the longer term is going to be further squeezed.

Hyundai, one of the big success stories of the scrappage scheme, reported that the Nissan Micra, Vauxhall Astra and Ford’s Fiesta and Escort were among the most common cars to be traded in.

'We’re looking at a shrinking pool of appreciating second-hand cars with no immediate signs of a reversal in this trend,' says Alistair Jeff, director of Carsite.co.uk. 'Just as so many parents have to help with their offspring’s first home purchase, soon it could be the norm to fund the first car too. At Carsite we've seen an increase in parents purchasing our RAC-inspected cars for their children.'

In addition to the declining number of traditional cheap first cars, the cost of insuring young drivers continues to rise. According to insurance experts*, a male driver aged 17 will pay on average nine times more than someone aged 25 and 14 times more than someone aged 35, to insure the same car in the same location.

The Motor Insurer’s Bureau estimates that around 250,000 young people aged between 17 and 20 are driving without insurance, with the financial pressure of high premiums a significant factor in the majority of cases