Concerns Over The Effectiveness Of The Government's Scappage Scheme

As the recession shows little sign of abating the governments scrappage scheme incentive appears to have had little effect on the car industry sales figures according to the Society Of Motor Manufactures and Traders, SMMT, as many manufacturers saw yet another dip in the new car sales figures across the UK.

Whilst new cars sales dipped by over 24% in May, the there is still optimism among car dealers that things will soon begin to gather momentum and the scheme will be seen as a success, in much they same way as it has in both Italy and Germany.

Encouragingly new car orders have seen approximately 35, 000 orders being placed since the scrappage scheme was introduced, however it will take a while before the registrations figures are fed into the system to judge whether the orders have in fact turned into actual measurable sales figures.

The first five months of this year new car registrations fell by nearly thirty percent compared with the same period in 2008.

With an abundance and influx of advertising campaigns being used by the major car manufactures, with the majority using the scappage scheme incentive as a plausible way for anyone who has a legally owned old car to trade it in for a new model, which is more economical to run as well as producing lower carbon emissions in attempts to kick start the comeback of new car sales.

Despite the manufacturer's and the government's advertising campaigns there are many people who own old cars who are not tempted to part with it for a new model, instead they are looking at other ways to reduce the overall running costs of their vehicles.

Two car families are opting to sell one of their cars in order to save money rather than buying a new car. Whilst other people are turning to more economical modes of transport such as scooters and motorbikes, particularly for commuting purposes.

Other ways people are using to reduce the cost of owning and running a car is not look for the cheapest car insurance they can, and whilst money gurus are encouraging people to shop around to get the best value for money many people are finding that low cost insurance does not always meet driver needs or expectations.

Some of the insurance companies are offering what appears at face value to be an effective and affordable way to insure a vehicle and save money, however when people make a claim they are being faced by a barrage of exclusions which they were unaware of when they took out the policy.

Advising people to read the small print, terms, conditions and restrictions cannot be stressed enough, however the more unscrupulous insurers are becoming known for relying on people not understanding or even reading the terms and conditions before they agree to the policy and purchase it, more particularly the insurers who are only available online, who do not provide full postal addresses or land-line phone numbers.

Cheap car insurance can undoubtedly save you money as long as you are sure that the policy is providing you with the amount and type of cover you need.