by Trevor Sturgess

Time is running out for banger owners to drive a hard bargain under the scrappage scheme. It is due to end on March 31, but could end sooner if the money runs out.

Under the banger-for-cash scheme, owners of cars at least 10 years old can claim a £2,000 trade-in value against a brand new vehicle. Half the money comes from the Government, the other half from the dealer.

Introduced last April, the scheme has enouraged owners to trade in more than 376,000 old cars, giving a welcome sales boost to car dealers in Kent and across the country.

According to AA Financial Services, there are fewer than 24,000 scrappage registrations left nationwide.

The savings, car loans and credit card provider says that its AA/Populus Car Purchase Index survey of AA members suggested that while four per cent of 13,489 respondents said they were taking advantage of the scheme, over a fifth (22 per cent) said they were thinking about using it. Another four per cent had already culled their ageing car for a new one.

Mark Huggins, director of AA Financial Services, said it was a perfect time to trade in your old car which was worth £2,000 under the scrappage scheme. "But when the scheme ends, its value will simply be what you can barter on the forecourt and the chances are it could up at the breaker’s yard in exchange for just a few pounds."

Meanwhile, the scrappage scheme has hit used car sales which fell by 5.7 per cent to just under 6.8m in 2009, the lowest figure since 2000, according to data firm Experian.

Kirk Fletcher, managing director for Experian Business Information and Automotive, said: "The recession and the scrappage scheme have had a big impact on the used car market.

"Consumers who would have normally bought a used car were now considering a cheaper new car through the scrappage scheme. This resulted in smaller new cars moving into a price range that had previously been occupied by used cars."

Sales of vans picked up in February - to 8,978 - but truck sales (1,370) were well down, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.