The UK government scrappage scheme has provided a welcome boost for car sales across the country as drivers benefit the £2000 part exchange value for their 10-year old (or over) car.

The increase in sales has been dramatic, with sales of new cars up by around 11% over the same time period in 2008. Recognising the success of the scheme, the government has recently announced its extension, providing funds to cover an extra 100,000 vehicles.

This scheme is proving to be one of the most successful subsidies in the car industry in recent years. It seems that both sellers and buyers are in a winning position. The car manufacturers claim the boost in sales has safeguarded jobs and the car buyers benefit from a £2000 part exchange value that without the subsidy they would never have achieved.

According to WhatCar? Vauxhall has been one of the real winners of this scheme and is the only manufacturer to have two models in the top ten best sellers list for September 2009. The Vauxhall Cosra is number two in the list with sales of 16,379. The Vauxhall Astra is two places behind in fourth place with September sales recorded at 13,190 cars.

The sales figures will be welcome news to the workers at the two UK Vauxhall plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton, although the future of both sites remains uncertain following the take over by Canadian parts manufacturer Magna from US car giant GM.

The UK scrappage scheme funding is available when trading in any 10 year old or over used car as part exchange for a new car. It is not limited to Vauxhall. The scheme will not be available forever so to take advantage of it you need to act quickly.