Sweden pays to get DMCs off the road
Aug 25, 2003
FOR a few hundred dollars here in Sweden, you can dispose of a car that is no longer roadworthy and top up for a new one.
By Jean-Marie Nsambu
FOR a few hundred dollars here in Sweden, you can dispose of a car that is no longer roadworthy and top up for a new one.
Motorists are paid between 1300 and 1500 kronors (about $200) to get rid of their very old vehicles.
There are several vehicle demolition sites, studded across Sweden. Sweden’s revenue collecting body adopted the method with the intention of encouraging motorists to dispose of vehicles that are not worthy driving on the well maintained roads here.
The revenue collecting body imposes a 1,500 kronor charge on every first owner of the vehicle in Sweden. It does not matter whether the car is reconditioned or not.
What matters is that the person is putting it on the Swedish roads for the first time as the first owner.
It is this money that is paid to the last owner who presents it for demolition. However, payment of this money depends often on the state of the car at the time of disposal.
In sweden, most reconditioned cars are imported from Japan. These include Inter-coolers Mitshubishi Pajeros, Space Wagons, and Toyotas.
James Kakoma, a Swedish national of Ugandan origin, working at the Angereds Bildelar demolition site in Goteborg, says many motorists get rid of their old cars.
The system is one of the many ways through which the Swedish government is seeking to minimise road accidents in this European country.
It also reduces the severe emission that degrades the atmosphere, a tendency that is typical of vehicles that are of irreparable state.
Many vehicles in Sweden are presented for demolition after they get involved in road accidents. But, the majority are disposed of after their owners deem them no longer useful, Kakoma says.
When the vehicles are disposed of, they are kept for sometime at the demolition sites to allow the removal of parts that are still useful.
During my visit to Angereds Bildelar, there were several customers rummaging through the rows of different types of motor cars in the yard.
They were screwing off spare parts they needed for their own vehicles. There were saloon cars, estates, pick-ups and vans.
From tyres to side mirrors, jerks and leather seat-covers, the customers packed the spares in bulk. They unscrewed blinkers (indicators) off Volvos; head-lamps off Mercedes Benzes and wiring-circuit components off Opels, for instance.
When they have got enough, customers take their pick to the counter, where they negotiate the price. People come from different countries looking for instance, for spares of American made vehicles.
He said, “Sweden is one of the biggest importers of American cars like Chevrolets†among other models. He pushed a trolley full of an assortment of spare parts.
Although they are not very many, women are also common customers at demolition sites, Kakoma says.
FOR a few hundred dollars here in Sweden, you can dispose of a car that is no longer roadworthy and top up for a new one.
Motorists are paid between 1300 and 1500 kronors (about $200) to get rid of their very old vehicles.
There are several vehicle demolition sites, studded across Sweden. Sweden’s revenue collecting body adopted the method with the intention of encouraging motorists to dispose of vehicles that are not worthy driving on the well maintained roads here.
The revenue collecting body imposes a 1,500 kronor charge on every first owner of the vehicle in Sweden. It does not matter whether the car is reconditioned or not.
What matters is that the person is putting it on the Swedish roads for the first time as the first owner.
It is this money that is paid to the last owner who presents it for demolition. However, payment of this money depends often on the state of the car at the time of disposal.
In sweden, most reconditioned cars are imported from Japan. These include Inter-coolers Mitshubishi Pajeros, Space Wagons, and Toyotas.
James Kakoma, a Swedish national of Ugandan origin, working at the Angereds Bildelar demolition site in Goteborg, says many motorists get rid of their old cars.
The system is one of the many ways through which the Swedish government is seeking to minimise road accidents in this European country.
It also reduces the severe emission that degrades the atmosphere, a tendency that is typical of vehicles that are of irreparable state.
Many vehicles in Sweden are presented for demolition after they get involved in road accidents. But, the majority are disposed of after their owners deem them no longer useful, Kakoma says.
When the vehicles are disposed of, they are kept for sometime at the demolition sites to allow the removal of parts that are still useful.
During my visit to Angereds Bildelar, there were several customers rummaging through the rows of different types of motor cars in the yard.
They were screwing off spare parts they needed for their own vehicles. There were saloon cars, estates, pick-ups and vans.
From tyres to side mirrors, jerks and leather seat-covers, the customers packed the spares in bulk. They unscrewed blinkers (indicators) off Volvos; head-lamps off Mercedes Benzes and wiring-circuit components off Opels, for instance.
When they have got enough, customers take their pick to the counter, where they negotiate the price. People come from different countries looking for instance, for spares of American made vehicles.
He said, “Sweden is one of the biggest importers of American cars like Chevrolets†among other models. He pushed a trolley full of an assortment of spare parts.
Although they are not very many, women are also common customers at demolition sites, Kakoma says.