ULEZ. Any people upgrading to a new petrol car?

Tomc

Hi.
I live a bit inside the M25 and drive an older petrol car (MK4 Golf 2002) that would be regarded as non compliant for the ULEZ. I bought it brand new and it's been so reliable and cost me very little on maintenance overall and it's still in great condition.

If I were to keep my car, it would cost me £300 per month to drive home from work.

Where I live would mean it's difficult to charge an electric car.

I have decided to buy a new car (PCP finance) and my question is are people still buying petrol cars? (especially new ones) or leaning towards petrol hybrids.

I believe everyone will get stung eventually, whether electric, petrol or diesel but I was wondering if people are still ordering new petrol cars? and maybe later upgrade again to hybrid or electric if charging conditions improve.

Thanks.

Tom

sheramber

Not for London but similar restrictions where he lives.

My son has just changed his old petrol car ( non compliant) for a 1 year old petrol car.

He got a good part exchange price for the old one.

Bigwheels1111

I have a euro 6 Diesel 5008 2016 reg, so its not a problem.

But thinking ahead, euro 7 is due in June or July 2025.

So if I were to buy a diesel or petrol car it would be after that date.

As things go I would like a Toyota Corolla Sports estate.

50-60 mpg is very easy to get, be it around town or on a run.

Thats as good as a diesel car.

Grumpy_chap

Tomc said:

I live a bit inside the M25 and drive an older petrol car (MK4 Golf 2002) that would be regarded as non compliant for the ULEZ. I bought it brand new and it's been so reliable and cost me very little on maintenance overall and it's still in great condition.

If the only reason for prompting a change to the car is ULEZ, then check whether the car is compliant. 
It is not purely age (pre- / post- 2004) or even purely EURO 4 compliance, as the advertising would lead you to believe. 
There are some pre- 2004 cars that are EURO 4 compliant.
There are some cars that do not satisfy EURO 4 but are still ULEZ compliant.

The online checker is not 100% accurate - it seems to only assess EURO 4 (or not) as the criteria.

You may find this thread that explains the matter in greater detail really worth a read:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6433761/ulez-exemption-for-older-cars-pre-euro4-2006/p1

I particularly mention this with reference to your Golf as there is a V6 petrol 2003 for sale at a local garage to me that is ULEZ compliant (by virtue of being EURO 4).  It seems quite plausible that a more humble model from 2002 could also be compliant - certainly worth the time to investigate all possible routes to compliance.  (Obviously, you've not mentioned that your Golf is a more humble model, but I worked on the balance of probabilities.)

user1977

Different city's ULEZ rules for me (and not quite as big a deal as I'm just outside the zone anyway) but I'm buying a new(ish) petrol car tomorrow, replacing a non-compliant diesel. Wasn't convinced of hybrids being worthwhile (extra components to carry/maintain), EV charging still seems of limited availability (e.g. have to park on street at home), and while rules will no doubt change, I expect there'll be plenty of time before new petrol models get restricted.

[Deleted User]

Check with your council to see if they will allow on street charging, or install chargers.

Bigwheels1111

user1977 said:

Different city's ULEZ rules for me (and not quite as big a deal as I'm just outside the zone anyway) but I'm buying a new(ish) petrol car tomorrow, replacing a non-compliant diesel. Wasn't convinced of hybrids being worthwhile (extra components to carry/maintain), EV charging still seems of limited availability (e.g. have to park on street at home), and while rules will no doubt change, I expect there'll be plenty of time before new petrol models get restricted.

(extra components to carry/maintain) I would say not.

Starter, No.

Rubber belts, No

Alternator, No

My friend has a Prius, it was 1y old with 15k on the clock back in 2016.

It now has 197k on the clock, apart from servicing and brake disc and pads only 2 things have gone wrong.

Electric water pump at 150k, £210 with fresh antifreeze and 1 hour to change.

The Hybrid battery went at 175k, £1380 for a genuine Toyota replacement, 1 hours work.

Servicing every 10K at £85 with Toyota Parts including Labour at local Toyota specialis.

That is Oil & Filter + oil washer.

Air filter + Pollen filter.

A  £200 per service saving.

Plus 56-62 mpg

Toyota Hybrid is the way forward, not an EV.

Well for me anyway.

baser999

OP we’re in the same position living just a mile outside ULEZ at present. We were driving a non-compliant LR diesel, serviced regularly since we bought it 6-7 years ago and would likely have been our forever car had Khan not thrown the expansion into the works. I’m retired so don’t have the worry of ULEZ charging so we did weigh up keeping the LR and simply paying the charge as and when we needed. Had this been everyday we’d have still been money up on buying a new car, which we decided to do. We took the view that at some point he’d likely bring in yet more rules to extract more money (sorry meant to say save the planet) and we’d probably end up having to get shot of the LR any way. Bit the bullet and did the deed in April, bought a 20 plate petrol. We don’t have facility at home to instal a charger and nearest are about 1/2 mile away and always occupied by non-electric cars. 

prettyandfluffy

I've just bought my second petrol hybrid car (Honda Jazz).  The fuel economy is really impressive and the car overall is a joy to drive. I don't like the risk associated with plug in electric cars in terms of their limited range and the cost of charging them in view of energy prices. 

jimjames

Tomc said:

Hi.
I live a bit inside the M25 and drive an older petrol car (MK4 Golf 2002) that would be regarded as non compliant for the ULEZ. I bought it brand new and it's been so reliable and cost me very little on maintenance overall and it's still in great condition.

Definitely one to check. My understanding was that most MK4 Golfs after 2000 were compliant so check your V5. The key number is the NOx level. Despite what TFL say it isn't Euro4 compliance that matters, it's only the NOx value that has to be under 0.08. My 1998 vehicle is compliant despite not even being Euro3 level but the NOx meets the limit. By the way it took 5 months and multiple rejections before TFL finally accepted that it was exempt from the charges.

https://youtu.be/bmkNpuMPPmw