AIBU to buy a non-ULEZ compliant car

[Wellington17]

I’m in the market for a new estate that we’re hoping will last us 10 years or so before probably getting an electric car. We live outside London and would drive in maybe 3 or 4 times a year. I can get a slightly older non-ULEZ compliant car for a couple of grand cheaper than a ULEZ compliant one, which makes sense if we’re only going into London a few times a year (get over it and pay it), but my concern is that other cities are starting to look at putting similar restrictions in, I.e Bristol. £2-3k is a lot of money though.. especially in these times.

Our town is unlikely to put in a restriction, but would a car being potentially non compliant in a number of cities put you off? Also, the reason that they’re non compliant is that they’re bigger polluters, so that’s something to consider too.

So….

YABU - Pay a couple of grand more for a compliant car
YANBU - Buy a non compliant car. £2-3k is a big saving

For me I would rather save some cash and get a non ulez car. I driven into the low emission zone once in 5yrs. Never go to bristol. And no town or city around me has a stealth tax charge .

I live in a ULEZ zone in London so I had to sell my non ULEZ car. It was snapped up by someone outside of London within a week, so people are buying them.

Save the cash, use park and ride for the cities you want to go into that introduce charges.

What's the difference in road tax?

I live about 5 miles from the London ULEZ - both mine and DP's cars are non ULEZ as they are diesels. Despite DPs only costing £30 a year to tax! (there's no direct correlation between road tax and ULEZ).

We do a lot of motorway miles and long journeys so a diesel makes sense for us. My car was only £1,500, it would have cost me a lot more to get a ULEZ compliant one. It is a minor inconvenience, means we now avoid certain journeys or just travel in a different direction - for example our 'designated' A&E is in a different borough, within the ULEZ (there is no A&E in our borough) Most people locally now go to another A&E, about the same distance but outside ULEZ. The main annoyance is not being able to drive to visit relatives in London, but as I only go 2-3 times a year, I will just travel by train instead.

Is there a reason you're looking to buy? With the concerns you (quite reasonably) have, I'd have thought leasing might be more worth it.

Current plans are for all new vehicles sold in the UK to be electric or hybrid from 2030, so if you do buy on your suggested timescales it will be electric.

Something else to bear in mind is that the ULEZ doesn't actually cover all of London. If you're driving into London then you can easily drive to a zone 4 tube stop, park in the car park and take yourself in for the day without getting hit by the charges at all.

both mine and DP's cars are non ULEZ as they are diesels

Most diesel cars made since 2015 (Euro 6) are ULEZ compliant, as are a lot of (Diesel) trucks and buses.

Diesels emit less CO2 per mile travelled on the whole.

I live outside the zone still but since the expansion it's kinda annoying and I realised how often I do actually go inside the South circular so I'm considering a compliant vehicle

What's the difference in road tax?

No real difference in road tax - lots of them have zero road tax!

Is there a reason you're looking to buy? With the concerns you (quite reasonably) have, I'd have thought leasing might be more worth it.

Over a 10 year period, leasing will end up a lot more expensive than buying a car outright, plus don't have to worry about mileage/scratching it etc.

I think I might just get over it and buy a non-compliant car and pay the fee on the odd occasion we do drive into the ULEZ!

It's being reported today that Sadiq Khan is considering expanding the ULEZ area to the whole of Greater London, not just the inner boroughs. Does this change your calculations?

For me, I'd buy the non-compliant car and save the money, and just not go in.

Our diesel cars are 2009 and 2014. DP's is the 2014 - £30 road tax but £15 ULEZ a day. Just glad I don't live within the ULEZ!

It's being reported today that Sadiq Khan is considering expanding the ULEZ area to the whole of Greater London, not just the inner boroughs. Does this change your calculations?

No not really... we live in a satellite town so not under Sadiq's umbrella. The only pain in the arse would be if more towns start introducing similar tariffs and a few years down the line we wish we weren't cheap skates and just bought a compliant Euro 6 car!

The other option is going for a crapper model or a good model with slightly higher mileage that is compliant, but then it might not last the 10 years.

As great as AutoTrader is, it was probably a lot easier in the olden days when you just went around a few local dealerships rather having the choice of thousands of cars at your fingertips!