Honestly, how hard have they looked? A quick 2-min search brings loads of options for sale, and that’s just Autotrader, discounting gumtree, classifieds etc.
I sold my 2007 E90 330i to a chap from central London as he wanted something ULEZ and comfortable for long journeys. There are loads of ULEZ compliant cars (if you don’t mind Petrol) out there and pretty cheap, just might not always be the most desirable cars.
I suspect (but have no evidence for) that the militant aspect of ULEZ opposition comes from owners of diesels that are not new but don’t warrant the term ‘old.’ It wasn’t that long ago that the public was being actively encouraged to buy diesels. To now find yourself the owner of something that incurs a stout charge to drive into a number of places (and that will inevitably be taking a further knock to it’s value as a result) is going to make you fairly mardy. I’ve no skin in this game, I neither live near an ULEZ nor own a car that isn’t compliant but I do ‘get’ this bit.
The one aspect of ULEZ I 100% don’t understand is the classic exemption. The number of people tooling around in forty plus year old cars on account of economic necessity can be counted on the fingers of one knee so to make them exempt is plain weird.
Yeah a BMW 330i would be a perfect first car for a 17 year old
TBF my brother wanted him to have a shed as his first car (right of passage and all that) but his mum is insisting on it being a NCAP 6 less than 5 years old.
I was being snarky, added a bit of “the wife” context
My brother is not happy as they have twin boys so he’s got the same going on again now for the other one (who is refusing to have the same model of car as his brother)
I think that might be the core issue, I’d have thought most people that use a car every day, and its petrol is likely to be from 2005 or newer just down to the running costs. I would have thought as you say, loads of people who bought a Diesel in the 2010s which now fall foul of ULEZ, would be the biggest catchment group.
On classics, its a rolling date from memory so I think its up to pre-1983 cars now. There really must be only a handfull of cars in regular use every day before that date. Of course, all those wealthy classic car owners don’t want to pay £12.50 to take their lovely vintage car to the concours competition.
When the congestion charge started I checked via the website and it said my diesel Mini was exempt as it was 99gm CO2 but I got a £80 fine when I drove to London.
Found out that although the car is exempt I had to pay a £25 admin fee for them to record it as exempt in their system.
Seemed fair, pay a £25 fee to be exempt from an £8 congestion charge (if it was clear I would have just paid the £8 as I didn’t drive to London more than 3 times a year)
That does seem Kafkaesque. The ANPR tells them the reg and the reg should tell them enough about the car to know whether it’s exempt or not, no ? It sounds like between the DVLA and the ULEZ people there’s an info shortfall somewhere. I don’t see why some people should have to pay to sort that failure out when others get the validation without paying.
Had a conversation not that long ago with Frank @f1eng (both of us use EVs in London) about how chaotic the Congestion Charge website is. I conclude that it is deliberately confusing to extract more money.
Thing I don’t like with the system is that you can’t check if you’ve accidentally gone into it.Londoners will know the boundaries,but tourists and outsiders not so much. The first you will know is when the fine drops on your mat.
Saying that,the bit of north circular I was on was well signposted
I am in exactly this position. 2013 Ford Focus deisel with 80K on the clock with an engine that is good for 250K and does 50mpg however I drive it. It has never cost me anything except tyres and brakes.
It cruises at 80 quite happily.
It costs £20 road tax per year because it is ‘low emissions’ but is not ULEZ compliant.
I am not exactly militant about it and have decided that for the 3-4 times a year I drive into the zone I will just pay the £12.50 each time but I would be seriously pissed off if I had to sell a perfectly good car which I intended to keep for at least another 5 years.
If and when they bring ULEZ into Brighton I will not be happy but I suspect it is only a matter of time.
I did not say the buyer was 17.
