ULEZ will ‘mean the death of modern classic cars’: Owners of Ford Fiestas, Minis, BMWs and Peugeot 106s say they face taking out loans, moving house or getting a lift when expansion come into force next week
- ‘Historic’ classic cars more than 40 years old are exempt from £12.50 daily fee
- But owners of modern icons say Khan’s expanded scheme will kill car culture
- READ MORE: ULEZ checker: is YOUR vehicle compatible?
Owners of modern-day classic cars that are not exempt from London’s expanding ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) say they will have to take out loans, move house or rely on family for transport because they’re attached to their beloved motors.
Sadiq Khan’s much-maligned expansion of the scheme, which will see all London boroughs covered in enforcement cameras, comes into force on August 29.
Vehicles that qualify for historic vehicle tax status – a rolling DVLA category that covers all cars more than 40 years old – are exempt from paying the £12.50 daily charge to enter the capital after the car has been registered as such with the DVLA.
But owners of newer icons which are less than four decades old – like late-era classic Minis, early Ford Fiestas, collectibles like the Peugeot 106 Rallye and even classic Harley Davidsons – say they are being ‘targeted’ by the expansion of the scheme, which could herald ‘the death of the modern classic car’ and stifle car culture in the capital.
One owner said he will refuse to pay the charge. Failure to pay the £12.50 fee within three days can lead to a fine of £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.
Karl Amos with his 1985 Mini that, despite its age, is two years out from being exempted from the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ). He has invested £12,000 in the car but may have to sell it
Plumber Paul Robins with his two BMWs – an Alpina-modified B10 which is ULEZ compliant (left) and a BMW 530i which is not (right). He is locked in a dispute with Transport for London about the right-hand car as it says the car isn’t compliant – despite Mr Robins obtaining an emissions certificate that says it is
Laurence McGeough with his 1991 Ford Fiesta RS Turbo. The iconic hot hatch is eight years away from being ULEZ compliant – as the DVLA only considers classics to be exempt from tax when they are 40 years old
Trevor Manlow with his 2000 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide. It isn’t just car and van owners who are bracing for the ULEZ expansion – Mr Manlow says he will not pay the fee
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan leaving the studios of radio station LBC after a call-in show on Thursday. He has defended the decision to expand ULEZ to all London boroughs – but has stoked fury by suggesting anti-ULEZ campaigners were aligned with conspiracy theorists
The stories of modern classic car owners’ nightmares as they comprehend having to give up their prized possessions – or upping sticks out of London – pours water on an idea perpetuated by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan that ULEZ opposition has become the domain of conspiracy theorists.
Speaking to LBC’s James O’Brien on Thursday, Mr Khan claimed that movements against the ultra low emission zone had been ‘weaponised’ by people who believed Covid was a hoax.
READ MORE: Sadiq Khan claims Ulez critics are conspiracy theorists who believe Covid isn’t real – days before his hated £12.50-a-day green tax rolls out across London
Mr Khan said anti-ULEZ sentiment had been ‘weaponised’ by ‘conspiracy theorists’
But stories from owners of modern classics, gathered by the PA news agency, tell a very different story – of upheaval, heartbreak and the notion of giving up cars into which their owners had sunk thousands of pounds.
Trevor Manlow, from Hillingdon, West London, is locked into a finance deal on his 2000 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide with more than three-and-a-half years left.
Mr Manlow, 53, said classic vehicles are going to become ‘museum artefacts or tin cans’ due to the boundary change.
He added: ‘It makes me angry, kids see these cars and bikes on the street and at shows and smile, they love it.
‘However, the Ulez expansion is going to kill this as fewer people will be taking them out.
‘I’ll still ride my bike, I’ll just refuse to pay the charge and I’ll take it to a garage to make it Ulez compliant at the first opportunity.’
Paul Robins, a 60-year-old plumber, owns three vehicles which were initially said to not be Ulez compliant but he got the decisions overturned by TfL.
Mr Robins, from Biggin Hill, Kent, has a mid-2000 Alpina B10 3.3 litre, a mid-2000 BMW 530i Touring and a mid-2002 Honda CBR600 motorbike.
He uses the BMW 530i for work after his van was stolen earlier this year and was considering giving up work and signing on for unemployment benefits unless he could get TfL to agree it was compliant.
Mr Robins said he had to provide TfL with a certificate of conformity to prove his vehicles met the emissions standards – a process he called a ‘ridiculous fight’.
He said he has been sharing the news with local mechanics that not all pre-2006 cars will be non compliant.
Mr Robins said: ‘The thing that really annoys me is it was so much of a fight, they reject (the compliancy application) for nonsensical reasons.’
He added that the Ulez expansion ‘could be the death of the modern classic car’.
Nicholas Stone, 24, with his family’s 1998 Mazda Demio at their home in Surrey. The car was bought new by his parents and has notched up thousands of miles – but the Stones are having to sell the car due to the ULEZ expansion
Richard Moore, from Hainault, with his 1996 Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4×4 – of which just a handful still exist in the UK. He is looking to sell his home and move out of London as ULEZ expands into all London boroughs
Jay McDonald, from Hayes, West London, with his 1986 Ford Capri. He has put £25,000 into the car over the last two years, and says the ULEZ expansion is ‘a tax on the people’
The ULEZ expansion comes into force on August 29 and will see every borough in Greater London covered with enforcement cameras. Critics say the move will disadvantage people who cannot afford to buy ULEZ-compliant cars
Paul Tucker, a 52-year-old vehicle bodyfitter, said he will have to take out a loan to buy a new car and will be in debt because of Ulez.
Mr Tucker, from Northolt, West London, uses his 1998 Peugeot 106 Rally to commute to work in High Wycombe and has owned it for more than 15 years.
He said: ‘I feel targeted, it’s just another money-making scheme and if the mayor was serious he’d issue a complete ban.
ULEZ expansion: What are the standards?
To travel for free within the London ULEZ, vehicles must meet certain emissions standards depending on their category, engine type and age:
- Motorbikes must be of Euro 3 standards – a requirement for all bikes made since 2007
- Petrol vehicles must meet Euro 4 nitrogen dioxide standards – standard for all cars made since 2005 and all vans made since 2006
- Diesel vehicles must meet Euro 6 standards – mandatory since September 2015 for cars and light vans and September 2016 for larger vans up to 3.5 tonnes
- Vehicles more than 40 years old registered under the historic vehicle tax class with the DVLA are exempt from the ULEZ
‘I need a car to get to work and I can’t afford one outright so I’m going to have to take out a loan to buy one. I’m going to be in debt because of Ulez.
‘A lot of people are going to suffer because of this scheme.’
Retired aircraft engineer Peter McGeough plans to scrap his 1999 Volvo V70 which he has owned for 20 years and said he cannot afford to buy a Ulez compliant car so will have to rely on his family for transport.
Mr McGeough, 80, from Greenford, West London, said: ‘The support scheme just isn’t enough and as this is my only vehicle I’m going to have to depend on my family to help with my day-to-day jobs like my food shopping, going to the doctors – as I just have no other way of getting there. I am so wound up at the whole situation.’
Jay McDonald, a 45-year-old haulier, has spent nearly £25,000 renovating his 1986 Mark 3 Ford Capri which does not meet Ulez emission standards.
Mr McDonald, from Hayes, West London, said: ‘These modern classics are the same as those from my childhood that my parents and my relatives drove and it’s nostalgic and we’ll see cars like this on the roads less and less.’
Richard Moore, a motorway communication engineer from Hainault, Greater London, said he will not drive his limited edition 1996 Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4×4 when the new boundary is introduced.
According to official DVLA data, there are around 30 Calibra 4x4s left in the country – making it a highly collectible classic.
Mr Moore, 53, says he is looking to move houses to outside the new boundary, adding: ‘This car is a big part of my life, this scheme is going to destroy the classic car scene.’
Meanwhile, a student from Epsom, Surrey, said his family plans to sell their car which is older than he is, as a lot of their daily amenities are inside the new boundary.
Nicholas Stone, a 24-year-old student at Arts University Bournemouth, said his parents bought the 1998 Mazda Demio when it was new and have put more than 90,000 miles on the clock.
He said: ‘It really is a shame we’re having to sell it, the car is older than me after my family bought it for over £10,000 and now we’re selling it for less than £500.’
Paul Tucker with his Peugeot 106 Rallye which, despite its diminutive stature, is not ULEZ exempt. He says the expansion is ‘just another money-making scheme’
Tanning salon owner James Stoddart with his 1985 Austin Mini, which he uses as a runabout despite not meeting ULEZ standards. He believes the expansion will ‘kill off modern classics’
Retired aircraft engineer Peter McGeough with his trusty Volvo V70, which he has owned for 20 years. Despite looking after it for so long, he is having to scrap it because he can’t afford the ULEZ charge in Greenford, West London
Opponents to the expansion of the ULEZ at a protest in Orpington last week. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been slammed for suggesting anti-ULEZ campaigns had been infiltrated by the far right – prompting protesters to wave signs reading: ‘We are not far right – Khan is wrong’
A ULEZ camera in London. The entirety of the capital is covered in thousands of the devices, which track whether cars are exempt from paying the £12.50 daily charge
Sunbed salon owner James Stoddart has invested more than £20,000 into his 1985 Austin Mini and as he lives in Epsom, Surrey, he does not get a vote in the London mayoral elections.
The 62-year-old said: ‘I’m going to have to restrict how often I take this car out now, which I know will kill off modern classic cars not just for me but for thousands of car enthusiasts.’
Laurence McGeough, 52, a vehicle technician from Greenford, West London, takes his 1991 Ford Fiesta RS Turbo 1991 to classic car shows every weekend but said he will have to ‘heavily clamp down and consider when he takes it out’ after the expansion.
Karl Amos, 53, is considering selling his 1985 Classic Mini which he has put ‘blood, sweat and tears into’.
The plumber’s merchant, from Hillingdon, West London, said: ‘When I first built this car from the ground up, I said I’d be buried in it and I’d never thought I’d ever have to consider parting with it, it’s left me heartbroken.’
Transport for London has been asked to comment.
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