ULEZ - car was compliant then no longer compliant
Discussion
I bought a car this month having checked multiple times in advance on TfL's online ULEZ checker which confirmed it was compliant.
Having just checked again the system is now showing my car as non compliant. I am guessing that something changed on the DVLA end during the V5 change. I would not have purchased the car had I known its status would subsequently be amended.
Now I will admit to basically being a a chancer, as I am aware that the car does not technically pass Euro 4 emissions standards. It is a 1997 import that was only registered for the road in 2020. I thought it was one of those situations where newly-registered imports are subject to different regulations.
Do I just chalk this one down to experience? Or is there any possibility of getting the status amended back to where it was originally? I have contacted the TfL ULEZ department but all I get is a generic pro forma response.
Having just checked again the system is now showing my car as non compliant. I am guessing that something changed on the DVLA end during the V5 change. I would not have purchased the car had I known its status would subsequently be amended.
Now I will admit to basically being a a chancer, as I am aware that the car does not technically pass Euro 4 emissions standards. It is a 1997 import that was only registered for the road in 2020. I thought it was one of those situations where newly-registered imports are subject to different regulations.
Do I just chalk this one down to experience? Or is there any possibility of getting the status amended back to where it was originally? I have contacted the TfL ULEZ department but all I get is a generic pro forma response.
Similar issue.
They are about to roll out a ULEZ in Birmingham next year.
All through the planning and consultation phase people were directed to the London web site to check if their car was compliant.
My car was.
Earlier this year the Birmingham web site went into operation, apparently using the same database etc. as London.
My car isn't.
Check on London site.
It is.
They are about to roll out a ULEZ in Birmingham next year.
All through the planning and consultation phase people were directed to the London web site to check if their car was compliant.
My car was.
Earlier this year the Birmingham web site went into operation, apparently using the same database etc. as London.
My car isn't.
Check on London site.
It is.
No definitely ULEZ. I just checked again and they post the following wording which confirms I have no comeback: “This may change without notice when our records are updated”.
As it happens I checked another newly imported P reg car with similar specs to mine and it comes back as compliant. I have a feeling that many new imports are compliant when first registered but details are “updated” when the car passes to its second UK owner.
As it happens I checked another newly imported P reg car with similar specs to mine and it comes back as compliant. I have a feeling that many new imports are compliant when first registered but details are “updated” when the car passes to its second UK owner.
plenty said:
As it happens I checked another newly imported P reg car with similar specs to mine and it comes back as compliant. I have a feeling that many new imports are compliant when first registered but details are “updated” when the car passes to its second UK owner.
Got excited for a second there, was almost hoping I could cheat the system and daily drive my JDM import TVR through London daily 
Aren't classics exempt the ULEZ? They have to be in the 'historic vehicle' class though. Unless the goalposts have been moved. If you mean the congestion zone, everyone has to pay that (although there are exemptions, but not for old vehicles):
https://ulez.co.uk/what-cars-are-exempt-from-ulez/
I had expected that to be the reason for high buying prices for 'practical' (sort of) 40+ cars like Land Rovers. They already go for eye-watering sums.
It applies to vehicles over 40 years old but isn't automatic, you have to apply at VED renewal time or purchase. As long as it's mostly standard that is:
https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles
On an aside, I had a 5.7 Litre V8 Vauxhall Monaro VXR (2004) for a while that when I enquired, was compliant! It did about 12 mpg urban and the g/km emissions were very high, but the Nox was low I presumed? It was Euro 4 apparently.
https://ulez.co.uk/what-cars-are-exempt-from-ulez/
I had expected that to be the reason for high buying prices for 'practical' (sort of) 40+ cars like Land Rovers. They already go for eye-watering sums.
It applies to vehicles over 40 years old but isn't automatic, you have to apply at VED renewal time or purchase. As long as it's mostly standard that is:
https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles
On an aside, I had a 5.7 Litre V8 Vauxhall Monaro VXR (2004) for a while that when I enquired, was compliant! It did about 12 mpg urban and the g/km emissions were very high, but the Nox was low I presumed? It was Euro 4 apparently.
Edited by sixor8 on Tuesday 1st December 09:45
sixor8 said:
On an aside, I had a 5.7 Litre V8 Vauxhall Monaro VXR (2004) for a while that when I enquired, was compliant! It did about 12 mpg urban and the g/km emissions were very high, but the Nox was low I presumed? It was Euro 4 apparently.
IIRC the ls series engines were designed to be fully compliant with the full California air pollution requirements, which have historically been the highest bar to meet, so they're pretty clean engines as a result, could be why? Either that or the import status might mean it gets a different set of criteria....InitialDave said:
My ~50 year old Land Rover is.
Falls under the historic vehicle category though being over 40 years of age.I'd be interested in entertaining the idea of changing the category of historic vehicle however. I'm sure I saw a thread about vehicle production volume being a credible metric for "collector car insurance" in Canada? USA considers imports of vehicles over 25 years of age acceptable? Is 40 years too excessive in the UK?
Pardon me derailing...
I just checked my car’s status on the tfl checker and it is OK for both the ULEZ and LEZ zones.
Morgan Plus8, new in 2002. It has a Rover V8 that was also used in various Rovers and was more or less the latest version with Sagem engine management. Morgan used a range of Rover V8’s depending on what was available as Rover developed them
At MOT the Lambda upper limit is higher for a Morgan than other cars with similar engines. 1.05 versus 1.03 . A quirk !
Morgan Plus8, new in 2002. It has a Rover V8 that was also used in various Rovers and was more or less the latest version with Sagem engine management. Morgan used a range of Rover V8’s depending on what was available as Rover developed them
At MOT the Lambda upper limit is higher for a Morgan than other cars with similar engines. 1.05 versus 1.03 . A quirk !
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Why would a car with 23 year old technology be compliant?
You'd be surprised. My 19 year old car is not only compliant, but its certificate of conformity (or whatever it's called - the data produced when the car is emissions tested as part of type approval) shows NOx levels not only below those of Euro 4, which is the threshold for ULEZ compliance, but also those of Euro 6. Well designed indirect injection petrol engines over the last 20 years normally produce very low levels of NOx and particulates.Interestingly, my car has lower registered NOx emissions than my wife's 4 year old car. You can thank direct injection and the obsession over CO2 emissions for that - in return for a 10-15% reduction in CO2 emissions, you get a 100-200% increase in NOx, and substantial increases in particulates too.
ULEZ is based solely on declared NOX emissions. Your car doesnt actually need to be post 04/Euro 4, it just needs to have a declared NOX figure that is compliant with the Euro 4 NOX standard (which is only one part of Euro 4 compliance). Most cars before 1999 didn't have any NOX figures declared at all. Many Euro 3 cars have NOX figures low enough to pass ULEZ without any action from owners (EG facelift petrol E39s & E46s, Nissan 350z, Lexus LS400).
If your car is an import and it was at one point coming up as compliant, its likely because when it was imported the NOX figure was declared as 0 instead of being left blank. TFL have likely since changed the way they process things which registers it as no longer compliant. If you are able to get hold of the manufacture NOX figures you may have a chance of certifying it by sending the supplied documentation to TFL, who operate a service that reviews such documents for ULEZ purposes.
What car is it out of interest?
If your car is an import and it was at one point coming up as compliant, its likely because when it was imported the NOX figure was declared as 0 instead of being left blank. TFL have likely since changed the way they process things which registers it as no longer compliant. If you are able to get hold of the manufacture NOX figures you may have a chance of certifying it by sending the supplied documentation to TFL, who operate a service that reviews such documents for ULEZ purposes.
What car is it out of interest?
Another thing to consider - if you're confident that it's within the NOx requirements for ULEZ compliance, it may be possible to have the car tested. I know this is possible for motorcycles, and there are a very small number of TfL certified testing centres in London where people have taken older motorcycles to show that NOx emissions are well within target despite it being pre-Euro 3 (which is the threshold for motorcycles, which came into force somewhere around 2007). The reason I know this is that I had a 50cc scooter for cutting around town which was not ULEZ compliant due to age, but I was assured it would have passed the NOx test if running well. In the end I decided it was a good excuse to upgrade so I switched to a 300cc bike. The irony of switching vehicle to one with an engine six times larger for emissions control reasons is not lost on me 
I don't know specifically if there are such testing centres for cars, but I don't see any reason why not. If your car is within the NOx limits there is no reason you should be penalised just because it's over a certain age or it's a grey import.
I don't know specifically if there are such testing centres for cars, but I don't see any reason why not. If your car is within the NOx limits there is no reason you should be penalised just because it's over a certain age or it's a grey import.
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