London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will expand again on August 29 later this year, with the scheme expanding to cover all boroughs in the capital. To help motorists in London deal with the impact of the zone, Transport for London (TfL) has launched a £110million scrappage scheme.
From January 30, Londoners receiving certain low-income or disability benefits can apply to the scheme for a chance to get money from their older, more polluting vehicles.
Eligible applicants can get up to £2,000 for scrapping a car or up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle.
For wheelchair accessible vehicles that don’t meet the ULEZ emissions standards, there is a grant of £5,000 to scrap, or retrofit to ULEZ standards.
While these grants are substantial, experts at Auto Trader are informing drivers that they could make more money selling instead of scrapping.
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This is despite Londoners being able to make potentially double, or quadruple, what they could gain from the scrappage scheme, were they to sell their vehicles instead.
A spokesperson for Auto Trader commented: “Whether selling or scrapping your car is going to be better for the environment or not is hard to assess, and comes down to a number of factors like the embodied energy of the vehicle, how well the car is still performing (and will continue to perform) and how often it’s being driven.
“Despite this, there are also many arguments for keeping a perfectly good vehicle on the road, rather than scrapping it.
“In some cases, giving that vehicle a new lease of life, for example, reselling it if it no longer fits the efficiency requirements of your borough, could be more beneficial for the environment than scrapping it entirely.”
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The spokesperson highlighted the impact of the cost of living crisis, saying it was more beneficial for them to sell their car rather than use the scrappage scheme.
This option can also help provide cheaper vehicles to others outside of London who may not be in a position to buy a new, first-hand car.
The Auto Trader spokesperson added: “If your car is on its last legs, and you’re eligible for the scheme, then sending it to the scrap heap may well be your best option.
“But if your car is still operating effectively, and has life left in it, it is certainly worth looking into how much you could gain from selling it to a new owner instead.”
Petrol vehicles registered after 2006 and diesel vans registered since 2016 will evade the charge, under which drivers must pay £12.50 a day to enter the zone.
When scrapping a van, drivers will receive a £5,000 grant, or a £7,000 grant when scraping a minibus.
Retrofitting certain vans and minibuses will make people eligible for a £5,000 grant.
If someone is looking to scrap and replace a van or minibus with a fully electric vehicle, they will receive £7,500 or £9,500 respectively.
The car and motorcycle scrappage scheme is open to applicants living in London and receiving one or more of a list of benefits.
This includes Universal Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and a number of others.
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