Friday 29 September 2017

Finance Fridays – The decline of diesel cars

We were looking at flight cancellations and delays in last week's Finance Fridays. For this week we're talking about another form of transport with diesel cars. Some years ago diesel cars were encouraged for being more environmentally friendly than their petrol counterparts. However in recent times new research has shown that diesel cars are not the planet saving hope we once hoped they would be. What does this mean for diesel cars?

Diesel cars were promoted as being better than petrol cars as they had lower carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions than petrol cars. Consumers were encouraged to buy diesel cars as the annual vehicle tax was lower. It has now been found that diesel cars cause more CO² over their lifetime than petrol cars. Whether you believe it or not CO² has been linked to climate change. With governments under increasing pressure to curb dangerous emissions there has been a shift in the tax treatment of diesel cars.

In July the Government announced that from 2040 the sale of all new diesel and petrol cars would be banned. It may seem a long time ahead but plans are already being put in place to encourage drivers to buy cars fuelled by alternative methods. In order to help cut air pollution across towns and cities in Britain a new 'toxin tax' has been proposed. This will be a daily charge for any vehicles entering areas which have been found to have high levels of air pollution. These places will be all around the country. It has already been confirmed by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, that from 2019 an additional £12.50 charge will be levied on diesel cars within the North and South Circulars.

With diesel cars becoming more unattractive to buyers it's no surprise that the value of second-hand diesel cars has dropped. Motorway.co.uk has found that since the start of the year the price of second-hand cars has dropped by over 25%. Not good news if you are wanting to get rid of your own diesel car in the future. Even new cars have seen a 21% drop in value in the same period. If you're looking for a quick bargain and willing to risk further taxes then it may be worth the risk but in the long term it looks like diesel cars are going to be costing their owners a whole lot more.

Do you have a diesel car? Are you worried about falling values and rising taxes?

If you want to join in with this week's Finance Fridays then add your link to the linky below. Any post concerning financial matters is allowed. Full details here. It doesn't have to be published today as you have until 23.55 on Tuesday 3rd October 2017 to join in.

Finance Fridays

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