Don’t believe the hype
Dave Phillips explains why there’s never been a better time to buy a diesel Land Rover
BUYING A Land Rover is a big investment for most of us and the question most would-be buyers want answering is whether or not they should buy a diesel model. It’s something I get asked a lot – and my answer is a qualified yes.
That may sound a controversial statement at the present time, where diesel values are falling due to scare mongering stories of air pollution and even the possibility of an outright diesel ban, but bear with me.
First and foremost, the government will not be banning diesels any time soon. They can’t, because an outright diesel ban would make it impossible to meet their CO2 targets. Although particulates – microscopic pieces of soot – from diesel engines are higher in diesel engines than petrol ones, diesels are much more efficient at burning fuel and therefore emit much less C02. That’s why our two-faced politicians were actually encouraging diesel car ownership just a decade ago.
Secondly, modern Land Rover diesels built after September 2015 meet tough Euro6 emissions regulations, meaning they are incredibly clean and can even be driven through Ultra-low Emission Zones without incurring the financial penalties that owners of polluting vehicles have to pay.
But the third reason – and the one that’s most likely to influence your buying choice – is that the scare stories have caused a big drop in sales. And when sales fall, so do secondhand values, and this includes the post-2015 Land Rover models.
This means there has never been a better time to buy a three-year-old Land Rover, which includes all members of the Range Rover family, although I would recommend a Discovery or Discovery Sport, which will hold their values better and for longer.
I wouldn’t recommend a diesel L322 Range Rover, because it’s got an older diesel engine under the bonnet – and prices for all variants of the thirdgeneration model are already falling faster than a lead parachute.
Nor would I recommend buying any new diesel. It’s painful to admit this, but rapid depreciation of diesel models combined with the generous government grants and tax breaks currently being given to hybrid car owners means going electric is the most financially-viable option.
But for those of us looking much further down the secondhand ladder, the drop in diesel values is even better news. Older diesels are getting hard to shift, which means Defender prices will start tumbling once they overstay their welcome on the dealers’ forecourts. That’s good news for those searching for a Td5 Defender, for example. The prices of these five-pots – some as much as 20 years old – have been ludicrously high for the last year or two.
At the bottom end of the market, older diesel Defenders and Discos are as cheap as ever and so are Td4 Freelanders. They’re not the sort of vehicle you’re likely to drive into central London too often, so what are you waiting for? You don’t worry about depreciation on cars costing under £3000.
Forget the anti-diesel propaganda. Get out there and grab yourself a real bargain.