Aline Motor Care, Chelmsley Wood B37
Keep the diesel if the journeys match
A TDI that does the M42 and M6 every week, with an MOT and a DPF that can regen, is still a rational car. Fuel use is low, torque is useful, and a well-serviced example will cover miles that a small petrol hates.
Keep it if you are outside the Clean Air Zone most of the time, or the car is Euro 6 and the checker says free. Change it if you live inside the Middleway and pay £8 a day, or if the DPF is a monthly event.
Hybrids are not “no maintenance”
You still have an engine, a gearbox, brakes and a cooling system. You also have a high-voltage battery and electronics. Brake discs rust because the motor does most of the slowing down. We see that on cars that look barely used.
A hybrid that only ever does short trips can still wet-foul a petrol engine. It is not a free pass.
Electric still needs a workshop
No oil, no DPF, no cambelt on most of them. Tyres wear faster because of weight and torque. Bushes, alignment, brakes (rust again), air-con and battery thermal management still fail. A specialist who only talks engines will not be much use. A specialist who inspects cars will.
We are not going to pretend every ramp job on a combustion car maps onto an EV. We will tell you what we can and cannot do on a given model.
The honest answer
Match the car to the miles. Do not buy an EV for a 400-mile week if you cannot charge. Do not keep a 2012 diesel for a two-mile commute through Digbeth. Service whatever you keep. See the CAZ post if the zone is part of the decision, and the servicing page if the current car just needs looking after.