Preserving the environment is one of our most important challenges. So it would seem only logical that the environmental impact of a car should be one of your main priorities. Unfortunately, things are not always quite as easy as they seem. Motor vehicle emissions contribute to air pollution and are a major ingredient in the creation of smog in some large cities.
“All vehicles countrywide will undergo a mandatory inspection to determine their level of toxic emission. The vehicles will be inspected to find out whether they emit excessive toxic gases, determine their physical condition, licensing, passenger capacity and also drivers’ compliance with traffic rules.” Says an article by Standard Media
In the world that we live in today with about 53,000 early deaths occur per year in the United States alone because of vehicle emissions. It’s high time we contribute towards changing the environment for the better. And we can start by being conscious of the vehicles that we choose to drive.
What is a DPF?
A diesel particulate filter (or DPF) is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine. The DPF is designed to catch the diesel exhaust fumes that would usually be emitted in a cloud of black smoke. An article by AA says that they’ve been standard fit on many diesel-engined cars since the start of the century and are necessary to meet increasingly stringent emissions legislation.
Is a DPF really necessary?
When driving a diesel car as opposed to petrol, certain factors need to be taken into consideration. To find out more on whether to choose petrol or diesel, click here. Some of those factors include the cost and where you drive. Undoubtedly, DPFs are great for the environment. But that may not be the case when it comes to your wallet. If your vehicle is fitted with a DPF and you use it to make your way through congested city traffic during the rush hour, you might as well just take the bus. The stop-start city driving can lead to clogging. This means £90-plus bills garages demand to clear clogged DPFs. Assuming that they even know what they are doing in the first place.
As with everything in life, DPFs require correct handling. one, because if handled otherwise you might end up parting with £1,300 to replace the clogged DPF on a £10,400 vehicle. Two, because it is not a legal option to remove the DPF. Should you decide to go ahead and remove it, the vehicle will fail the MoT test and this is another added cost (refer back to reason one). If the vehicle you have has a DPF then it is necessary for you to read through the manual to find out what to do and what not to do. If it does not, then ask yourself why.
Finally
According to an article by carsearch.co.ke, “when it comes to how ecologically friendly a car is, the model you’re driving is often far more important than the actual age of the car. If you simply must change your vehicle, be it for fuel efficiency or any other reason, one option is to simply buy a used car that gets better gas mileage than your existing one.” This being said, visit our website for more information on cars, services we offer and while you’re there, you could browse our inventory. Who knows maybe there’s a car with your name written on it.