The man at the helm of a respected used car business has issued a warning to drivers after discovering some of his vehicles were not LEZ compliant - despite meeting standards elsewhere.

Jim White, 55, has been working in the motor trade industry as a used car dealer for 35 years.

At his Airdire-based dealership, Forge Motors, Mr White buys and sells cars for clients across the UK.

He uses an app operated by a private company to carry out data checks on vehicles which gets its information from the UK government website.

Glasgow Times: Jim White, Gordon TerrisJim White, Gordon Terris (Image: Jim White, Gordon Terris)

Mr White purchased a 2015 Infiniti hatchback which was deemed ULEZ compliant, meaning that it was suitable to be driven in London's Ultra Low Emission Zone.

But, he was "horrified" to find out that the car didn't meet Glasgow's LEZ standards after he bought it for his client.

Mr White said: "If I had sold this car to the friend of mine that I bought it for, he would have been going in and out of Glasgow, racking up fines.

"I would have had to give him his money back because I would have basically misrepresented the car and sold it as something that it wasn't."

Despite being from 2015, the car has a Euro 5B engine instead of the required Euro 6 engine.

Glasgow Times:

In both London and Glasgow, the emissions standards are Euro 4 for petrol cars and Euro 6 for diesel cars.

However, the Glasgow city council website states: "It is generally the case that diesel engine vehicles registered after September 2015 will meet the LEZ standards."

The car Mr White purchased was registered in May, just four months earlier.

Now, Mr White is warning other motorists after discovering two more cars he thought were compliant are not.

He said: "On a 15-plate, you're in that grey area of whether it's going to be compliant or not."

Glasgow Times:

Because the emissions standards are meant to be the same, seeing that a vehicle meets ULEZ standards makes you think it would be fine in Scotland, he says.

He added: "It's unfair, not just for people in the auto industry, I would say it's brutally unfair for people who may do the same and think their car is compliant because they've done exactly what I did.

"They don't give you enough information, they just tell you to check the website."

Mr White said the system made him feel concerned for those who might have difficulty accessing the websites.

He said: "It's very, very confusing and I think it's a mess. There's nowhere that I know of that says if your car is compliant in England it may not be compliant in Scotland.

"I'm glad that I've found this out now because six months from now I could have sold another x amount of cars on the basis that they were LEZ compliant.

"And then all of a sudden I could have to buy all the cars back and probably pay the fines, which is crazy.

"This could bankrupt a small business."

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Glasgow Times:

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said that all LEZs in Scotland are set in legislation through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.

They said: “Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone only allows access to vehicles which meet the minimum emission standards or are exempt.

“Transport Scotland’s vehicle registration checker allows you to see if your vehicle can or cannot drive within a LEZ in Scotland, based on whether it is considered compliant or non-compliant with the emission standards.

“Full details about the requirements of Glasgow’s LEZ and a link to the registration checking tool can be found on the council website here.”