Online tools - Checking the CO2 emissions of a car

Posted on 19 July 2017 by CarTakeBack

Environmental news is featured in the news regularly, and there's often stories related to vehicles, emissions and our roads. With the recent change to tax bands which are now based on CO2 emissions for cars registered after March 31st 2017, the environmental effects of cars are in the spotlight more than ever. If you are thinking of buying a new or used car you can check how much CO2 it produces using the Vehicle Certification Agency's online tool. Here's our guide to how it works.

How to check the CO2 emissions of a new car

Simple guide to check the emissions of a new car

Follow these steps to check the CO2 emissions of a new, unregistered car.

Before you start

You'll need to know:

The make and model of the new car

First you need to visit the Gov.uk online CO2 emissions checker.

Step 1 of checking the emissions of a new car

Select 'New Car' from the list and click 'Next'. The website will then ask for details about the car, including the manufacturer, model, fuel type, and the description (what engine option the car has).

Step 2 of checking the emissions of a new car

You can narrow down your search by choosing the fuel and gearbox types, manufacturer and model of the car. The description shows you the engine options that were available for that car, which you can pick from the list to narrow your search further.

By leaving the selections on 'All', the website will show you the details of every new car it has on its database.

Check the emissions of a used car step 3

When you click 'Next' you will see the details for the cars, including:

Manufacturer
Model
Description
Gearbox
Engine size
Fuel type
CO2
Tax band

The final step of checking the CO2 emissions of a new car

How to check the CO2 emissions of a used car

Simple guide to check the emissions of a used car

Follow these steps to check the CO2 emissions of a used car.

Before you start

You'll need to know:

The make and model of the used car
The year and month that the car was first registered. You can find this on the log book (V5C), or by entering the registration into this online tool.

First you need to visit the Gov.uk online CO2 emissions checker.

Step 1 of checking the emissions of a used car

Select 'Used Car' from the list and click 'Next', and the website will ask for the car's month and year of registration.

Used car emissions check step 2

By leaving the selections on 'All', the website will show you the details of every car model that it has on the database as registered during that month and year.

Check the emissions of a used car step 3

When you click 'Next', you will be shown all the cars that match your search, along with their CO2 emissions.

The details that show will be:

Manufacturer
Model
Description
Gearbox
Engine size
Fuel type
CO2
Tax band

Final step of checking CO2 emissions of a used car

If you're looking at replacing your car with something that produces less CO2, check how much money you can get for your old used or scrap car in seconds with our instant quote service.

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