Vehicle Excise Duty (Car Tax) on a P/X deal

angibson

Is it possible to avoid paying 13 months VED but only getting my cars taxed for 12 months when making a part exchange?
If I trade in my car on the last day of the month (say, January) I can remove the tax disc, post it to DVLA that day with a Form V14 and recover all the VED from February onwards. But if I pick up my new (used) car the same day (last of the month) it will be taxed from the beginning of January, and so I will heve paid car tax for January twice.:(
If I trade in my car on the first day of the next month (say, February) I can remove the tax disc, post it to DVLA that day with a Form V14 but only recover the VED for complete months, that is, from March onwards. If I pick up my new (used) car the same day (first of the month) it will be taxed from the beginning of February, and so I will have paid car tax for February twice.:(
Ideally I would like to drop off my "old" car at the dealer on the last day of the month and pick up the "new" car on the following day, the first of the month, and hence get my full 12 months of car tax for the 12 months paid. But the dealer is 4 hours drive away from home, so this isn't really practical.:(
Making a one-way journey home on the last day of the month with the "new" car not showing a tax disc, or a one-way journey to the dealer on the first day of the month with the "old" car not showing a tax disc is almost bound to result in being snapped by an ANPR camera, or even a real live copper, and the inevitable automatic fines and points (because I'm stupid enough to have a fixed address and to register and insure my cars at that address and in my name).
Is there any way round this, or does every car owner get ripped off for an extra month of VED when they part-exchange their cars? Must be a nice little earner for DVLA, but one they're not morally entitled to!
Any sensible legal suggestions would be welcome.

hartcjhart

was there no tax on the (new) car when you paid for it?

ask the dealer to tax it /

ask the dealer to deliver it with his trade plates

angibson

Thanks, but if dealer taxes new car it will be from beginning of month, and he'll charge for it, so I'll still be paying 13 months tax for 12 months of tax discs.

Helpful though he is, dealer isn't likely to deliver by transporter or trade plate to a buyer 4 hours away for nothing! One can hardly blame him.

hartcjhart

so you did the deal on a car with no tax on it

iolanthe07

Yes, unless you time it exactly right you will pay for up to a month's road tax (VED) twice. It is so the government never loses out.

angibson

Most dealer-sold cars have no tax disc on them whilst on their forecourt because a) the previous owner claimed a refund, b) why keep it on the forecourt taxed costing the dealer money?, and c) the dealer can get it taxed (from beginning of current month) for the new buyer.

Actually, regardless of when in the month you make the part-exchange, it seems you always pay a whole extra month of car tax, split between the "old" and "new" cars in different proportions, depending upon when in the month you make the change.

It's a DVLA rip-off! And I don't like being ripped off. There must be some way of avoiding it. Suggestions please.

mttylad

Drive your car to the dealer one day, camp overnight, drive home next day

forgotmyname

Worried about a small amount of money, But how much will you waste on the new car?

I bet it depreciates more over night than you will lose in the tax.

angibson

Both valid points, but it's the principle of it rather than the sum involved.

Camping I'm prepared to do, but not in the UK in January, thanks!

Hintza

In this day and age with ANPR cameras and modern printing techniques it should be perfectly feasible to have car tax from a particular day and not a particular month.

Personally I would be a bit naughty with my trade in.

motorguy

hartcjhart wrote: »

so you did the deal on a car with no tax on it

That would the norm, would it not? Its very unlikely any dealership will have taxed used cars on their forecourt?

Or do you know something about motor trading i've been missing all these years?