Being over charged vehicle tax 405 p/a

mtonks

I have an Alfa Romeo 156

It's on a 57 plate registered Jan 08

The vehicle among a few other was originally sent to Malaysia in 2006, the vehicles ECM/brain was set up for the Malaysian altitude, which is higher requiring more air intake so petrol burns faster.

When they arrived in Malaysia they were never registered as there was a problem with tax, so the were sent back to the United Kingdom later 2007 and were 'declared new & 1st registered in the united kindgom' meaning it is not an import oficially and is a UK registered vehicle.

The tax then measured the emission which come in at 244g/km which is very high and equates to 405 pounds a year - this is only due to the vehucles computer been set up for the wrong country! so a normal UK registered alfa romeo 156 comes in at 206 g/km.

I spoke to an engine tuning company who said no problem they can re porgramme the computer to the correct level.

I rang the DVLA explaining the situation and that I wanted a reclassification and they were not willing to do so.

So the question is.. what can I do!?

Sorry its a long post!

SteveJW

We had a van a couple of yeas ago that was registered in the wrong g/km category when first registered, DVLA were adamant that they would not change it.

We made several attempts, hoping we would eventually talk to someone who was more sympathetic, never did get it changed

This was despite the fact we are a large local authority operating more than 700 vehicles

Good Luck

Ghostrider

The ECU can be re-mapped to change the air/fuel ratio to make it more suitable for UK conditions and fuel and reduce it's CO2 emissions. Whether you can then have it re-tested and registered with DVLA I dont know but it's worth a try.

liam8282

mtonks wrote: »

So the question is.. what can I do!?

Sell the car and buy a regular UK version?

s_b

i bet if you look on the front of the v5 it will say something like first registered in uk
it is an import because it wont have had type approval at import direct from manufacturer with relevant eu paperwork for tax emission calculations
the only way rounfd this is to smash it up reshell it apply for a vic and ask them to clarify the road tax configuration based on theupdated ecu youve fitted

dont hold your breath though coz most likely they will class it as from the old chassis number

to be quite honest dure to type approvals outside the eu im surprised this didnt have some kind on inspection at import and im also surprised youve got it insured unless you used a specialist

i wouldnt want the thing,reminds me of the Q plated minter i once bought ,sold it 5 times and kept getting the phone call of doom from buyers saying they couldnt get insurance on it and could they have their deposit back pretty please

motorguy

i dont think you can have your cake and eat it on this one. Hopefully you got the car cheap, so the high tax wont be too bitter a pill

mtonks

Thanks for all the replies! I didnt check the cars tax when i bought it (big mistake). Doesn't look like ive got much chance

mtonks

s_b wrote: »

i bet if you look on the front of the v5 it will say something like first registered in uk
it is an import because it wont have had type approval at import direct from manufacturer with relevant eu paperwork for tax emission calculations
the only way rounfd this is to smash it up reshell it apply for a vic and ask them to clarify the road tax configuration based on theupdated ecu youve fitted

dont hold your breath though coz most likely they will class it as from the old chassis number

to be quite honest dure to type approvals outside the eu im surprised this didnt have some kind on inspection at import and im also surprised youve got it insured unless you used a specialist

i wouldnt want the thing,reminds me of the Q plated minter i once bought ,sold it 5 times and kept getting the phone call of doom from buyers saying they couldnt get insurance on it and could they have their deposit back pretty please

It deffo was registered first in the UK, I suppose technically all vehicles are imported into the UK.

I have no documentation about import only the V5UK logbook.

As far as insruance goes theres not a problem as it is technically a UK vehicle, only problem is sometimes comparison webites cant find it due to the late year for this model (they stopped producing them in 06 to the UK) it was replaced with the alfa 159.

I think when it arrived on Uk soil, they did the emissions test in its present state measuring the emission from the exhaust, the reading was high due to the air intake increase needed for Malaysia.

So to conclude.... expensive night mare, although the car is lovely lol :rotfl:

cyclonebri1

Don't worry about it. It's an Alfa, you won't have it long:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry couldn't resist.:o

luap2411

Hi

I have a 156 2.0 UK car, and the actual difference in tax is probably only £150PA to yours. Over a year of motoring £150 is not a great deal of your costs.

There is still a perception, usually amongst those who either don't know, or bought a shed, that Alfa's are unreliable. If you have a good one, look after it properly it will be great. And you can just smile politely at the so called experts.

The batch of cars yours is from are well known and are fine. Come and join us on https://www.alfa156.net !

consumers_revenge

If you bought a cheepo private plate ( a £80 one ) then wouldnt the car get reregistered and could then have the new C/O?

Dunno if that will work or not?