New goverment car tax rules from April 2017. Your thoughts?

BeenThroughItAll

motorguy wrote: »

Theres bigger implications than just if you buy a car new, if you buy a car up to 5 years old, that originally cost more than £40K, then you're paying the high rate tax too.

True, but I won't be doing that either. I like my cars older, cheaper, and well specced.

Richard53

motorguy wrote: »

And probably the worst thing you can do if you're being "eco friendly" is buy a brand new car. Far more environmentally friendly to buy a used one.

Dead right. I always said that the greenest car on the planet (lifetime emissions/resources) is an old Land Rover. All its manufacturing costs are in the past, it may emit more during use, but it is infinitely repairable, so could be kept going cheaply for another 20-30 years if necessary.

I know the green lobby like to play fast and loose with the figures but as I understand it the main benefit of electric cars is not their overall emissions (which are undoubtedly lower, but not absent) but their zero tailpipe emissions. In other words, they do their polluting at the generating facility, where it can be monitored, controlled, and cleaned up, as opposed to all over the country in a random manner, usually at knee height where everyone is compelled to suck it in. A city with clean air and a power station full of technology to constrain the pollution, or a hundred thousand cars chucking out CO, CO2, NOx and particulates at street level?

[Edit: Good grief, I am arguing in favour of electric cars! Someone call the nurse!]

Gloomendoom

Nasqueron wrote: »

An electric car requires electricity from power plants yes but beyond that there are no emissions, it can be totally emission free with renewable energy or nuclear.

Totally emission free? What do they make them out of?

boliston

tberry6686 wrote: »

It's only the fairest system if you live and work in a large town or city. Anyone else, it is a penalty for more remote living.....

Can't see anything wrong with a penalty if the "remote living" involves a long daily commute in a polluting car compared with people who live in cities who are much more likely to walk, cycle or use public transport.

"Let the polluter pay" is the fairest option for taxation.

motorguy

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

True, but I won't be doing that either. I like my cars older, cheaper, and well specced.

Indeed, though a lot of people will.

It will affect pretty much the first two tiers of motor trading - the new car franchises that stocks stuff up to maybe 3 years old, and then the second tier of non franchised but large traders selling stuff maybe £5K to £20K.

Car_54

Nick_C wrote: »

And if people to switch to electric cars in large numbers, where is the government going to raise the money lost through zero VED?

That will be the least of their worries, as our generating capacity proves inadequate and the lights go out across the country.

buglawton

This will increase the value of pre 2017 small cars like our 1 litre runabout with £20 pa tax currently. It'll also put a lot of people off buying a new small car to replace their old small car.

Is this just another daft Osbourne tax that needs revising?

IMO there should be more bands to incentivise putting more small light cars on the road, or scrap a fixed tax and just go for fuel, making it totally distance dependant.

SailorSam

When you only needed a disc in your window it was easy. The label from a bottle of Guiness, or whatever was that years colour.

roddydogs

A small car now £20 2nd year, goes to £140? . thats a hell of an increase.(yes I do know its new cars only.)

Iceweasel

roddydogs wrote: »

A small car now £20 2nd year, goes to £140? . thats a hell of an increase.(yes I do know its new cars only.)

The government would counter that by saying that that's a small increase compared for example to many Porsches which will be £1200 the first year, then £450 for the next 5 years before dropping to £140 in years after that.

The top rated cars will be even higher at £2000 the first year :eek:

Who said it was going to be fair?

Anyone remember when purchase tax was raised to 100%?

My dad had a new car on order (waiting time 5 months) and the total cost went by a third.

Governments can do what they want - at least until the next election.