New road tax VED rates to kill big classics?

Mutton_Geoff

I read that new VED rates are going to affect some post 2001 classics like the Mondeo ST 3.0 and VW Golf R32 where the current £430 road tax is rising to £790 in April as they are in K and higher CO2 bands.

This will surely kill any market for them as affordable classics.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/2165176/april-2026-760-car-tax-hits-mondeo-golf-zafira-models-being-scrapped-listed

flaneurs_lobster

How is this anything but a good thing?

kinger101

That is the first time I have heard Mondeo and classic in the same sentence.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81866022#Comment_81866022

"Classic" in this sense means ordinary car given bigger engine, bigger speakers and twice as much crap coming out of the exhaust.

subjecttocontract

I don't think it will cause any more than a small blip on the line on the graph. Many new car owners of popular makes are paying £600+ already so £790 is but a small step further.

A year or two ago there was a massive hike in insurance premiums, there was a bit of media reporting but sales continued onwards. If you have money to buy a classic then a few hundred quid extra for VED ain't gonna make any difference.

Mildly_Miffed

The main issue here is reading and believing the Daily Express. It's the Daily Mail for toddlers and conspiracy theorists.

The CO2 VED bands for 2001-2017 cars aren't changing. They're just going up by inflation, same as every year.

2001-2006 is still going to be band K top, L and M for 2006-2017. Same as it has been since they were new.
Rolling 40yr Historic exemption continues, moving forward to 1985 production in April.

vacheron

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6653349/new-road-tax-ved-rates-to-kill-big-classics

Yes, and this is exactly their plan / point as their hope is that many people will choose a smaller less polluting car instead.

I'm not enviro-preaching here though as I had a 3.0 V6 VW Phaeton a few years back which was "just" in the highest VED band (£440 in about 2007 IIRC).

I rember thinking I might as well have gone for the 6.0 W12 version (or indeed a steam train) as it wouldn't have cost me a penny more in VED! 😛

Markdavid1962

I think if you own a reliable car from years ago with low milage (like I do) even if the VED rates increase, its still cheaper keeping the old car than buying a new car. My old car is our second car (coming up to 16 years), we normally drive a Hybrid petrol/electric car, the second car is a 2010 Mercedes E250 diesel with only 85000 miles on the clock and its still in perfect condition (Yes just over 5000 miles a year) bought new in 2010.

For me its a choice between "lower VED rates with a new car and monthly repayments" vs old car in good condition with maybe a higher VED rate in the future.

facade

It only affects cars registered between 2001 & early 2017.

If you want a 7 litre car, you either buy a Proper Classic from before 1986 and get free Historic Vehicle tax (I'm amazed they didn't make it £20 like other "zero VED" cars, but I suppose some Important People have hundreds of them in their collections and they wouldn't like it.) or you buy one from April 2017 on and pay £195.

You would need to get one from late 2017 to early 2020 to avoid the £425 expensive car tax supplement

paul_c123

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6653349/new-road-tax-ved-rates-to-kill-big-classics

ANYTHING you have read about April 2026 increases is fake news, because they have not been announced yet. The only thing you can say is they normally increase to reflect inflation.

IOWJJBTM2025

I couldn't find the actual new 2026 rates, only assumptions.

When do the new rates get announced?