road tax

[yoldy]

I,m sure you all know that the current road tax rules mean if you have a car registered before 73 then you qualify for free road tax. For years now classic fans have tried to get this changed to all cars over 25 years old. A new petition has been started recently that could finally make the government take notice. The difference with this petition is that it is a new E- petition. The goverment have stated that if any of these gain 100,000 names then they will at least debate the issue. This may take a little time but if you all sign and pass it on to any classic car friends or clubs that you have contact with, then it is achievable.
Hopefully one day, we can all save on our classic road tax.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/183

[markymark]

the wording in the petition is a little dubious to say the least. one of his justifications for the debate is "These cars are not used daily but are only used on sunny weekends" hmmm... maybe thats what they use theirs for but not everyone is in the same boat.

what if they debate this then say classics/historic cars can only be used 1000 miles a year? sorry i prefer to keep things the way they are...

[stevel98]

I applaud the sentiment in principle, but it seems we'd just be handing a nice concise inventory of classic cars over to a government department to save them doing it themselves via trawling through registrations.

There's bit of talk about this in the classic mags too.. Mileage and time restrictions afoot methinks. Too many people starting to use classics as daily drivers now to escape complex mot regs. high insurance premiums, expensive repair bills. Some classics even escape the mot test entirely! The govt wants us all to buy newer, smaller cars to help the economy. The current demand for good 80's and 90's cars is increasing all the time as they make good economic, appreciating, commuters. This is not what the govt wants from its populace.

They can't comprehend the fact that some people own cars purely for pleasure, and that we drive around aimlessly without a specific destination just for the fun of it. Try explaining 'cruising' to an eco warrior or some govt. pogue in a transport dept! It blows their mind that in this day and age, people actually do this!!

I regularly get assailed at work for daring to drive a gas guzzling, 'environmental disaster'! I wish someone would label us all with a %age like the 1%er badge the outlaw bikers wear! I'd wear mine with pride always!!

http://www.bikerbling.co.uk/catalogue/shop/1-pin-badge-sterling-silver-copy/

F*ck th*m!!

[markymark]

steve its easy to find out how many cars are of a certain age, everything is in a database and it would take about 2 minutes to write a piece of code to give them the an inventory of anything over a certain age. i would be surprised if they didnt already have that information to hand as it is.

dont know of any classics which escape the MOT? there is a consultation in the offing to allow an exemption for vehicles built before 1920 and PCVs before 1940 but nothing firm has happened about it.

following on though there is absolutely no restrictions, mileage or otherwise, afoot as confirmed by mike penning - below is one of his quotes from late last year.

"One major (and legitimate) concern raised by clubs has been speculation that restriction of use will be involved or will follow. There is no way that the FBHVC would bargain with, or condone, any such restriction. As recently as 1 March, I attended an event at the House of Commons where Mike Penning gave his assurance that restrictions on use had never been considered, or mentioned, and would not be an option. Since the function was attended by three senior officers of the FBHVC, Lord Montagu, five MP/MEPs, two other Peers, plus members of FBHVC clubs and representatives of the press, the Minister would have been well aware that this concern needed to be clarified once and for all."

however dont be fooled by this - there are moves afoot to change legislation around classic/historic cars through the use of EU legislation. FIVA are trying to create a definition of what a historic car should be and they have quoted three criteria.

a.. at least 30 years old
b.. preserved and maintained in a historically correct condition
c.. in good condition for safe use and good engine running

the bit that should be concerning is criteria b - cars need to be historically correct - now to me thats open to interpretation because if you build a car that is period correct from the 50s then I believe its hitorically correct however others believe it means the car needs to be as it was when it left the factory and believe even fitting something like 60s series tyres would make it fall outside this criteria. What is unclear is what will happen to all the cars which fall outside this criteria as there will be 1000s... will they revert to paying road rent or will they be forced off the road? personally i would rather pay road rent and do what i want to my car and carry on regardless.

[stevel98]

Thanks Mark.. That was very interesting. :)

Sorry for the rant, I just worry sometimes that we are sleepwalking into legislation without any proper representation. I work for the NHS and just have a pathological hatred for govt. regulation of any kind.. If its not faceless NHS pogues dreaming up more wasteful ways to f*ck up my working day, its HSE nazis removing our ability to use our common sense. :mad:

I often wonder what would happen to the likes of us when Scotland becomes independent. Would life be easier or even more strict? :confused:

[stackofire]

I think that in these hard times when people are loosing jobs and we see all the cuts in public sector, they'll sooner get rid of free tax for pre-'73 cars than make it free for 25+ years cars. I can't see the government agreeing to get LESS money from motorists, it'll never happen. Especially in current economic climate.

[quattrothedog]

I'n not sure they'll scrap the exemption rule directly, bceause it only affects a limited number of cars, and the money raised will be fairly negligible in terms of government income.

However, you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll find some way to "amend" the rules. They'll scrap it by the back door.

If they ever manage to bring in road pricing, I can't see the exemption surviving then

I think that in these hard times when people are loosing jobs and we see all the cuts in public sector, they'll sooner get rid of free tax for pre-'73 cars than make it free for 25+ years cars. I can't see the government agreeing to get LESS money from motorists, it'll never happen. Especially in current economic climate.

[stevel98]

I'd like to see them shift the MOT for an extra year for low mileage cars..

Fed up having to constantly rebuild/adjust the Corvettes handbrake (..its like a 740 Volvo's) system each year even though I hardly use it!

Some old commercials and military vehicles don't even require an MOT!

[markymark]

steve i think it would become harder if scotland went independant, the SNP have already said they would have us join the euro and adopt most of their rules - i dont think there are any other countries in the EU where modified cars can be built hence the reason most of the cars sold here go to europe.


stacko the money they collect from VED is already coming down as a lot of 3/4/5yr old cars are now only £35 a year for tax anyway and as more electric cars come online they wont pay any tax at all. i dont think the revenue piece is a big issue for them, its more about classification of historic cars that worries me.

[gordonbradford]

remember, with the reduction in vehicle excise duty to give it's correct name will have a detrimental effect on the chances of reducing duty on other vehicles........ the goverment will see revenues dropping all the time due to the majority of newer cars qualifying for cheaper duty.
they will want to recoup somehow so personally i don't think any taxation class is safe for the time being.