What I can't figure?

[Greenmamba]

Any thoughts on this? I have a 2007 OB (UKDM, facelift 3.0). It costs over £650 yearly to tax, based I believe on age and emissions. However, it always passes MOT on emissions, and is ULEZ compliant according to their (TfL)website. What logic is this - low emissions for ULEZ compliance yet taxed to the hilt based on a formula years past which bears no relationship to the real world performance? Can anyone explain this? What am I missing?

Thanks

[Tidgy]

17 hours ago, Greenmamba said:

Any thoughts on this? I have a 2007 OB (UKDM, facelift 3.0). It costs over £650 yearly to tax, based I believe on age and emissions. However, it always passes MOT on emissions, and is ULEZ compliant according to their (TfL)website. What logic is this - low emissions for ULEZ compliance yet taxed to the hilt based on a formula years past which bears no relationship to the real world performance? Can anyone explain this? What am I missing?

Thanks

it's age related

[Greenmamba]

Thanks. How come then that my 2007 is pricier than my previous 2006?

[Judd]

VED is based purely on the CO2 figures.

Our Forester XT is also in the high band, though we get the dual fuel discount for the LPG conversion, a laughable £10 off, its a clean runner anyway and much cleaner running on propane to boot.

Its why you can buy these high band cars so cheaply, we got the XT about £2000 under its value at the time some years ago, always avoided the highest band but after some man maths decided that £2k saving would cover the difference in VED for enough years to make it worthwhile.

Your 2006 was probably registered before March 23rd cut off date (or was it a JDM import?), 2001 to March 2006 don't get stung with the highest rate, its why 55 plate large capacity cars are priced higher and sell easier than those regd after March 06...no doubt some prissy apparatchik is dampening his panties as we speak dreaming up plans to bring pre 06 cars into the high rate too.

[Greenmamba]

Thanks folks. Still baffled - if age related I could expect the newer car to be cheaper, and if emissions related I wouldn't expect the newer one to be ULEZ compliant? Both cars were 3.0 and UKDM.

[AndyLevorg]

23 hours ago, Greenmamba said:

Thanks folks. Still baffled - if age related I could expect the newer car to be cheaper, and if emissions related I wouldn't expect the newer one to be ULEZ compliant? Both cars were 3.0 and UKDM.

This is purely down to taxation changes by the government in 2005/2006. They put an additional (green) tax based on Co2  output of the vehicle to try and reduce Co2 emissions through taxation, but didn't make this retrospective. So you may have an 05 car taxed annually  at £300.00 but the exact same car registered in 2006 was taxed at £500.00. 

This has never changed which is why older large engine cars pre-2006 are usually lower annual road tax.

Co2 is only one part of the exhaust fumes and it has since been decided there are other issues as harmful (or more so) such as particulates. Euro emissions certification takes in these additional harmful bits and compliance has been stricter with every change in levels. The ULEZ scheme uses these Euro compliance standards as the basis  and not the Co2 levels that is used for road taxation purposes.  I hope this makes sense.

 

[Greenmamba]

@AndyLevorg - thanks for the info. Much appreciated, I did not know about the measuring differences.

[Judd]

Well explained Andy.

However, i believe when they first made the changes they were indeed retrospective to include 2001/2006 high band cars, but within weeks or months had to make a hasty U turn on that decision, probably on dodgy legal grounds...that's how i recall it at the time but happy to be put right, i recall people making sale/purchase decisions based upon this retrospective increase when it happened so bearing in mind the differences in car values there were winners and losers.

What concentrates my memory here was a phone call i made to a chap selling a 55 plate H6 Outback for a very fair price, the car was sold when i called but he made a statement i thought odd at the time (he was a most eloquently spoken chap, rather like Jacob Rees Mogg), he said don't worry there will be plenty for sale in a few weeks, sure enough couple of weeks later the news of the high bands being introduced retrospectively came out...he must have had insider info.