My Mercedes-Benz CLK280 is in a higher VED category than I thought because of the wheel size - can I change this? | Ask Honest John

My Mercedes-Benz CLK280 is in a higher VED category than I thought because of the wheel size - can I change this?

I recently bought a 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK280 cabriolet, 7G auto in SE spec, from a main dealer. All of the public online info had told me this car was 222g/km. Shock horror to discover that my actual car is recorded as 227g/km in the factory paperwork and hence at DVLA. So, that'll be £445 annual tax when I had budgeted on £260. Not life threatening, but very irritating. Am I stuffed? Can one appeal a rating? Can a rating ever be revised once the factory has set down the figure on the Conformity certificate? My car has factory-fitted 17-inch 225/45 front and 245/40 rear factory-fitted wheels and the Mercedes-Benz paperwork says these were a £417 upgrade over 16-inch. Is this something to do with it?

Asked on 15 February 2011 by JH, Bury St Edmunds

Answered by Honest John

Yes. The wider wheels and fatter tyres have pushed it over into a higher CO2 category. There's nothing you can do. You can't fit 16-inch wheels and claim the lower tax because a car remains saddled with whatever is on its V5C registration document unless a mistake was originally made. Anyone buying a car originally fitted with non-standard wheels and tyres can fall into this trap, even though if they retrofitted the non standard wheels and tyres they would not.

Tags: wheels and tyres wheel sizes road tax

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