I'm close to buying a new car that has a CO2 output of 219g/KG, putting it in group F (£190). This is the same as my current Vectra. I started thinking that there is a likelihood of new tax rates soon and we all know that they're only going to go up. (Apart from the mythical H20 powered cars that apparently exist!!)
I'm a little concerned that an output of 219g/kg might be heavily penalised when Brown decides that I'm single handedly responsible for the end of the world. Any inside info floating around?
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What tax are you thinking of, MLC? BIK rates for company users are well publicized, you already know the VED bands and rates and you can evidently see the way the wind is blowing but I'm not aware of any plans to introduce new taxes to target cars in new ways. What discounts and exemptions there may be to future rates will be in the lower bands (whether this will get as far as my 171g/km diesel, who knows?) Since BIK rates are generally published for future years as well as the current one (or were when I chose my last company car) then it's only VED you need be concerned about, and if an extra £100 might break the bank, you probably shouldn't be buying a new car at all.
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It's VED as it's my own money buying it. I feel we pay more than enough as it is. I'd heard of new bandings 'penalising' cars with higher figures. I just don't want to be suddenly surprised with a £3-400/year extortion (sorry tax)
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There is certainly talk of the difference between VED bands being widened. This seems likely to happen, in which case band F would probably go up a fair bit, but at least you wouldn't be in band G.
The Lib Dems, for example, propose to increase VED for band G to £2000. I imagine, that would put band F at something like £1000. I can't see Labour doing anything that radical, but the wind is blowing in that direction.
Certainly, by going for band F, the only way VED is going to go for you is up. Almost certainly anything above band C is going to be a target for increases.
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Of course, I chose a band B car, so I'm laughing. My VED went down from £65 to £30 this year...
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But you fall asleep driving it :)
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...I just don't want to be suddenly surprised with a £3-400/year extortion ..
so assume that the old/new chancellor doubles the tax from £190 to £380.
that means an extra 50p per day, or about half a litre of petrol.
lateral thinking:
your choice then is to try and recover that half litre of petrol a day: eg. a combination of all thefollowing:
1.adapt your driving style, and/
2. or drive 3 miles less each day (assuming you get 6 miles to a litre)
3. or find the cheapest petrol such as using the 1% loyalty-card discount at supermarkets,
4. or use cash-back credit cards - some give 3% back ! (and remember to pay off the debt in full in each month),
5. or work an hour extra overtime a week (say at £5/hour on minimum wages paid to coppers, which will give you about £3.50 in your pocket each week to cover your 50p per day extra cost).
personally, i too hate taxes: e.g. i am more concerned about costs which i cannot control - such as local & national tax rises to pay for state sector guaranteed pay increments and final salary index linked penisons.
oh yeah, and taxes to fund the recycling fad - that is completely out of control without any regard to costs/benefits.
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Probably they will go up, but where's the relevance to any difference it will make to the environment? None there. It's just lining the public purse, because a DB9 doing 2000 miles a year is chucking out a 1261kg of CO2, while Mr-Cleaner-than-Clean with their Focus 1.6TDCi doing 25000 a year is chucking out 4960kg. By that ethos the Focus should really pay 3.9 times the amount the DB9 does. But it's easy targets and easy cash. The government knows it, and most are too apathetic to worry about it. Unfortunately it's just another bill that gets swept into the pile.
I think there would be widespread rebellion if band F went up wildly given that it's still one of the main sectors in which sales happen (see www.smmt.org.uk reports)
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If you include the biggest cost, fuel, it comes out close. In your example, your DB9 driver's 2,000 miles at 17 mpg (as if!) will cost £258 in road fuel duty; your Focus 1.6D driver, over 25,000 at 58 mpg will pay £946, or 3.7 times as much. Even top-rate VED is a piddling amount in comparison - just a gentle reminder that you've chosen the expensive option!
Of course, no-one really argues that your driver's weekend Aston Martin is making much of a contribution to global warming...that comes from the Range Rover he drives the rest of the week.
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I too do not want to pay any more tax than I already do.
BUT, compared to depreciation (for a car emitting 200+g of CO2) £300 or £400 or even £ 500 would not be that significant.
I am continually amazed how most people (me included) think in terms of fuel consumption, road tax, etc. when depreciation is the biggest motoring cost for cars under 5-6 years old.
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Human nature, I suppose - we notice what's put in front of us. Don't know about you but there are items on my bank statements I can relate directly to fuel, servicing, insurance etc, but nothing that says 'Depreciation'!
All this as we contemplate offloading one seven-year-old, reliable and entirely paid-for car in favour of something with all its depreciating ahead of it...
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Depreciation is something I can live with and accept. What I can't stomach is being fleeced by morally corrupt individuals under some spurious argument, who's legalized extortion will never effect them directly. (They've got VERY large expense accounts)
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And £500 might not be a significant amount to you....but it bloomin well is to me!
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And £500 might not be a significant amount to you....but it bloomin well is to me!
I did not say that £500 is insignificant to me.
I said that these amounts are comparatively insignificant compared to the depreciation that the new owner of an expensive car is going to suffer.
BTW, I am yet to buy a brand new car.
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