£490 road tax, does it put you off?

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Let's get one thing sorted, I've called it road tax but then so do the government so let's just leave it at that, ok?

So, on to the question at hand. Does it? Should it? Compared to say something mildly interesting at £200 a year cheaper to tax it's only a couple of fill ups but I find it quite a psychological barrier in future car purchase.

It just seems so unnecessary.

I emailed a fellow poster on why he hated his M3 so much as a fancy one & it was on his list too.

So PH, does (& if it does, why?) it matter that a £45k car costs £200 a year more?

[bqf]

Try £490. It sticks in the craw, for sure. I won't change my car to reduce the bill though, that would be ludicrous.

[contractor]

no, because over the course of a year I'll:

a: lose more down the sofa
b: spend more on takeout food
c: it's only a month's worth of petrol
d: it's less than my insurance excess
e: if I sell the car I get a portion of it back

[Contigo]

If you are worrying about the extra £200 then I wouldn't go into M car ownership is probably the most common answer on here but it all depends on how happy you are spending money on a car really. I mean some buy cars that have £0 road tax because they want cheap motoring but others buy what they want because they are looking for motoring Nirvana. Ask yourself will you be happy finding £400 once a year to keep it on the road when we already pay over 80% tax on petrol?

[DocArbathnot]

It does put me off, I try to buy something older because of this. In the great scheme of things it's not much, just the straw if you like.

[xRIEx]

bqf said:

It sticks in the craw, for sure.

Agree with this; it wouldn't put me off. It's the same with horrendous mpg, I'd like it to be better but it's just part and parcel of owning the car I want.

Edited by xRIEx on Friday 20th December 08:45

[heebeegeetee]

Where does the govt call it road tax?

[powerstroke]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Let's get one thing sorted, I've called it road tax but then so do the government so let's just leave it at that, ok?

So, on to the question at hand. Does it? Should it? Compared to say something mildly interesting at £200 a year cheaper to tax it's only a couple of fill ups but I find it quite a psychological barrier in future car purchase.

It just seems so unnecessary.

I emailed a fellow poster on why he hated his M3 so much as a fancy one & it was on his list too.

So PH, does (& if it does, why?) it matter that a £45k car costs £200 a year more?

Fine when it's a £45k car but in a few years and it's a much lower value!!? And not great if it's going to be a second or hobby car it's a lot to pay for something that's getting limited use ..

[Catatafish]

heebeegeetee said:

Where does the govt call it road tax?

It's clear that the thread refers to that paper disk on the window. What it is called, by whom, what the cash is spent on, blah blah, doe not matter.

This is Pistonheads, not Pedantheads.

[deltashad]

This heavily influences my car purchases. I refuse to pay this amount of tax.

There may come a time when I feel the need to buy a car in this tax bracket, but for now there have always been other options.

[DocArbathnot]

powerstroke said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Let's get one thing sorted, I've called it road tax but then so do the government so let's just leave it at that, ok?

So, on to the question at hand. Does it? Should it? Compared to say something mildly interesting at £200 a year cheaper to tax it's only a couple of fill ups but I find it quite a psychological barrier in future car purchase.

It just seems so unnecessary.

I emailed a fellow poster on why he hated his M3 so much as a fancy one & it was on his list too.

So PH, does (& if it does, why?) it matter that a £45k car costs £200 a year more?

Fine when it's a £45k car but in a few years and it's a much lower value!!? And not great if it's going to be a second or hobby car it's a lot to pay for something that's getting limited use ..

Good point older smokey stuff can't be given away @ auction.

[Tom8]

It grates but my other car is 30 quid a year so it equates to "standard tax" each year for both. The driving experience and sound is worth every penny though.

Not debating where it goes here but what annoys most is the standard of roads I have to pay for.

[B3ALP]

I dont have the problem at the moment, but it would not stop me
buying what I wanted in the future.

[johnoz]

Sold my Golf R32 Because of it, it spent more time not being used and i could not justify the cost.

[heebeegeetee]

Catatafish said:

It's clear that the thread refers to that paper disk on the window.

This is Pistonheads, not Pedantheads.

Yeah I get that. But where does the govt call it road tax?

[ben5732]

Not really no. I'd rather have a car that's fun to drive than a 1L bland and boring pile of garbage. Smiles per gallon is much more important than miles per gallon in my eyes, perhaps as more of my hair falls out that will change but I highly doubt it will anytime soon.

[LuS1fer]

It bugs me. I have two cars and a bike and the two cars are both around £220 (Mustang and Fiesta ST) and the bike is just under £20. I resent every penny of the Mustang which sees less than 1000 miles a year, don't so much mind the other two.

[xRIEx]

heebeegeetee said:

Catatafish said:

It's clear that the thread refers to that paper disk on the window.

This is Pistonheads, not Pedantheads.

Yeah I get that. But where does the govt call it road tax?

Yawn. Can we just discuss the principle of the topic?


If you're that bothered, start a separate thread or PM the OP.

[xRIEx]

LuS1fer said:

It bugs me. I have two cars and a bike and the two cars are both around £220 (Mustang and Fiesta ST) and the bike is just under £20. I resent every penny of the Mustang which sees less than 1000 miles a year, don't so much mind the other two.

I'm sure it will get brought up at some point, but taxation purely through fuel duty would be fairer, preclude avoidance, etc. etc. I haven't seen any cons against the argument.

[barryrs]

My £490 tax bill each year does make me cough a little but I think thats because I have nothing tangible to show for it as i wont think twice on spending more on a couple of tyres.