Pre 2006 Car Tax Question

[wlk]

Hi,

I'm after a new car and am currently looking at either a 330ci or an A3 3.2 Quattro DSG but I am slightly confused as to the tax brackets for these vehicles.

I keep seeing mention of pre 2006 registered vehicles falling into the "K" tax bracket, is this applicable for all pre '06 manufactured cars over 225 in emissions (and has there been any indication if this will remain the case?)?

On autotrader many examples of the above cars are listed as a higher bracket (for example a convertable or auto 330ci) and the difference between K and L is £200 a year which is something I am trying to take into consideration.

Thanks,

Ben

[CampDavid]

It's pre March 06, meani anything 55 plate or older will be cheaper.

Indication is that this will remain the case but who knows?

[5678]

CampDavid said:

It's pre March 06, meani anything 55 plate or older will be cheaper.

Indication is that this will remain the case but who knows?

+1

My 650 is a Feb 2006 car and is in band k.

[McSam]

See here

It shows all the tax bands by emissions for current cars, but also states that anything over 225g/km registered before 23rd March 2006 falls into Band K, £260.

This is extremely unlikely to change - tax band changes only tend to affect cars registered after the announcement of the change. That's why we still get our £220 tax on older cars no matter what they do. Do expect it to climb by about £5 a year, though.

[uncinquesei]

http://m.direct.gov.uk/syndicationController?actio...
Worth noting that cut off is 23 March. Lots of 06s will be registered before then.

[Bill Carr]

McSam said:

This is extremely unlikely to change - tax band changes only tend to affect cars registered after the announcement of the change. That's why we still get our £220 tax on older cars no matter what they do. Do expect it to climb by about £5 a year, though.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. When these tax band changes were implemented they were applied retrospectively. The reason vehicles emitting > 225g/km CO2 but registered before March '06 are placed in band K is because there was such a fuss raised at the time, and this was the "compromise".

[wlk]

Thanks guys. Time to do some shopping around I think, this just opened up a few viable alternatives for me too

[McSam]

Yes, but I mean to say that now that change has been applied to them, and they don't suffer from the new £400+ top bands, they should certainly be safe from any further changes that might be made - especially as they're six years old now. I hear from people involved, via the manufacturers, that even the government don't like penalising drivers of older cars in such a way, hence pre-2001s not being affected by the last changes. Or at least, they know their voters don't like them doing so

[philmots]

Correct my Saab is reg 3-3-06 on an 06 and is band K

[Bill Carr]

McSam said:

Yes, but I mean to say that now that change has been applied to them, and they don't suffer from the new £400+ top bands, they should certainly be safe from any further changes that might be made - especially as they're six years old now. I hear from people involved, via the manufacturers, that even the government don't like penalising drivers of older cars in such a way, hence pre-2001s not being affected by the last changes. Or at least, they know their voters don't like them doing so

Well, maybe - I don't know either way But I wouldn't bank on it, what with "the motorist" being such a cash cow. Something to note is there's no reliable CO2 emission information recorded (i.e. on the V5) for vehicles registered < March 2001, hence why those vehicles fall in the PLG class and have 2 tax bands, rather than the CO2-based banding. It's why you can get odd anomalies like a 2000 vehicle with the same engine as it's 2001 model cousin, but paying more tax.

Anyhoo, this is deviating a bit OT!