In order to get your road tax down to the new 2010 zero or under £95 rates, you need to drive a small car. If you have two or three children you need something bigger than a Vauxhall Corsa to do the weekly shopping in. So the Government’s claim that the new bands of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) will encourage people to drive greener cars is bunkum.
What will happen is, because you need a proper family-size car, you will have to pay more. Even if you buy a small diesel, like the Focus or Xsara Picasso, you can’t avoid the £125 tax. Dare to buy a Ford Galaxy, so your children can invite friends home after school and you pay £180 from 2010. That’s with the smallest diesel engine which is not what you want.
The very big and safe family cars like Volvo XC90s (which on the used market are actually very affordable) are all going to cost you £440 next year and £455 after that… Unless you buy a new one, in which case the first year is £750-£950.
During which time congestion won’t get better (the Government just missed its targets on that) and the environment won’t benefit much either. It will also hurt car dealers, who will end up subsidising the higher first year rate. It’s the only way to stop demand dropping, which will in turn hurt residuals. So don’t be surprised if a few jobs get cut in those businesses either.
Here are two great cars to buy right now before the tax is even higher next year:
Nissan 350Z
A serious sports car that looks gorgeous, drives like a sports car should and delivers on reliability. Most economical: 3.5 25mpg
Best used buy: 3.5 Trackstar
Buy from: Private owners with full history.
UsedCarExpert.com buyers checks: 12
Price: A 2006 Trckstart with 20,000 miles will be around £21,156.
Volvo XC90(2003 - Present)
A Volvo estate with more ground clearance and lot more style. All the 4 x 4 most will need, so the demand has been spectacular. Prices remain firm, but a sensible way to spend money on a 4 x 4.
Most economical: D5 34 mpg
Best used buy: D5
Buy from: Independent dealers. Private/company sellers with full history.
UsedCarExpert.com buyers checks: 9
Price: A 2005 2.4D5 XC90 with 34,000 miles will be around £ 20,535.