What does the UK govt charge to run a car?

[UglyAmerican]

Bear with me...

 

As a Yank, I only have bits and pieces of info I've gotten from all of your posts here about running costs and tax discs and the like. I actually don't know what it costs to run a car in the UK beyond fuel, which I have purchased on holidays and work trips to your rainy country.

 

Can someone explain your system? Let's say Oliver James buys a £1200 VW Polo. Now who does he have to pay, and how much approximately?

 

Since I'm asking, I might as well volunteer some US info.

 

Sales Tax

Where I live this is 8.75%.

 

Buying any car, even privately from my neighbor, incurs state and county sales taxes. These are a percentage of the sale price, or a percentage of the state's determined "fair market value," whichever is higher.

 

Registration Fee

About $60/year

 

Insurance

We're required to carry basic insurance. For a complete shite car (like the rusty 1987 Peugeot 505 I almost bought a year ago) this costs about $600/year. For a real car with real coverage, like my 2004 Honda Civic, it's closer to $1000/year. That's mega coverage, repairs any damage to my car or someone else's Merc, it also pays hospital bills for me and the person I run over, etc etc.

 

Inspection

Cheap, $20.

 

And then running costs -- fuel ($3/us gallon of petrol, or 43 pence per litre if my maths are right), about 30-40 cents per gallon are taxes depending on location.

[lovejoy]

Warning !!! don't tell those Brits the price of gas(petrol) over there !!you will have a riot on your hands! and just before a General Election...(which has nothing to do with your General...... )

[Mr H Sceptre]

First off, there is no initial tax to pay on purchase of the vehicle. You just pay the owner whatever he/she is charging & there are no other purchase costs.

 

You have to have a valid tax disk on display. If you purchase a car with a current tax disk, you are ok until it expires. The price of a new disk depends on the engine size/emissions etc & can be purchased for a 6 month or 12 month period. Info here:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10012524.

 

You'll have to have valid insurance to drive the car. The cost of this depends on the type of car/your circumstances (ie how long youve been driving, convictions, location etc etc). This can be paid monthly.

 

Any car over 3yrs old also has to have a valid MOT certificate (to show it is road worthy). The test costs around £35 & if the car fails on anything you have to have it fixed & retested (often free).

 

I think thats about it....

[whitevanman]

Ok once you have bought the car you have the foillowing to pay forInsurance..varies greatly but on an older daily car for someone in their 30's I'd guess at about £300-£450 for "comprehensive" coverRoad tax.. for under 1400cc its about £120 per year, about £210 for bigger engined cars, more still if it's newerMOT.. Yearly check on vehicle to find the faults, £55 I believe, plus anything that needs fixed thats it really, extras for breakdown cover etc aside, only sales tax is on brand new motors or imports

[Polystratus]

You'll have to have valid insurance to drive the car. The cost of this depends on the type of car/your circumstances (ie how long youve been driving, convictions, location etc etc). This can be paid monthly.

Monthly insurance payments very often incur a interest charge.

Any car over 3yrs old also has to have a valid MOT certificate (to show it is road worthy). The test costs around £35 & if the car fails on anything you have to have it fixed & retested (often free). I think thats about it....

Seen prices for MOTS at £45-£55.

[maxpower]

best info you can get is.... if say oliver likes having a healthy bank balance.. he will sell the polo pronto!

[Milford Cubicle]

Not forgetting fuel tax.

[Volksy]

A breakdown of what mine has cost over a year:This is for a '97 Volvo S70 2.5TPurchase price of the car was £600Road tax per year was £120Insurance is about £600 per year fully comprehensive.Fuel is currently around £1.20 per Litre Paid £45 for the annual MOT Test, with a £25 retest fee.Annual Service was about £120

[meggersdog]

Officially the cost of an MOT is about 55 quid which is why most main dealers don't have an MOT bay anymore,they charge considerably more than that per hour.That is the maximum an MOT station can charge.I think around 75% of the price of a litre of fuel is tax.The car tax disc was originally to pay for the upkeep of the roads but Churchill raided these funds for the war effort in WW2 and successive governments have raided it ever since.

[Father Ted]

First off, there is no initial tax to pay on purchase of the vehicle. You just pay the owner whatever he/she is charging & there are no other purchase costs..

Unless of course you buy new from a dealer, or a second hand van from a VAT registered dealer. Then there is Slimy Added Tax at 17.5%...

[seth]

As it hasn't been mentioned yet here, cars that were manufactured before 1st Jan 1973 benefit from free road tax. You still have to display a tax disc since getting hold of one of these involves proving you have insurance and an MOT Insurance for cherished/classic type cars is also often cheaper than for newer cars. We pay £100-150 as a rule on our cars, and they're modified, parked on the street in an urban environment and have no mileage restriction. Limited mileage, garaged classic policies can be very cheap indeed.There are also a couple of levels of insurance you can get. Basic Third Party covers only damage to other peoples property should you drive into them. Third Party, Fire and Theft is fairly self explanatory but still wouldn't cover your own car if you have an accident. Then there's Fully Comprehensive which covers everything.

[UglyAmerican]

So other than issues of fuel consumption, why are prices for cars in the UK so low?I am always amazed at the deals you all talk about. There's no such thing as a working $500 car in the U.S. Generally speaking anything in the States that runs and has under say 160,000 miles is $2000 minimum. If you are good with a wrench, you can sometimes buy a car at auction or from someone who has given up on it, repair a cheap-ish part, and have a workable car for $1000. There are certainly the odd case of "I bought this 1984 Cadillac for $100, replaced the starter motor, drained and replaced the fluids, and it started right up" but that's not the norm. For those classics we all love, any 1960s Yank tank that's up to daily driver level is $7500. If it's got a V8 or is a desirable design or nameplate, we're talking $10,000-$15,000. And if it's a "classic," in presentable shape, it's $20,000-infinity. You can always buy a rusted-out 1967 Mustang for $800, but it's just not worth the interminable nightmare of patching rust, ordering replacement parts for everything, and oh right, finding a new engine that's not solid rust/seized.

[Lukas]

Prices for used cars are so low only in the UK, in Europe we are amazed by looking at those UK-prices too.

[r.welfare]

Ooh, the 64 thousand dollop question. Perhaps it's the age-related license plate system we have here that generates a desire to have the latest machine, or longer service intervals that lead to more expensive repairs as cars get older - there's no real direct equivalent to the "Jiffy Lube" here, and only idiots like us on this board would do 3,000-mile oil changes. A fear of high mileage (over 100,000) also really hits car values, and I suspect the high level of company cars (a practice started in the 60s and 70s, where an employer could give an employee a car in lieu of a payrise and claim tax writedowns against it's cost and upkeep - back in those days the employee didn't get hit with any tax for having the car, but things are different now) also floods the markets regularly with 3-year-old vehicles that need to be sold, often at around a third of their original cost.Ditto the increasing personal lease market as well.It was once said (somewhere, but I forget where) that the UK has the highest new car prices (perhaps pre-tax) in Europe, but the lowest used car prices.

[Rusty Pelican]

Pre 73 is the way to cheap motoring , I pay £102 per year fully comp for TWO Classic cars on the same policy , no road tax , although the fuel / mot stuff stuff costs the same , oh and i can fix them without the aid of a computer

[Father Ted]

So other than issues of fuel consumption, why are prices for cars in the UK so low?.

UK Car dealers.Basically they are all bastards. You buy a car, a few years down the line you try and trade it in to be told that "Glasses or CAP guide price is two shillings and thruppence" for something you paid an arm and a leg for only three years ago.Because of this all second hand car prices are artificially low. Oh and the steering wheel is on the wrong side for 90% of the planet which means you can only sell them here and Saaaarf Africa.**may not be true.

[Milford Cubicle]

I don't think the prices are artificially low, it's just that the UK used car market is swamped as r.welfare said.Was it always like this? I remember my dad paying £3500 for an 8 year old Accord in 1998.

[Albert Ross]

The last car I bought was taxed and tested at £70. (Sierra Sapphire)Had £40 of unleaded in the tank.Sold the CD player for £30.Tested it, failed on ARB bushes and advised on column bush. Sorted for 12 quid. Tax was about £95 for 6 months, I ran it for 5 months, and parked it up, still taxed and tested. It is still where I parked it 18 months ago. I still starts first kick, and looks reasonable. I could sell it tomorrow for about £500, but it's not for sale.I also bought a car from work for £7300, on the chip. It's going to cripple me in payments for the next 3 years. It will be worth loads less, but it's reliable for the Wife to drive.Fuel is a crippler. Land Rover is Free road tax, £84 a year insurance, and 25 mpg on diesel at £1.18 a litre.

[Father Ted]

Similar thing, paid £8500 for the then 2 year old Zafira, unreliable bag of modern shite hat it is - tried to trade it in and basically its lost £2000 in 12 months and 6000 miles, so kept it and bought an extended warranty which worked out a lot cheaper.Micra cost me £800 and I bet I could get that back tomorrow if I sold it on.Pre 2000 sub 1500cc cars seem to be holding their prices well.Yearly road tax on the Micra is £125, on the Zafira its £155Insurance (Fully Comp) is £198 on the Micra, and £274 on the ZafiraFuel - I get about 45MPG on the Micra and 34MPG on the Zafira.

[transfer]

Prices are cheap for cars over a certain age because the labour cost of repairs at garages is huge, largely down to the artificially high price of property, one of the few aspects of the UK economy which generates significant income for the Treasury (tell someone their house is worth £300,000 and they'll feel richer and spend more on everything). The British are notorious for not maintaining their cars, and the large amounts of salt tipped onto the roads in our damp winters corrodes everything. Pretty much the only cars exported are Mercedes W124s.Also, fleet sales are hugely discounted and although for a while cars are withheld from sale to maintain value, eventually these heavy discounts affect the sh market. Additionally, a large proportion of the population are snobs, and the American sales approach works wonders. People are getting more stupid, basically - and that suits the authorities.

[Mr Lobster]

In addition to government charging VAT, tax on fuel, RFL, there is also Insurance Premium Tax paid on your insurance premium.

[darkfour]

As an ex-pat now living in Northern Florida I'm really surprised by the price of used cars here. Given that they have no need to salt the roads (I believe that there's one salt truck in the next county) and there's no MOT (or equivalent) I don't know what keeps the prices so high. A quick look on the local craigslist reveals these cars and prices2000 Mazda 626 LX 179K miles $249598 Honda Civic EX 135k miles $30001995 Honda Accord EX 242k miles $18502001 Volvo V70 - Engine STARTS but LOW OIL pressure light came on and the car developed a knock in the engine short afterwards. 121k miles $2900You would expect to pay significantly less than £1000 (and closer to £500) for each of these back in Blighty.

[lovejoy]

Plus, don't forget, because the price of fuel(tax tax tax bluddy tax) is so ridiculously high (in my mind anyway), that all larger engined cars become "less desireable" simply through the running costs... i.e. big Jags, Strange Rovers, etc. etc. which knocks their value down significantly.I knew this post would get multiple answers ! which is why I never went into long explanations on the 2nd post! Thanks, guys Ugly American, I have purchased cheap runners in the past in USA, but down in Florida, which, they tell me, is like Alaska - "not part of America" !! I purchased a running 1969 Mercury Monterey two door for $500 and used it for a few months some years back, just needed a start solenoid and the A/C re-charging. Should have shipped it to UK then. Damn !!

[Father Ted]

If you move county do you have to pay tax on your car in the new county too? Im sure my friend had to do this when she moved from Arizona to Ohio.

[transfer]

Yanks value their cars - it's the only decent way to get about there, apart from crossing its vastness in the air. Our cities haven't been built around the car, there is often good public transport and the bicycle can be quicker from A to B than a car even ignoring the time spent looking to park. Don't forget America is a low tax nation (bit with much of it resembling the second and third world) so those who do earn have more to spend.

[j-j]

I'm learning something here - I didn't realise the cost of used cars here was comparatively so low.My CX, a 2.4 Semi - automatic was £700 to buy with a couple months' tax, and MOT for about a year about 5 years ago. Insurance, fully comp with Lancaster for me, 31, is £145 a year but with limited miles. Fuel is cheap at 59pence a litre for LPG and the tax is (about?) £120 for 6 months.I don't feel it's too expensive overall but the tax disk is a hefty wedge of fold to pay for a little bit of paper! Spares vary depending on the source but ebay has been a godsend: rare as fuk inner steering joint of the original type for £8 + postage, Gearbox mounting NOS again shipped from France was £12 + about £9 post (took a frikkin fortnight to arrive though!Vredestein tyres were about £50 each fitted off Black circles.And! I didn't renew my RAC membership 2 years ago and haven't needed it at all = saved two years' RAC costs there so I don't actually grudge paying the extra fee if I need to join them to get assistance!Not too bad overall - beats a new car anydayUgly American:: What are the costs of membership of like AAA and what other rescue organisations are there?

[Tayne]

.

[transfer]

Our cities haven't been built around the car, there is often good public transport and the bicycle can be quicker from A to B than a car even ignoring the time spent looking to park.

I think that only applies in big cities(maybe just London), you can forget it if you live somewhere even vaguely rural rural.I work 17 miles from home, I'm not going to cycle and public transport takes over twice as long as driving.For some people, cars are pretty essential.

Wasn't suggesting your bike would be quicker up a rural B-road.

[j-j]

Our cities haven't been built around the car, there is often good public transport and the bicycle can be quicker from A to B than a car even ignoring the time spent looking to park.

I think that only applies in big cities(maybe just London), you can forget it if you live somewhere even vaguely rural rural.I work 17 miles from home, I'm not going to cycle and public transport takes over twice as long as driving.For some people, cars are pretty essential.

Wasn't suggesting your bike would be quicker up a rural B-road.

Depends on the hills!

[transfer]

Our cities haven't been built around the car, there is often good public transport and the bicycle can be quicker from A to B than a car even ignoring the time spent looking to park.

I think that only applies in big cities(maybe just London), you can forget it if you live somewhere even vaguely rural rural.I work 17 miles from home, I'm not going to cycle and public transport takes over twice as long as driving.For some people, cars are pretty essential.

Wasn't suggesting your bike would be quicker up a rural B-road.

Depends on the hills!

Reminds me of stories of the 9hp 2CVs!