We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
Unless you've got a fleet-full of small diesels the Government's changes to the VED system will turn into a nightmare
In the Budget this year, Gordon Brown gave the car owners of Britain a promise over the reworked VED system: "As a result of these changes the majority of drivers will be better, or no worse off."
As any fleet manager who has tried to sell any cars recently will tell you, the ripple effect of those changes is making far more people worse off than the Government ever anticipated.
The problem of course is that the new system of 13 tax bands (unlucky for many) due April 2009 is to be applied retroactively to all cars sold since March 1, 2001.
From an initial estimate of 2.3 million owners paying more money, the Government then had to revise that to nine million. Which vastly reduced that 'majority' of unaffected owners in a country with around 33 million cars on the road.
There's a double jeopardy in play here that's seriously affecting fleets as well as private owners. Despite the average citizen knowing very little about a needlessly complicated system, they sense that big cars will be pummelled come April next year, a feeling that's seriously affecting used prices.
I can understand not wanting to own a used petrol saloon emitting over 200g/km (costing you anything from £260-£440 a year) but this thinking is also affecting family-sized diesels.
With all the talk of recession, the timing is dreadful. To give you an example of how bad it's got, I had a Mondeo TDCI estate go for £3250 at auction. Clean, three years old and 62k on the clock.
I'm not sure how much the Government realises we all stand to lose on this. Their casual date change has wiped thousands off the value of cars bought by fleets and private punters who had been expecting the used market to behave as normal and leave them with a decent percentage.
The bumbling banks haven't helped, but the actions of one toadying Treasury wonk have subverted the rules (in the name of the environment) and cost us all dearly.
I'm guessing they're feeling pretty shameful right now. Conceived in a time where Government finance functionaries had plenty of time to fiddle about with things like this, it's become another drain on our dwindling resources. I recently read an interview with our new transport man Geoff Hoon, who when asked about the retroactive changes, mithered a bit and passed the buck onto Alistair Darling. Either way, someone will have to re-cook the books and apply it to new cars only.
The flipside is some barely believable prices for small diesels. Back in 2005, very few fleets or private buyer would cough up the extra it cost over a petrol so there's precious few to go around. Now everyone wants one, it's time to dust off that pool Punto and flog it pronto.
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
