A handy link if you're thinking of buying a new/used motor.

[MrMasher]

I'm looking around at the minute for a newer motor.
With our fantastic government seeming to feel the need to penalise the family motorist via "green" tax on cars bigger than a roller skate, my choices of preferred car and engine size have drastically reduced.
I use Parkers quite a bit.
You can look at Parkers own reviews as well as owners reviews. It gives you performance info as well as the cost of tax now, next year and in 2010.
It also gives you examples of other cars to consider as well as suggested prices along with average running costs and any problems with certain models.

I have found it to be most helpful and would recommend to anyone who is looking for a new motor.

I think it is an absolute disgrace that the government have chosen to impose their green-ness in this way with the tax rises. If cars are polluting then penalise them via petrol tax for the amount of polluting they actually do.

Upon principle I have altered my ideas of what to buy because I dont want to hand over more than £400 a year for road tax. Thats more than £30 a month, half a tank of fuel.
I could afford it, but why should I?
I was considering a Merc or BMW. Something nice, prestigous almost.
Now I'm looking at Focus or Astra size cars with diesel. (spits on floor and washes mouth out with soapDT_Xtremez_34: ).

If the government get booted out in the next election, does the new one have to uphold these tax hikes?

 

[Ex-Bay]

I'm looking around at the minute for a newer motor.
With our fantastic government seeming to feel the need to penalise the family motorist via "green" tax on cars bigger than a roller skate, my choices of preferred car and engine size have drastically reduced.
I use Parkers quite a bit.
I have found it to be most helpful and would recommend to anyone who is looking for a new motor.

I think it is an absolute disgrace that the government have chosen to impose their green-ness in this way with the tax rises. If cars are polluting then penalise them via petrol tax for the amount of polluting they actually do.

Upon principle I have altered my ideas of what to buy because I dont want to hand over more than £400 a year for road tax. Thats more than £30 a month, half a tank of fuel.
I could afford it, but why should I?
I was considering a Merc or BMW. Something nice, prestigous almost.
Now I'm looking at Focus or Astra size cars with diesel. (spits on floor and washes mouth out with soap ).

If the government get booted out in the next election, does the new one have to uphold these tax hikes?

In a word, Yes.

As the driver of an '03 1.8 diesel Astra, I can assure you that they are good. Comfortable, air con works well, steering precise, annual service (currently at about 200 a year) and economy in the region of 38-56 mpg. Acceleration is best described as 'sufficient for me' (it ain't that slow), and spares don't cost an arm or a leg. It'll cruise all day at 80 (where permitted) and I can arrive 200 miles away feeling not too knackered.

Have alook at one, mate.

DT_Xtremez_30:

PS. It also has space for a transmitter above the ash tray.

.

 

[Rich_P]

They got so much info wrong in a recent issue of the Parker's paper based guide, getting the Range Rover completely and utterly as wrong as you can get.

I had a look on the website, and they say the P38 is okay for reliability and had a few niggling faults. Then I'd like this Parkers thing to explain how come we get lots of P38 V8 models with dead engines in. DT_Xtremez_09: (earlier 4.0 and 4.6 engines slipped liners easily, plus block cracking among other issues)

 

[Shugster]

Remembering what you said before about fuel prices and LPG, why not go for a car that's easy to convert or runs well on LPG?

I can't say which qualities make a car a good candidate for LPG conversion as I haven't researched it.

But it's something else to bear in mind when you make your descision.
DT_Xtremez_43:

 

[MrMasher]

Remembering what you said before about fuel prices and LPG, why not go for a car that's easy to convert or runs well on LPG?

I can't say which qualities make a car a good candidate for LPG conversion as I haven't researched it.

But it's something else to bear in mind when you make your descision.
DT_Xtremez_43:

Too costly to convert a car to LPG in my view. Several thousand for a good conversion.
I did consider it though.

 

[NotAnIDOYet]

Too costly to convert a car to LPG in my view. Several thousand for a good conversion.
I did consider it though.

There are tax breaks on this dependant on the age of the car.

Vauxhaul also factory produce a lot of LPG runners

 

[Shugster]

Too costly to convert a car to LPG in my view. Several thousand for a good conversion.
I did consider it though.

It depends on how many miles you do really.

If you have a long commute every day it will pay you back sooner.
If you live on or near camp then it may take years.

 

[Lamptramp]

I have come across a very useful site if you are buying second-hand.

Ever wondered what advisories your "new" car might have had? You can bet your boots the advisory form will not be with the MOT certificate.

If you click here you can review all MOT data since 2005 (when it became computerised)

All you need is the MOT cert number and the vehicle index number.

Just checked out my new motor (mid-life crisis) - Saab 93 convertible. (son now calls me "Uncle kn@bhead" - then wants to drive it!

 

[PingDit]

Fulfill your dream!
Get a nice Mercedes E320TD and get it converted to gas for around 1.5 to 2k -
have the best of both worlds!

Ping

 

[Rich_P]

There are tax breaks on this dependant on the age of the car.

I believe that was dropped in the last Budget.

 

[MrMasher]

Fulfill your dream!
Get a nice Mercedes E320TD and get it converted to gas for around 1.5 to 2k -
have the best of both worlds!

Ping

But if I did that I'd have less to spend on the car!
My ideal car would be something mondeo sized or bigger, possibly an estate with a decent sized engine 2 litre or more and petrol. I'd love a merc estate!
It wont be economical on fuel and the tax increases would end up at £400 a year, so in the long run it would cost a fair bit to run.
I dont do enough miles to warrant a diesel or LPG conversion. I did look at the Mondeo ST 2.2 diesel estate but lower mileage models are out of my price range because they fall into the lower tax brackets.
I dont want a smaller engined big car because they are slow and you have to rev the nuts of em to get anywhere.
Something smaller would mean I'd have to shell out for hire cars whenever we go away somewhere.
A smaller greener car means a newer car which is going to stretch my budget.
I'm screwed either way because the government have decided to go green in their own enlightened way.

I'm either going to have to up my budget and get a more tax efficient car or just accept the inevitable and pay out £400 a year tax.

 

[TheHogwartsBEngO]

Clarkson has a good idea in his article in May's Top Gear magazine (I love subscriptions):

Simply buy a car registered before 1973. You don't pay ANY road tax.

The only new vehicles that fit into the zero band tax are electric vehicles - even the Toyota Prius Hybrid pays road tax - but not a car built before 1973.

So get yourself a 1972 range rover - as you pull up alongside the liberal prat in his Prius you can feel very smug as you belch out all sorts of nasty pollutants from your V8 but pay no VED whereas liberal muppet gets whacked with a bill year on year and still uses as much (more even) fuel as a decent turbo-diesel.

You could get a 1972 Cortina 1600E and drop a 4.5l V8 into (it's not that hard apparently) and you still wouldn't pay VED.

In fact providing you still have the original log book, you could change the entire car: engine, gearbox, axle, seats (for some modern luxuries), body panels, wheels etc and still pay no VED.

 

[MrMasher]

Its damned annoying how much tax we have to pay to be able to have our motors.
Taxed on wages, petrol, insurance, road tax, servicing and parts, road tolls, MOT's, the list goes on!
Its odd that we had fuel strikes several years ago and yet we are now paying more than we ever have for fuel, road tax is set to double on lots of cars and there seems to be no money spent on our ever increasingly congested, pot holed transport network.
And everyone just accepts it!!
I dont want to get a massively polluting car, I just want something newer with a bit of class about it.
If the government insist on this tax increase then the used car market will soon be flooded with large petrol engined cars and everyone will be driving around in stinky older cars that were registered before 2001.

 

[Shugster]

Clarkson has a good idea in his article in May's Top Gear magazine (I love subscriptions):

Simply buy a car registered before 1973. You don't pay ANY road tax.

The only new vehicles that fit into the zero band tax are electric vehicles - even the Toyota Prius Hybrid pays road tax - but not a car built before 1973.

So get yourself a 1972 range rover - as you pull up alongside the liberal prat in his Prius you can feel very smug as you belch out all sorts of nasty pollutants from your V8 but pay no VED whereas liberal muppet gets whacked with a bill year on year and still uses as much (more even) fuel as a decent turbo-diesel.

You could get a 1972 Cortina 1600E and drop a 4.5l V8 into (it's not that hard apparently) and you still wouldn't pay VED.

In fact providing you still have the original log book, you could change the entire car: engine, gearbox, axle, seats (for some modern luxuries), body panels, wheels etc and still pay no VED.

I've got a 1971 MGB in the garage if you want to buy it. 2.5k and it's yours!

Only 2 catches...

1. It's covered in dust, (But it runs).
2. You have to collect it, (and as many know, I live in Deutschland)

It's not a very practical family motor though.DT_Xtremez_19: