Tax free petition for older vehicles

[rjg30091982]

Hi Guys,the government is holding a petition to see if there is enough public interest to bring back the 30 plus scheme for taxing vehicles, initially it was going to be over 30 years which started in 1972 then thanks to Labour they binned it the following year when they came into power!!!sign the e-petition and maybe we can get it back to 30 years!Russhttp://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/183

[Dell Boy]

Originally, if memory serves me correctly, it was anything over 25 years old was classed as historic.If it is allowed to roll forward I think it will be coupled with annual milage restrictions due to emissions issues & do we want that?My daily drivers include a 1960 P.A. Cresta that covers about 6,000 miles per year & a 650ss that does similar. If I was to lose the unlimited milage I would be very upset.My inclination is not to rock the boat as any revised scheme may mean we get a worse deal.Derek.

[rjg30091982]

Hi Derekyour right it was 25 years my mistake, but i can't see them putting a limitation on the mileage seems highly unlikely to me, plus i have 2 speedos in any case! hahaRuss

[NedSmart]

Good man.Lets all get behind this petition.I do not think the government will bring in emissions/milage restrictions If you have classic insurance read the small print and you will probably find you are restricted anyway.It does'nt take much to disconnect a speedo anyway.So come on ,forward this petition to all your friends and quit the paranoia about restrictions.While we are on the subject why have'nt the 'enviro/eco'bigade got on the classic cause keeping a used vehicle on the road is infinitly 'greener' than manufacturing a new one

[gripper]

I'm all for paying less tax of any sort. More concerning is the plan to make older machines exempt from MOT testing. IMHO I think that all machines should be tested once a year. One of my NOC branch members rolled up at a meeting a few years ago on his Commando with a ribbed tyre fitted on the rear wheel!! I told him he was mad but as it had plenty of tread, he went for an MOT the next day. Guess what, it failed. This guy had a collection of classic bikes and when I fitted a Boyer on the Commando for him there were several roadworthyness issues with the machine to which he was oblivious.

[FloridaMike]

MOT testing . . .This assumes the MOT person knows what he's looking at. I remember taking a Saab 93 two-stroke through Florida inspection and failing because "the rings are shot, it is smoking". The inspector didn't know what a two-stroke engine was, so I went to another inspection station and promptly passed.On another occasion, I took a Sebring Electric car (golf cart with delusions of grandeur) to be inspected. It failed because it didn't have a tail pipe . . . but it is an electric car, it doesn't NEED a tailpipe . . . Bubba told me that it sez raight hyar that y'all gotta have a tail pipe, whut don'tcha unnerstan, son? Same cure - went somewhere else for my sticker.There's no MOT (annual vehicle inspection) in Florida any more, hasn't been for well over two decades. The state did a study of the top 50 causes of auto accidents, and "equipment deficiencies" of the type that get snagged in auto inspections was #49 of 50. One of the election promises made by the new governor in 1987 was to eliminate the inspections because they were not even remotely cost effective and were WILDLY unpopular. He was elected in a landslide, and automotive carnage somehow did NOT ensue . . . any politician advocating its return would think they were starring in an old Frankenstein movie, here come the peasants (all 20,000,000 of them) with torches and pitchforks, and they're going to be really, really ANGRY!!!Best Regards,FloridaMike

[johnbirchjar]

I can't imagine any UK government ever thinking of doing away with M.O.T.s, it brings in far to much revenue,and when I think of the old bangers that myself and friends used to run about in when we were young (pre-M.O.T. days)I for one am pleased that we have them,J.B.

[bill]

For members living in Portugal bikes regstd in this county do not need ..MOT. at all..

[FloridaMike]

Regarding Florida's no MOT requirement, we found that it simply had a negligible effect on road safety, so why bother with it? It was a HUGE amount of hassle and aggravation for no practical reason, and the costs of the program far outweighed the benefits. It simply didn't work, so we binned it.It didn't even work as a revenue enhancer - it cost more to run than the sticker fees brought in. If the fee had been high enough to cover the real costs, there would have been an armed revolt (and remember, we here in the so-called Redneck Belt don't like intrusive government, are said to be well armed and reputed to be somewhat trigger-happy).Vehicle "inspection" is now done at traffic stops - if the officer notices bald tires or lights not working, you can be cited for this. Since the average age of a car here is about 10 years and cars are FAR more durable than they were when MOT was first envisioned, fanatical annual safety inspections of comparatively young vehicles are a waste of time because there is seldom much if anything wrong with them.So here are the advantages of a yearly MOT: provides jobs for DMV bureaucrats, provides guaranteed work for repair shops without regard to their competence.Disadvantages: Makes no discernible or measurable difference in road safety, wastes tremendous amounts of time, mandates repairs based on little more than the opinion of the "inspector", who in most cases doesn't know anything about cars anyway, annoys VOTERS who generally hold a low opinion of government (which opinion is fully justified) and adds a totally unnecessary aggravation into the daily lives of the citizens.Conclusion - MOT is a monumental waste of time and money, and serves very, very little useful purpose. The overhead in time and money FAR exceeds the benefits returned. Get rid of it.Best Regards,FloridaMike

[rjg30091982]

Mike,with no malice intended and without diverting to a completely different point as this is suppossed to be about car tax!!! 3500 people are killed a year on British roads, we have damp weather which rots cars and the government has seen fit to sack (sorry retire reg A19) a load of British cops meaning there is no one left to do stop checks! Hell most forces have even got rid of there traffic depts and the ones that are left are too busy to be doing MOT standard stop checks!i've picked up enough body parts at the side of the road! it may not work in Florida but it works here, apples and oranges!Russ

[FloridaMike]

No offense taken, certainly!I was under the impression that the UK MOT was a combination of both the yearly fee (i.e. license plates) PLUS some kind of an inspection of the vehicle with mandatory correction of found faults - evidently I was not correct . . . (was I at least close?)Different states here have different ways to deal with antique vehicles. Some don't give you any break at all, some give you a permanent plate (if the vehicle is old enough) and you are then done paying them forever. Florida has a "horseless carriage" plate which is permanent and costs $15 one time, I have one on a 1952 R51/3, there is no mileage limitation.With best regards,FloridaMike (who has been known to labor under misconceptions once in a while, and doesn't get offended when this is pointed out!)

[NedSmart]

Mike,What on earth are you talking about ??When was the last time you saw a weather/salt rotted vehicle??.The point is ,classic vehicles are treasured posessions washed cleaned serviced and usually doing a lowish milage ,why waste time on a yearly check ?If PC Plod is out wasting tax payers money checking for faults anyway ?A quick check on his in-car computer will tell if its taxed and tested.His time would be better spent 'pulling' the vermin that drive badly modified wrecks of cars without insurance.A law to display an insurance document like a tax disc would be more helpful. Is it possible the goverment are earning easy money from the MOT system ?-of course not -silly me !!

[gripper]

From the comfort of his police car the UK policeman can tell if the car is taxed, MOT'd and insured. The unsporting thing now is the increasing use of unmarked police cars, though they are rarely old bangers. VOSA have taken to using trucks to allow them to look down into your car, apparently they have caught drivers watching videos and even cooking food !!