Just in case you didn’t know, the new Vehicle Excise Duty that governs motor car purchases in the UK came into effect April 1st 2017. It will obviously affect new car buyers significantly and its application depends on the vehicle you buy.
The whole system and the configuration of the tax bands are tied into the CO2 emissions of the vehicle you may be looking at purchasing. In effect, that means some vehicles, particularly those with efficient emission control systems, will be cheaper to buy. Conversely, higher emission of CO2 and the more you will pay.
All these changes lead to the big question you might be asking yourselves: What make and model car suits my requirements, and also has the lowest emissions? After you have asked that question, you might want to ask another one: Am I better off looking at used cars to fulfil my needs? Vehicles registered before April 2017 have a different set of VED rules applicable and overall, will be cheaper to buy, apart from the fact that you will be paying used car prices.
Motorparks.co.uk have gone to the trouble of putting together a detailed, easy to see at a glance, infographic that shows you exactly how the VED is applied and also provides a few different vehicle models with which you can compare costs. Vehicle makes such as Mercedes, Lexus, BMW and Porsche, to name just a few, may be better purchased from the second-hand market considering the VED impost being applied.
Whichever way you look at, buying and owning a car in the UK is an expensive exercise. However, CO2 emissions are also costly to the planet and maybe this is a way in which governments want to ‘even things out’. Check out the Infographic to see how you are affected, or will be affected.
