Road Tax

Terrontress

Just was looking for the opinion of the great and the good in here.

I work for AIB Bank and on the social board, someone has placed an advert for selling his Jeep Cherokee 4.0.

While describing the benefits, he lists one of them as "taxed as a 2.5ltr model".

I presume this is done to pay less road tax. I can't believe he'd be so stupid to post it on a forum linked to his work.

Is this kind of thing common?

What are the penalties?

How much is he likely to have saved?

ctc_celtic

very common, espically with jap imports, but most are done to make the insurance cheaper, like putting a 2ltr turbo car down on the tax book as a normal 2ltr non turbo.

in the case of the jeep, it is possible that it came with a 2.5ltr engine from the factory, but had a replacement 4ltr engine, and the tax book was never changed.

the main penalty is, if you are in an accident and the accessor see's that the engine is different from that wrote on the insurance policy, then your policy is voided.
not sure what the garda's would do about it, its unlikely they'd ever find out, specially with a jeep.
a young fella in a turbo car, might attract more garda attension.

ZiabR

Aye as the above has posted, it would just mean lower road tax BUT the major downside is, if you crash your insurance is void.

astraboy

Regarding the tax book, it only displays the CC of the car and not if it is Turbocharged, supercharged etc. It shows the cc and the model, so for instance recently some importers were having subaru impreza Sti models being put down as regular 2.0 or even 1.6L GL models. Basically it means you will pay a lot of money for a useless piece of insurance cert in your window, as if you crash your insurance will be void. I'm not sure how much one would save on a 4.0 over a 2.5 by taxing it as such, but tax is so high on cars over 2.0 here that I doubt the difference between the two would be worth it. Once you are over 3.0L I believe you are in the highest motor tax bracket anyway.

peasant

Wouldn't the NCT baulk at the "wrong" engine?

astraboy

Not sure phesant, I don't know if they look at your tax book or have the exact details on their system. I would reckon you would get away with it once you don't have 4.0 on the engine when its down as a 2.5. I certainly know the guys won't go looking into your engine size too much. Stuff like emissions is based on year of manufacture not on engine size. Most people that do this do it to insure higher performance cars like subarus as lower down models, so i suspect they would get away with this in the NCT.

colm_mcm

aren't the 2.5 models usually diesel?

peasant

yepp ...diesel and four pots ...the 4.0 would be inline six

There is the Jeep Wrangler 2.5 Petrol though (ancient engine) ...not sure if that was ever fitted to the Cherokee?

colm_mcm

so emissions would be way out for the NCT then?

Wishbone Ash

My brother used to be at that nonsense with motorbikes - insure it as a 250 but put a 500 engine in it :rolleyes: I was forever telling him that his insurance will be void etc. He's got more sense now.

junkyard

99% of Starlets and Glanza turbo's on the road in Ireland are insured as 1.3's with no mention of the turbo.

RoundyMooney

junkyard wrote:

99% of Starlets and Glanza turbo's on the road in Ireland are insured as 1.3's with no mention of the turbo.

QFT.

Even if they're normally aspirated the chavs will fit turbo badges to make it seem otherwise.

colm_mcm

junkyard wrote:

99% of Starlets and Glanza turbo's on the road in Ireland are insured as 1.3's with no mention of the turbo.

I'd say more like 50%