road tax on 4x4 query

bernieobr

Hi. I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right forum but here goes. I drive an old Hilux Surf passenger jeep. It is taxed and insured privately. The tax is the only thing that bothers me as it is so costly every 3 months (was fine before we both became unemployed). My question is - how come some of these jeeps are taxed commercially at a much lower cost when they also have back seats in them. Mine is not a crew cab just a normal 5 seater where you can see over the back seats into the boot. Does anyone know if it is possible to change the way it is taxed without taking out the back seats. We have a young child so removing them is not an option. Thanks in advance for any info.

101sean

Some were registered before the rules were tightened over the years, most are technically in breach of the rules if used other than for work. You would be unlikely to be able to re-register it as the tax office will now ask for proof you have employees that need the seats as well as proof of having a business.

If you need the 4x4 for heavy towing you are stuck, otherwise consider downsizing. There's ready market for good Surfs.

bernieobr

Thanks for the reply 101Sean. We dont even have a hitch on this and I have never once put it into 4 wheel drive so maybe as you say there may be someone interested in it. Downsizing seems to be the only option as unfortunately hubby is no longer registered with Revenue for business purposes. I'd hate to sell it though as I think it is worth more to us than its cash value. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply.

101sean

There's a lot in the same boat, getting harder to justrify driving a big 4x4 day to day, even I use a VW Polo half the time

Do your sums though, if it's reliable and owes you nothing may be worth sticking with it rather than going through the hassle of finding a good reliable replacement

bernieobr

Thats exactly what hubby says. His idea is that what we would get for the jeep would not buy something we could depend on. This jeep will go for many years to come, we have never had a problem with it in the 4 yrs we have it. We imported it ourselves from Japan and it was like it had just come out of the showroom and it is still in perfect nick. Its just such a killer trying to keep it taxed in our current circumstances but we'll soldier on I suppose until things improve hopefully in the future. Thanks again.

101sean

Sounds like you have a sound 4x4 that's becoming a bit of a classic, use the other lever now and then before it forgets what it's for and seizes up

bernieobr

Never thought of that - jeep is just used as family car around town, school runs etc. Will have to get hubby to show me how to work the other lever haha, Regards

dhog4n

I got my Surf 5 years ago and did the commercial conversion, taking out the seats, covering the windows with metal, etc. I occasionally use it off road and find it excellent.

Like any 4x4, only a handful of owners ever put them into 4wd and the controls can stiffen up with lack of use. If you do decide to try it, only do so on a loose surface as there is no centre differential so driving in 4wd on a hard surface (normal road) can cause damage.

Mine is worth about the same as an abused VW Golf so there is no way I could justify selling it for something else. It never breaks down and any parts that do wear out would also be worn out on a replacement car which only leaves diesel and tax. At my price level, reliability is a long way ahead of fuel consumption or tax as a deciding factor. What I spend on those would easily be lost to repairs on another vehicle.

Top Dog

bernieobr wrote: »

Thats exactly what hubby says. His idea is that what we would get for the jeep would not buy something we could depend on. This jeep will go for many years to come, we have never had a problem with it in the 4 yrs we have it. We imported it ourselves from Japan and it was like it had just come out of the showroom and it is still in perfect nick. Its just such a killer trying to keep it taxed in our current circumstances but we'll soldier on I suppose until things improve hopefully in the future. Thanks again.

Why not keep the Surf, but park it up for a little while? The amount you spend on tax for a quarter would buy you a cheap runabout that'd probably also be cheaper to run. Then when finances are a little better you could re-tax the Surf or even leave it till winter when it'll come into its own?

This is kinda what I'm doing at the moment, though not by choice. Our Shogun is awaiting a mechanics touch right now, so in the interm I went out and bought a cheap Skoda estate for €300. Its returning an average 44mpg and so far has only cost me €12 for a new fan belt The same journeys in the Shogun would have cost me twice as much in fuel.