Proposed / planned changes for older cars & drivers.

[Nomad]

Some recent reports that surprised me. A quick look shows the same news on several websites so they look genuine to me.
Sharing it here in case it helps / informs people. Comments welcome.

The Department for Transport is planning a major overhaul of the MOT rules for classic cars in 2025.
(based on under 1,100 responses they had to a survey - I'd not heard about this or I would have responded)

New MOT rules to come into force in 2025 could affect over 300,000 classic cars

The Department for Transport is planning a major overhaul of the MOT rules for classic cars in 2025

www.nottinghampost.com

Car tax overhaul to impact drivers over 70 with new VED rates starting April.
The standard VED fees will rise in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation, increasing to £195 per year from April 1.
This makes it sound like drivers over 70 pay a flat rate for VED - I'd not heard this before??

Some drivers set for significant car tax changes with new rates in April

It comes as the Government updates its Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates moving forward

www.nottinghampost.com

Many more motoring new reports on their website,

Motoring News - Latest motoring news from Nottinghamshire Live

Get the latest motoring news from Nottingham and the UK. Breaking news, live blogs, pictures, video and comment & analysis from the Nottinghamshire Live team.

www.nottinghampost.com

"First year tax" will increase a lot for some cars. I knew this was coming but had no idea some cars would have to pay over £5k just for this

Latest Car Tax Rates 2025/2026 & Key Budget Points | How Much Is My Road Tax? [Updated Oct 30th 2024]

Find out how much your car tax is and what VED band it qualifies for. Road tax, car tax and VED for all cars explained, including cars registered before April 2017.

heycar.com

I try to follow the motoring news but I'd not heard about any of these changes until today.

 

[bricol]

I’ve no problem with MOTs for classics.

Might weed out the ones that claim to be MOT exempt and tax-free as they look like something from the 50s – 70’s – but they’ve had ¾ of an MX5 hot-glued underneath by a one-eyed bloke working in a dark shed at night . . .

 

[MetalMonkey]

Car tax overhaul to impact drivers over 70 with new VED rates starting April.[/B]
The standard VED fees will rise in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation, increasing to £195 per year from April 1.
This makes it sound like drivers over 70 pay a flat rate for VED - I'd not heard this before??

Its just a click bait headline - they could have equally said it will impact drivers under 25. Or drivers of 39 years and six months and 11 days. The age is irrelevant.
It just means VED rates rise slightly across the board, as they do every year. For me it looks to be about £15 to £20 again.
See thread already on this here - https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/new-car-tax-rates.141926/

"First year tax" will increase a lot for some cars. I knew this was coming but had no idea some cars would have to pay over £5k just for this

Tax on new vehicles in the higher emissions bands has been horrendous for a while, its gone up a lot but it wasn't exactly cheap before.
Thankfully those rates don't retrospectively apply to older vehicles.

 

[colnerov]

What have road tax rates got to do with the age of the driver?

 

[dave h 2]

What have road tax rates got to do with the age of the driver?

Nothing, everyone pays the same old or not.

 

[Robotstar5]

My 1950 tractor is registered with DVLA for road use, I wonder if that will be affected?

Putting the front wheels onto the brake test machine won't show a lot as I only have brakes on the back wheels

 

[droopsnoot]

While I recall there was a consultation about MOT exemption, I'd be surprised if anything on it will change this year. As for the thing about drivers over 70, the only bit of that article that mentions that age is the headline, isn't it?

That table showing the first year rates for certain classes of vehicle is a bit misleading - it suggests that the highest bracket used to be £195 and now it's going to be over five grand, whereas it's already several thousand pounds.

As I recall it, the example of only having brakes on the rear wheels is one of the things that contributed to the MOT exemption for classic vehicles in the first place - "special" things that only apply to a very small number of vehicles that create so many caveats for the MOT tester that they get missed, leading to arguments about whether they should fail or not. I've had mine failed on all sorts of stuff that didn't apply even to a car from the mid-70s because the tester was newly-qualified and hadn't run into cars without door mirrors and age exemptions. Maybe the onus should be on the person presenting the vehicle for test to remind the tester about stuff like that, even though it's documented, and the computer system should prompt them at each stage of the test whether that section is needed, anything to watch out for or ignore, in my opinion. (That is, that's what I think the software should do, not necessarily what it does).

 

[rtcosic]

I have no fundamental objection to annual or biannual MoT for 40+ vehicles.
But there will be a need for a new army of Dai the MoTs who run old cars themselves and understand the C&U regs for the age of the car.
Dai wouldn't bug me because the headlamp alignment was a bit off or the reflectors were a bit dull.

I had issues with a 'young' tester in the 1970's when presenting an early 1950's car. Fortunately in those days, the owner's manual was also a maintenance manual so I was able to show him:

Adjust the steering box when the play at the steering wheel rim exceeds 4 inches
Adjust brakes when the pedal fouls the floorboard.
Yes, the floorboards are meant to be plywood.

 

[rtcosic]

While I recall there was a consultation about MOT exemption, I'd be surprised if anything on it will change this year. As for the thing about drivers over 70, the only bit of that article that mentions that age is the headline, isn't it?

It conflates 'over 70s' with disabled drivers.

 

[DAPPH]

I have no fundamental objection to annual or biannual MoT for 40+ vehicles.
But there will be a need for a new army of Dai the MoTs who run old cars themselves and understand the C&U regs for the age of the car.
Dai wouldn't bug me because the headlamp alignment was a bit off or the reflectors were a bit dull.

I had issues with a 'young' tester in the 1970's when presenting an early 1950's car. Fortunately in those days, the owner's manual was also a maintenance manual so I was able to show him:

Adjust the steering box when the play at the steering wheel rim exceeds 4 inches
Adjust brakes when the pedal fouls the floorboard.
Yes, the floorboards are meant to be plywood.

My Aunts Austin ( 7 ????) had thick wooden creosoted floor boards , many a time I saw her transporting a pig to or from Boston cattle market or for service with a boar .

 

[bricol]

My first kit-car had an entirely wooden body - no MOT issues, but the day smoke started coming out the transmission tunnel was rather worrying - turned out to be wiring to the reversing light switch having a bit of an insulation failure problem.

 

[Gavlar]

I had a car with the entire engine made out of timber.

It wooden start.


I'll get me coat..

 

[Smallfry]

I’ve no problem with MOTs for classics.

Might weed out the ones that claim to be MOT exempt and tax-free as they look like something from the 50s – 70’s – but they’ve had ¾ of an MX5 hot-glued underneath by a one-eyed bloke working in a dark shed at night . . .

I don't have a hot glue gun or one eye, although eyesight is not as it once was, and I don't work in the dark.

 

[Smallfry]

Don't know what people are moaning about. Seems to me those who can afford a new car are getting off lightly. Before the advent of VAT in 1973, purchase tax on new cars was 50% of the purchase price !

 

[Ian X]

with the age of the driver?

with the age of the driver voter.

 

[Ian X]

Don't know what people are moaning about. Seems to me those who can afford a new car are getting off lightly. Before the advent of VAT in 1973, purchase tax on new cars was 50% of the purchase price !

Yep, Lotus saw a nice gap for those with money but not so much money.