S90 V90 Cars: Why are some 2017 D4's cheap to tax

[Arnold Layne]

I'm looking at some 67 & 68 plate S90 D4's and some are very cheap to tax, £35 I think. What is the difference between these models and the other D4's that are £150ish?

Thanks in advance.

[Sotosound]

Originally Posted by Arnold Layne

I'm looking at some 67 & 68 plate S90 D4's and some are very cheap to tax, £35 I think. What is the difference between these models and the other D4's that are £150ish?

Thanks in advance.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Reform was implemented in the UK in April 2017.

Cars registered prior to April 2017 attracted VED according to old rules, and cars sold from April 2017 on attracted VED according to new rules which, in short, meant much higher VED. Thank you George Osborne.

Any D4 attracting £35 annual VED will have been registered prior to April 2017.

[Spirit Man]

The first of the D4's with the VEA engine from 2015 up until the tax change have a £0 tax rating due their CO2 emission level of 99g. I haven't paid tax on ours since I bought it in 2016, although you still have to go through the process of paying £0 fee each year when the reminder comes in.

[Sotosound]

My 2014 V70 D4 Geartronic attracts £35 annual VED whereas my good lady's 2018 S60 D4 Geartronic attracts £180 annual VED due to VED Reform.

"Reform" is government speak for "cash grab", by the way.

The only emissions-based VED these days is first year VED on brand new cars, wherein it all went up in April 2017, but by more for higher-emitting cars.

Renewal VED became two-tier, being £140 for all cars, but with a £310 surcharge for the first five annual renewals for cars with a list price greater than £40,000.

Not good for manufacturers and resellers of luxury cars.