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A question about UK car tax


Kitty
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A silly question, I know, but I can't see the answer on the DVLA website.  I'm just about to sell a car (hopefully this evening.....). 

Could you tell me what do I do about the tax disc (valid until August)?  Do I get a refund or do I have to sell the car with it?

EDIT: I've changed the title of the post now that I have the answer.  It was wonderful getting so many responses in such a short time.  The Forum comes up trumps again....

 

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Cathy do not sell it with the car, recently there have been a lot of people driving around on the old owners tax disk without mot and insurance and making you in some way responsable. I was warned about this a couple of months ago. Wished I had listened harder now as I can't remember all the details.

You can send the old disk back and get a little bit back on it. 

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The choice is yours , take it off and apply for refund or offer the buyer the choice to pay extra for it . The buyer should have it taxed if intending to drive it away. Is the buyer aware you may not include the tax disc ?

Are we talking France or UK ?

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I've just checked Krusty's original answer again and I think that it's a sensible idea to say that they can have the disc for extra.  But what about Teapot's comment - if they are buying the disc off us, would this still be a problem?

The buyers do not know if it is taxed or not (we haven't agreed a price yet).

How do they drive away an untaxed car, if we decide to apply for a refund?

 

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As an aside there's a big market for old (banger) cars with 6 /12 tax and MOT (not suggesting your car is a banger Cathy!).  The buyers are usually young drivers or those whose insurance costs are very high.  They just drive the car without insurance 'til the tax runs out then scrap it.  The fines for driving without insurance are so low when compared to the insurance costs that it's a gamble they are willing to take.  Some of these drivers will offer to notify the DVLA on the seller's behalf but then don't bother - especially if they are going to use the car for illegal purposes - organised vandalism, breaking and entering etc.

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Interesting, Scooby.  That must be related to Teapot's comment.  The car is a big one (9 seater), worth about £2000 and has MOT and tax until August/Sept.  Would that fit in the category?

I am still desperate to know how someone can tax the car if we retain the disc.  This is important as we would like it sold quickly.

 

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Unless I had trade plates and a motor trader's insurance policy I would not buy a car without at least this month's road tax on it. It is too inconvinient.

If I went to see a car with road tax on it I would take the period of tax into account in the valuation of the car. If I took a car for a test drive with say three months tax on it  or simply inspected it and agreed a price and the owner then removed the tax disk I would probably walk away from the deal because if he or she is ripping me off on this what else have they done ?

Sorry if the above sounds a little harsh but that is how I feel.

 

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Thanks for all your comments - they are really helpful.  We have decided to say that the tax is a seperate issue to give us a chance to weigh up the buyers and see if they are likely to use the car illegally or not.  If they look fine and pay a decent price, they can have the tax included.

Now to sell the car (or not)....

EDIT: My husband reckons that our car is too much of a lumbering giant for potential criminals to want it....

 

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I don't understand why you are concerned about "weigh up the buyers and see if they are likely to use the car illegally or not."  If you are concerned about them using it without tax then if you follow the correct procedure it is not a concern for you.

The procedure is set out on the DVLA site:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/RegisteringAVehicle/DG_4022310

"Three part registration document V5

The

person selling the vehicle must complete 'your details' in the top

(blue) section. Both you and the seller need to sign the declaration.

It is the responsibility of the person selling the vehicle to send it

in to DVLA.
They should then hand you the V5/2 green section

appropriately filled in. The DVLA must be notified as soon as the

vehicle changes hands."

You will have the three part  V5.  If you follow the procedure then the buyer and yourself will have to sign for change of ownership which will include the date.  You send it off to the DVLA and your responsibility ends there. Any subsequent use, legal or illegal, is the responsibility of the buyer.

As far as the existing tax disc is concerned, it is a matter for you, as part of the deal, whether you leave the disc on or not.  It may form part of the bargain.  The new owners will have plenty of time to obtain a VEL and , in any case, although not showing a disc the vehicle will still be taxed to the end of the current month as , as has been said, you can only claim a refund from the start of the next complete month. 

Your claim for refund must be received by the DVLA (or postmarked) before midnight on the last day of the preceding month.

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[quote user="Weegie"]I don't understand why you are concerned about "weigh up the buyers and see if they are likely to use the car illegally or not."  If you are concerned about them using it without tax then if you follow the correct procedure it is not a concern for you.

The procedure is set out on the DVLA site:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/RegisteringAVehicle/DG_4022310

"Three part registration document V5

The

person selling the vehicle must complete 'your details' in the top

(blue) section. Both you and the seller need to sign the declaration.

It is the responsibility of the person selling the vehicle to send it

in to DVLA.
They should then hand you the V5/2 green section

appropriately filled in. The DVLA must be notified as soon as the

vehicle changes hands."

You will have the three part  V5.  If you follow the procedure then the buyer and yourself will have to sign for change of ownership which will include the date.  You send it off to the DVLA and your responsibility ends there. Any subsequent use, legal or illegal, is the responsibility of the buyer.

As far as the existing tax disc is concerned, it is a matter for you, as part of the deal, whether you leave the disc on or not.  It may form part of the bargain.  The new owners will have plenty of time to obtain a VEL and , in any case, although not showing a disc the vehicle will still be taxed to the end of the current month as , as has been said, you can only claim a refund from the start of the next complete month. 

Your claim for refund must be received by the DVLA (or postmarked) before midnight on the last day of the preceding month.

[/quote]

Exactly Weegie - it should be the seller that sends the declaration to the DVLA - so be very aware of the implications if the buyer offers to do it for you...

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[quote user="nomoss"]

[quote user="Weegie"]  although not showing a disc the vehicle will still be taxed to the end of the current month

[/quote]

But it is an offence not to display a current disc.

[/quote]

Yes it is but it will be the buyer's responsibility to make the necessary arrangements..

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Good advice everyone.  We didn't sell it so it's now on eBay for 7 days.

I sold a vintage-type car for a friend a couple of months ago on eBay and it was great fun.  We had about 200 people looking at it and the bidding went up and up during the last few minutes.  Someone from Switzerland even flew in to see it but a German bought it in the end.

 

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A bit of a mountain out of a molehill here I feel.

If you advertise it with tax you sell it with tax and if not you don't, as others have said it's the buyers problem not yours.

When you sell the vehicle you fill in the appropriate section of the V5, preferably with evidence that the new owner is giving you their correct details, a driving licence for instance. You then obtain from them a signed, dated AND timed receipt for it so from the moment you hand them the keys and they drive off it absolutely nothing more to do with you and anything it is involved in is no longer your responsibility.

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