To people who love old cars, the term ‘classic car’ covers a huge range of vehicles and eras. Yes, the public’s idea of a stereotypical classic might be something like an original 1960s Mini or Jaguar E-type, but to the people involved with old cars, it might just as easily apply to a Japanese car made in the mid 1990s.
That’s because there is no defined age criteria for classic cars within the classic community. But there is in the eyes of the British government. In the 2014 Budget, a 40-year rolling exemption from VED (vehicle excise duty, or ‘road tax’) was introduced, meaning that, at the time of writing, cars constructed before January 1981 don’t need to pay to use UK roads.
Many classic car fans feel this is unfair because it excludes many cars from the 1980s and 1990s that are as well kept and sparingly used as an older MGB that does qualify for the exemption. The red Porsche 911 Turbo pictured above, for example, is currently for sale at Hexagon for £199,995, making it worth £50k more than a brand new 911 Turbo, yet it isn't considered a classic by the UK government.
Classic and Sports Car recently reported that 13,000 people signed a petition asking the government to reduce the eligibility criteria from 40 years to 30 years to include enthusiasts who own more recent classics, like the original Mazda MX-5 or the Audi quattro, seen below. But the government turned down the appeal.
“The government considers that classic vehicles are an important part of the country’s historical and cultural heritage,” said a statement, striking a positive tone. But it also made clear “there are no current plans to reduce the tax exemption age for classic cars from 40 to 30 years. The government has set 40 years as being a fair cut-off date to distinguish classic cars from old cars.”
But as some fans of modern classics have rightly pointed out, when the VED exemption for classic cars was first introduced in the 1990s it applied to cars over 25 year old, making the current 40-year cut-off appear rather less than ‘fair’.
Keyword: UK Government sticks to 40-year rule for classic car status