‘I drive 700 miles a yr and pay £790 in tax!’… ‘It’s past stupidity’: Fed-up motorists reveal how they’re being pressured to scrap their dependable older vehicles due to Labour’s unrelenting tax grabs

Drivers are being forced to scrap perfectly roadworthy cars because the cost to tax them has become so astronomically expensive.

Cars between nine and 20 years old that are in faultless mechanical order and passing MOT tests with no advisories are being rendered uneconomical to run by Labour’s unrelenting tax hikes.

Many are family cars that should be offering hard-up households years of affordable motoring but instead cost up to £790 a year simply to tax.

A string of fed-up motorists contacted the Daily Mail to tell us how reliable older cars are being taxed off the road, ranging from Saabs and Mazdas to Mercedes and Jaguars. 

These are often cars now worth just a few thousand pounds that are charged almost four times as much in tax as a newer Lamborghini or Ferrari – which can be twice as polluting.

Others are cherished modern classics that are rapidly depleting in numbers because of the financial strain of keeping them running.

Retired engineer Fred Whittaker, 79, who owns two Jaguars that cost £445 each in tax every year, said: ‘I reckon many of these cars will end up being scrapped long before their condition warrants it.’

The issue stems from a toxic combination of outdated rules on vehicle excise duty (VED) – commonly known as road or car tax – and Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ persistent rate increases to bolster Treasury coffers, the latest of which came at the beginning of the month.

We’ve spoken to a dozen of the motorists who have contacted us in their droves to lament the fact their dependable and treasured cars are being priced off the road by an unfair tax system.

Why are cars being taxed so much? 

For cars first registered between March 2001 and the end of March 2017, the amount of VED levied is based on a banded system determined by the carbon emissions of the vehicle. Originally, this consisted of bands A to K, with bigger polluters facing steeper costs.

Controversial changes in April 2006 saw the government introduce two new upper bands – L and M – to impose bigger annual charges on cars that produce more than 225 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometre.

The intention was to snare gas guzzling ‘Chelsea tractor’ SUVs, which were gaining popularity amidst escalating concerns about their environmental impact. 

But it also captured a variety of popular large family cars, as well as some high-performance – but affordable – models that have now become collector’s items.

This system was replaced in April 2017 by new VED rules with a flat rate charge, though older motors are still taxed by the previous policy.

Yet the VED rates for older cars continue to increase annually in-line with Retail Price Index (RPI), despite the vehicles they apply to falling in value, with many worth hundreds rather than thousands of pounds today.

Reeves’ latest hike to VED rates on April 1 this year means cars registered from March 23, 2006 to March 31, 2017 that sit in VED bands L (226 to 255g/km CO2) and M (over 225g/km CO2) cost £760 and £790 to tax per year, respectively.

These are eye-watering costs compared to the flat rate of tax levied on models registered after April 2017. 

Contentiously, even Aston Martin supercars and Bentley limousines registered after this date are levied at the current ‘standard rate’ of £200 a year – the same as a Ford Focus family hatchback. 

Even more shocking is that older vehicles registered before March 2001 – which are inherently more polluting – are also often cheaper to tax.

Pre-March 2001 models with an engine of less than 1,549cc are taxed at £230 a year, while those with a cubic capacity above this – irrespective of whether they are a Renault or a Rolls-Royce – are charged £375 annually.

Many of these cars will end up being scrapped

Graham Hoyle, 76, who cares for his wife, says he bought his 2.0-litre petrol Saab 9-5 Estate just two years ago and the VED has now surged to £760 annually.

He had bought the estate to replace a trusty 1.9-litre diesel Saab 9-5 Saloon, which Graham says he loved but reluctantly had to sell because he needed more luggage space when his wife suddenly needed to use a wheelchair.

He says: ‘I thought getting rid of the dirty diesel and replacing it with a cleaner petrol would be a good idea for me financially and for the environment. I never thought for one moment that it would be twice as expensive in VED. It came as a big shock when I went to tax it.’ 

He added: ‘Last year, we did a grand total of 635 miles in it, mainly for doctor or hospital appointments. Tax worked out at something like £1.16 a mile before fuel, insurance, maintenance and MOT costs on top.’

When we asked if he might need to sell or scrap the Saab soon, Graham said: ‘It makes no sense to destroy this perfectly sound and beautiful car.’

Meanwhile, 79-year-old Fred Whittaker has three cars on his driveway that illustrate the illogical tax system. The 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake estate is his daily driver because he also needs to transport a wheelchair for his wife and it’s the only one with a large enough boot space.

The 3.0-litre diesel is taxed at a standard rate of £200 a year, levied under the latest VED system.

In contrast, his older petrol cars – which are enthusiast models doing low mileage – are much more expensive to keep on the road.

‘We have a 2003 Jaguar XK8 4.2-litre petrol and a 2001 MGF 1.8-litre petrol, both of which fall into the pre-2006 VED band K, which is now costing us £445 a year each.’

Fred says he had planned to replace the XK8 with a more powerful XKR produced from 2006. But that was before he noticed the newer model would sit in the post-2016 tax band M, which would cost £790 to tax on an annual basis. 

He says: ‘It is not surprising that these later “better” cars are plummeting in value compared to slightly older, though similar, models like my XK8. 

‘These are cars which, on the whole, are in the collectors car bracket, and therefore do relatively low mileages.’

I do less than 800 miles a year but pay £790 in tax

Michael, 52, from Woking, is a civil engineer who runs a 2010 Mazda RX8 – a car already considered a modern classic by petrolheads due to its unique rotary engine.

But because it was registered after April 2016, it falls into the highest tax band for cars of this era, meaning a £790 VED outlay.

‘It’s a weekend car and I typically do 700 to 800 miles a year, so it’s costing me £1 per mile in tax alone.

‘It makes little sense that an earlier 2005-registered RX8 – which produces the same CO2 emissions – falls into the lower VED band K, which is £445.’

Michael also has an electric Volkswagen e-Golf, which he uses on a daily basis. 

Up until last year it was free to tax but now costs £200 under new rules ushered in by the Chancellor in April 2025.

But with its value – like most electric cars – plummeting and the threat of pay-per-mile tax being introduced for EVs from 2028, he questions how long it will be before he’s paying more to tax the Golf than a 2005-registered RX8.

‘The whole VED system is unfair and needs a good shake up,’ he says.

Too expensive to run and almost impossible to sell

Owners of cars that are between nine and 20 years old typically fall into one of two groups: cash-strapped families who can’t afford to replace them with newer models and enthusiasts who collect and treasure them.

For the former, the cost to tax these cars per year is becoming more than the vehicles are worth.

If low income drivers can’t stump up the excessive annual VED amounts, the Government provides a monthly payment solution that allows them to spread the cost – but this comes at a higher price.

Paying 12 direct debit installments triggers a 5 per cent premium. For tax bands L and M, this pushes the annual cost to an eye-watering £798 and £829.50, respectively.

Such astronomical repeat costs have made these cars both unaffordable to run but also impossible to sell.

Dealers and knowledgeable buyers are now steering clear of these vehicles – or offering derisory amounts to take them in part exchange – due to the tremendous tax bills associated to keeping them on the road.

And it comes at a time when Britons are desperate to hold on to their vehicles for longer.

Tightening household budgets – which will constrict further as the conflict in the Middle East continues – and people refusing to switch to EVs and tech-laden modern cars has meant motors are generally older than ever.

The average age of cars in the UK is nearly ten years, according to analysis by the RAC Foundation. This is up from an average of just seven years a decade earlier.

Clean enough for ULEZ but a massive tax bill

James Anderson, 82, a retired teacher from East Yorkshire is the proud owner of a 2010 Jaguar XK soft top.

‘I purchased it in 2016 as a hobby car. My wife calls it the Growler,’ he explains.

While the Jaguar produces a potent 380bhp and emits 264g/km CO2 – placing it in the highest M tax band at a rate of £790 a year – the engine meets Euro 5 standards. This means it is deemed clean enough to be exempt from London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone and Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone.

‘We do between 2,000 and 4,000 miles in it each year, mostly in the summer months. 

‘If I paid the VED bill on a monthly Direct Debit, it would work out at £830 for a year.

‘The only way to make the Jaguar affordable is by SORN’ing it for the winter months when we don’t use it.’ 

Car owners can make a legal declaration in the UK to the DVLA stating a vehicle is not used on public roads, which means tax and insurance payments can be put on pause. This is known as a Statutory Off Road Notification.

My car’s done 6,000 miles but I may have to scrap it

Derek Thomas, 80, a retired sales rep who lives near Falmouth in Cornwall, says he will soon have to scrap his 13-year-old high-performance Mercedes due to its eye-watering annual VED bill.

‘I bought my 13-plate [2013] C63AMG in 2014 and it has only done 6,000 miles. It’s in pristine condition but will soon have to be scrapped after this year’s £790 sting. It’s beyond stupidity.’

But it isn’t just owners of powerful sports cars that are taking a financial hammering from the old VED system.  

Frederick Little, 82, a retired joiner from Filey near Scarborough, purchased a 2006 Ford Focus two months ago with 59,000 miles on the clock. He bought it as a cheap solution for him to visit his son in York, who has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

‘I thought it would be the ideal car: comfortable, reliable and inexpensive,’ he explained.

But little did he realise that the 2.0-litre petrol engine’s 192g/km CO2 emissions placed it in VED band J and therefore costs £410 a year to tax.

‘To pay such high tax on a normal car like this is absolutely unacceptable.’

John White also contacted us to say he had recently scrapped his 2006 diesel Land Rover Discovery 3. 

‘For years, I had used it for towing a four-berth sailboat, a caravan and a four-bike carrier – it was the best vehicle for the job.

‘But with road tax of £790 and with ULEZ restrictions on older diesel cars, it became a financial burden. Mechanically, it would easily have been good for another 20 years.’

Matt Baldry emailed to say he has a 2007 Mercedes SLK AMG55 sports car that was first registered in 2007 and now costs him £790 to tax for 12 months. 

‘I know many would say a car like this is an irrelevant indulgence, but it is something I like to use for rare summer days and holidays. As such, it does 2,000 miles a year at most, so paying £790 a year for road tax, whichever way you look at, is astronomical.

‘What makes me laugh even more is that the car is ULEZ compliant!’

Matt told the Daily Mail he thinks it is ‘criminal’ that the Government wants to drive cars of this age off the road, especially those that are perfectly serviceable. 

‘This all smacks of yet another way of grabbing money from the driving community and forcing them into unnecessary cost of changing cars,’ he added.

One reader, who provided only his first name, Trevor, told us that he had been forced to part with his ‘wonderful’ 2009 Jaguar XKR, which had just 52,000 miles on the clock.

Because the car was used sparingly at less than 800 miles a year, Trevor said the car was costing him nearly £1 a mile in VED.

‘It was just not viable for me to run anymore, so I sold it via an online auction at well below its true value. Hopefully whoever purchased it uses the car more than I did to get better value out of the ridiculous VED cost.’

Trevor adds: ‘What really galls is that with the low miles-per-gallon from its thirsty engine means I was already paying substantially to the Treasury via fuel duty on every litre. Getting hit with high fuel and road tax costs combined was just too much to stomach.’

Martin Kenworth, 80, a retired university lecturer from Leicester, explained that he had to sell his 2006 BMW coupe because it had become too expensive to tax.

‘I bought the car secondhand in 2013. But as a retired pensioner living on a fixed income and averaging just 4,000 miles a year, I simply could no longer afford the £760-a-year tax bill.

‘I had it regularly serviced and it was still perfect to drive. Yet I got very little for it when I parted ways with the car.

‘It makes me very angry because there was nothing wrong with it. What is more frustrating is that modern cars of a similar size and power can be driven for over 100,000 miles a year and be charged just £200 in road tax.’

He added: ‘The system is ludicrous and needs revising so that families with low income who cannot afford new cars, and people like me who clock up well below average annual mileage, get a fairer deal.’

The Daily Mail and This is Money contacted the Treasury asking if it is considering making any future changes to the VED system for these ageing cars to spare low-income households a significant financial burden and prevent hundreds of thousands of vehicles from needlessly being scrapped.

An HM Treasury spokesman said it keeps all taxes under review but suggested no changes were in the pipeline for VED levied on older cars.

He said: ‘Since 2001, the tax system has encouraged the uptake of cars with low carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions to help meet the UK’s legally binding climate targets.

‘Cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay VED annually according to CO2 emissions.’