4Motion, is it worth it??

reserves · Feb 3, 2015

andyinluton said:
The info is up to date, you have selected a 2010 model which had higher emissions the £485 is correct, a 2014 one is down to £285, hence my view that it may either affect used values in the future or some unsuspecting secondhand buyer will have a bit of a shock when they come to tax it.

Is this only 4 Motions, or for all Cali's? Ours is 2014 and cost ~~£285~~ £265

andyinluton · Feb 3, 2015

Having spent the last 1/2 hour looking back through old california brochures here are the results:
From the july 2012 brochure a 140 SE manual was in the £285 bracket along with all other SE variants apart from the DSG4M wich at CO2 of 232 tipped into the £485 band.

All brochures produced after that show reduced CO2 outputs for all models which gets the DSG4M down to the £285 and the manual 140 down to the £265 band.

Ours is a 140 manual and having checked the log book we are paying £265.

So the only one to avoid is a pre July 2012 DSG4M that wasn't registered as a Motor Caravan.

briwy · Feb 3, 2015

I thought the higher rate was for the initial first year and then it dropped to the lower one??

Having been in a lot of snow in the Pyrenees this week I am glad we went for the 4Motion.
Looking at other vehicles, including T5s, sliding around and getting stuck the 4wd was a boon.

andyinluton · Feb 3, 2015

The first year rate for a DSG4 motion in 2012 was £815 with a second year rate of £460 - the usual budget changes have upped that to £485 I remember it was about 2008 or 2009 that a lot of owners were successful in getting their californias reregistered as Motorhomes and getting TAX rebates on previous years road Tax.
I'm not sure when the Beach came out but I remember it costing more to Tax when it was introduced as because of the lack of sink & cooker it couldn't be registered as a Motorhome.

shambly · Feb 3, 2015

Ours is a 2012 4Motion DSG and we are paying £225 (classed as PLG)

andyinluton · Feb 3, 2015

Shambly I would suspect your log book states Motor Caravan then, if it states N1 as vehicle type you are registered as a van & subject to lower speed limits. I believe all new ones are registered as cars & use the emissions data to dictate which tax band it goes in.

When you start looking at Kombis and transporters it gets even more confusing - Kombis can be registered as vans & subject to lower van speed limits & taxed at £225 as a PLG but treated as a car for income tax purposes, or registered as a car with higher speed limits but up to £485 road tax

GrannyJen · Feb 3, 2015

I need to lie down. all this is taxing my brain ...... :sad

Sorry

I'll get my coat

shambly · Feb 3, 2015

andyinluton said:
Shambly I would suspect your log book states Motor Caravan then, if it states N1 as vehicle type you are registered as a van & subject to lower speed limits. I believe all new ones are registered as cars & use the emissions data to dictate which tax band it goes in.

When you start looking at Kombis and transporters it gets even more confusing - Kombis can be registered as vans & subject to lower van speed limits & taxed at £225 as a PLG but treated as a car for income tax purposes, or registered as a car with higher speed limits but up to £485 road tax

Yes, it is a Motor Caravan.

Motor caravans of our weight are exempted from the lower speed limits though

greenfintry · Feb 3, 2015

Not only tax confusion but also speed restrictions??!!

Totally confused by the A9 limits now for our van, 50 or 60 on single carriage and then 60 or 70 on dual carriage???

andyinluton · Feb 3, 2015

If its registered as a Motor Caravan or as a car (M1) then car limits apply. So 60 single carriageway 70 duel & Motorway.

If its been registered as a van (N1) then van limits apply. I don't think any Californias have been registered as vans since about 2009 by which time dvla (or rather the dealers registering the vehicles) got their act together, & any that were have probably now been corrected. It is more of a problem with camper conversions especially when carried out on a used van.

I've done plenty of research on this having been summoned for driving a coach built Motorhome based on a twin rear wheel transit - registered at 3.8tnne as a Motor Caravan but under 3005kg unladen at 70mph on a dual carriageway. I was correct & got it thrown out as car limits applied.

I might just for a laugh park the California somewhere that states no overnight parking for Motor Caravans & see what happens - mines registered as a car.....

graeme · Feb 7, 2015

having the 4WD removes doubts when considering entering a wet field or track. useful for us as we do a lot of wild camping. also use it to take my boy to play rugby since car park notoriously muddy with cars sliding all over.
when driving haven't really noticed it except in bad weather. driving over shap fell on the M6 during a violent storm the van just seemed to stick to the road like glue. felt very safe. Had no mechanical issues so far at 3 years old. possibly main downside economy. I struggle to get an average of 30mpg, but will drive it at 70 to 8 mph on motorways.