Top 10: Tax-free cars for 2017
With the Historic Vehicle taxation class for Vehicle Excise Duty on a 40-year rolling system, April 1st sees all vehicles built prior to January 1977 being eligible for ‘free tax’. And as it’s based on date of manufacture rather than registration, a car registered in the first few weeks of ’77 could still be eligible – as long as its owner can prove the build date.
To get your 1976 car reclassified as a Historic Vehicle, you’ll need to contact the DVLA and arrange for its taxation class to be changed. Once that’s done, you’re entitled to VED without paying a penny. So... which of today’s classics launched into the UK in 1976 are now potentially ‘tax-free’ in their earliest guise? We check out ten of our favourites.
By Paul Guinness, Contributor
Mon, 30 Jan 2017
Ford Escort RS2000 MkII
Biggest news from Ford for 1976 was the launch of its crucial new Fiesta; but as it wasn’t due in the UK until the following year, we’re not including it here. In its place is something rather exciting, in the unmistakable shape of the second-generation Escort RS2000, which (like its RS Mexico stablemate) hit the streets of Britain in ’76. The RS2000 was the sporting flagship of the MkII Escort range, a model that looked the part thanks to its unique sloping nose and quad lamps; and with 110bhp from its 1993cc Pinto engine, the RS2000 was also one of the quickest saloons in its class.
NickNike on 6 February 2017
I was talking to an American at a one week conference in London in 1980 who was selling his TR7 as soon as he got back to the US. He said the reliability was so bad, all American owners were trying to sell them. Pity, as it sold like hot cakes in the US to start with.cheshiredolphin on 6 February 2017
This car was possibly one of the worst that Renault ever built. The engine sounded like a bacon slicer, the doors were thin and tinny and it wouldn't have pulled the skin of a rice pudding. I bought one new and got rid of it after 5 weeks. Classic? not a word I would use to describe this apology of a car.KenScotland on 7 February 2017
I'd almost forgotten my wife's Renault 14. It looked great in silver with black "shading" down the top of the front wing. Plush red upholstery and a "fabric" sun roof that went so far back that our "14" was almost a convertible". It ran well and was the first car we ever took to France on a 3 week touring holiday in 1980.I was driving a Mazda 323 as my company car at the time and although rugged and practical we both preferred the Renault for its good looks and great drive. Ken, Scotland
b morris on 8 February 2017
I had a v8 from new . It had a terrific engine but the rest of the car fell to pieces . It leaked through the windscreen and the brakes were useless. My second worst car. The worst was an 1800 morris marinasirenawander on 17 June 2023
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In 1980, during a week-long conference held in London, I had a conversation with an American participant who planned to sell his TR7 immediately upon his return to the States. According to him, the vehicle's poor reliability was causing a wave of dissatisfaction among American owners, with many attempting to unload them. It's a shame, considering the initial robust sales in the US. On an unrelated note, if you're interested in machine learning software development, you might find this link helpful: anadea.info/services/machine-learning-software-dev...t.hytsonn@proton.me on 18 September 2023
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