This Loophole Could HALF Your Car Tax!

[@stuartwestmoreland6421]

I've got a x358 2008 and a Japanese import. Yes it's half the road tax of my 2006 UK x350.

[@Darcysdrive]

Amazing loophole isn’t it!

[@matthewjenkins1161]

Don't you lose far more on the insurance than you gain on the road tax? Gray imports always used to cost virtually double to insure last time I checked many years ago,, which put me off buying a Mitsubishi Pajero, which was literally identical to a Shogun, but double the insurance. If you bought a UK spec car registered before 23/3/2006 the tax would be £415. That was the top rate of tax until then, which I pay on my 2003 3 litre petrol X350.

[@stuartwestmoreland6421]

@matthewjenkins1161 No, my insurance is about the same for both cars.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

@@stuartwestmoreland6421 Check the ULEZ checker tool. I've just done this on the op's car which shows as requiring to pay to enter the zone, when UK spec cars are compliant. If your UK X350 were just a few months older, the tax would be £415.

[@thecycle2worker152]

@@matthewjenkins1161 not if they are on Classic insurance

[@zm321]

This has been common knowledge for years. Basically an import over 10 years old is taxed on the old engine size rate, ie above or below 1549cc. You really gain a big saving on large cars like this but lose out on some smaller engined stuff.

[@lewis72]

A 2005 UK-registered Jaguar XJR would _only_ cost £415/year anyway as it's pre 23rd March 2006. All pre 23rd March 2006 cars with CO2 above 225g/km, which would put them in groups L (£710/year) or M (£735/year) are in group K.

[@Darcysdrive]

Absolutely correct, however if my car was a 2008 car for example it would still be £345 as it’s a Japanese import

[@matthewjenkins1161]

@@Darcysdrive But it isn't, so you are saving just £70 on the road tax and a whole swathe of insurers won't even quote for a non-UK spec car, meaning it probably costs you far more overall, that an original UK market car.

[@Darcysdrive]

@ no you’re completely wrong mr know it all. You obviously didn’t watch the whole video either. It cost me £700 to insure, £300 cheaper than a quote for a UK car and £1000 cheaper than my BMW I had before.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

@@Darcysdrive I'm not completely wrong, because it is a fact many companies won't even quote for non-UK market cars (if made aware?). For some, that is going to mean missing out on the cheapest quotes. I couldn't even begin to consider saving £70 a year on road tax, with the massive downside of losing compliance for the growing number of emission zones across the UK. And what you said in the video, is that the quotes for the Japanese spec jag were down to £1000 from your parents address, after getting similar for UK cars from your own address. You've no idea upon renewal, if the unexpected savings on the Japanese spec Jag may have been matched or even exceeded with a UK car.

[@colinmoss7343]

Thanks for sharing . Nice Jag.

[@jaromor8808]

Before I laid my eyes on my current car in black I was obsessed with x350. Now I consider myself an x358-guy, but looking at your car reminds me of why I loved x350 so much.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

I have an early X350 which for me is the final beauty in the XJ lineup. I think the X358 placed a lot of modern touches that look to my eye totally out of place, on the X350's classic lines. My favorite XJ if I could afford a good one, would be a Series 3.

[@OscarHobson]

I got my first car in august after looking at insurance for months, it goes up the more you look it up! Even changing your name to include a middle name will put it lower, it's always better to choose a neighbours address to get a rough gauge at insurance, it'll eventually go down again though after 2 or 3 weeks, and the well known brands will come back I ended up getting a skoda fabia estate at £2.3k a year, for a 17year old it's an absolute steal

[@baronmilhaven11]

£2300 a year? For insurance?

[@Sonoranvista]

You haven't found a loophole, it's a regulation that has been law for 20 years, I have been importing American cars for years and taxing them at a reduced rate compared to official U.K cars

[@jwvanes3332]

You make great content with this car! Looking forward to the next video!

[@Darcysdrive]

Thank you!

[@oilburner225]

My daily drive is exempt from road tax and MOT, insurance for fully comp is just under £75 (limited to 30k miles per year). My car is 64 years old and ultra reliable, no computery crap involved. There's no way I would (or even afford) £350 per year. I appeciate the young man in this video obviously loves his Jaguar and probably has a well paid job but have to say he's still paying way over the odds. Goodness knows how much his insurance cost? Nonetheless this is a very informative video for those that wish to import from Japan, in fact I imported a Mitsubishi Delica from Japan around 20 years ago but there was no reduction in road tax at the time.

[@adrianduffen600]

Japanese spec cars are a lot higher. I worked on the S Type and the wiring harness on the Instrument panel was more than twice the diameter of all other markets! It caused some issues as it got in the way!

[@johnbellamy6449]

thanks Darcy , watch your other channel so have subscribed to this one as well and look forward to watching , the imported jag looks great .

[@Darcysdrive]

Awesome, thank you! 😁

[@graemepeters5717]

I've got a 1996 3.0l turbo-diesel Toyota Surf, which is a 'grey import' as it lived the first 8 years of its life in Japan. I've owned it for 20 years! My road-tax is £345 this year. For 5 years, my full-comp insurance was £160/yr. This year it jumped £100. I also added a bolt-on £20k accident cover to the 3rd party only cover, for when I drive other vehicles e.g. my sister's Audi TT, my brother's Range Rover. That cost £24 for the year (cheaper than a single day's cover for an additional vehicle added!). I'm over 60.

[@jugganaut33]

Fully comp insurance for £160? Thats bloody impressive.

[@graemepeters5717]

@@jugganaut33 Yep! For 5 years I talked them into renewing at the previous years price as there were companies on compare the meercat that were cheaper. This year, the renewal was still £50 less than the lowest other price, so I had to accept the increase.

[@2wheeledwillie395]

Great video Darcy 👍 very interesting and has got me looking at Japanese import cars!! 😂

[@davidbest1]

I’m 21 with an X250 Facelift XFR, definitely wish my road tax was only £340 quid🤣 beautiful jag anyway! Was looking at getting an X350 like yours before buying my 250

[@baylessnow]

I had a similar insurance 'con' with my insurer years ago, when I moved from a flat above a row of shops, to a flat on a road in the middle of the estate, literally a 10 minute walk between the two. I also then rented a council lockup for my car, so it was not kept on the road. This car was also nothing special, a Mk1 1979 Ford Fiesta! The reason for the £100+ increase was because I now lived on a more densely populated road and more people means more (statistically) of them are liable to have an accident/claim there! Then I knobbed off my insurer with a big red phone on wheels, and went to classic insurance with 'unlimited milage'. Same cover half the price!

[@jsouto77]

I see they are still not registering imports properly. Had a WRX Sti import about 15 years ago and it was registered as a 2.0 GL. You need specialist insurance for these though or....

[@pizzalover3]

Yep all imports are the same amount, £340 a year irrespective of where they came from.. Asia, USA etc. Only small downside is they won't be ULEZ compliant unless they're after 06. If it was a UK original car it would be.

[@owenb1t5014]

You can get a letter of conformity from the car manufacturer, send that on to TFL and they can update their system so your car is ULEZ compliant.

[@AndyK.1]

If it’s registered before 26? March 2006, you don’t have to pay the higher tax of ~£700

[@bally632]

I was just going to say the same, but you beat me to it 😅. There is no loophole and nothing to do with it being an import. If he'd bought a 2006 06 registered onwards it would be £700 regardless where it came from. I suppose as Darcy was only 4 when this was introduced we can't really expect him to know 😅.

[@Darcysdrive]

Whaaaat I didn’t realise that, though if you do some research on Japanese imports they definitely are cheaper for road tax

[@AndyK.1]

@@Darcysdrive You maybe saving in the order of £30/year if they haven’t got the CO figure on the logbook. The dvla have very limited info on your import. Just says Jaguar 4.2 petrol 2005 black.

[@AndyK.1]

MOT video soon I guess 😊

[@ivanfernyhough3851]

I said this last week.my 04 plate superv8 was just over 400 quid.i thought everyone new this lol.its why I wouldn't buy a petrol jag past a 55 plate.in fact 12 mths ago it was only around 300 quid or so.they don't guzzle petrol either,37 to the gallon on the motorway and I only payed just over 200 quid to insure it this year.

[@ConstantinSPurcea]

Cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 range between band A and M, however bands L and M only apply after 23 March 2006, so band K (which at the moment is £415) Includes cars with a CO2 figure over 225g/km but were registered before 23 March 2006. Band M for example is £735 at the moment, so if a car's production run was say 2004-2011, you could just buy an early 2006 model and pay (04,54,05,55,06 plates) and get the K band instead of M band, which could be the case for pretty much most normally aspirated petrol cars with a displacement of over 2.5L as they tend to emit that upper band of CO2 and get taxed through the roof.

[@Farney-gy1qo]

At 22/23, I had a New 1998 2 door Ford Escort GTi in Red, a Reliant Robin Pick up Truck, & a 1969 Singer Vogue (Hillman Hunter).

[@AurelioZen67]

At 21 I had a three year-old Lotus Europa TC. A dog.

[@G58]

I had a Honda CB250G5 and a Bond Bug.

[@kevinpalmer7452]

See you on the next one thanks for posting 🤙👌

[@Gazza3501]

I’m not sure where you are getting your figures from but you might want to research again because if your car is pre-March 2006 it’s in the sensible tax band. After that date it’s nearly double …..for a period…..

[@Adrian-fy7rd]

Glad someone got here first. Yep, them's the facts!

[@zm321]

Not if it's an import over 10 years old at the time of import..

[@davidbarrass5210]

Any vehicle up to feb 2006 is in a standard tax bracket regardless of engine size or import status. March 2006 to 2010 tax rates for larger engined cars are horrendous. As stated import status may change that though I am not aware of whether that is the case. Post 2010 I'm pretty sure tax rates are based Purely on emissions status, and even larger engined cars can be reasonably.

[@mattteee2973]

@@davidbarrass5210 its not any pre 2006 vehicle though? 2001 to 2006 its still co2 bands, with diesels being taxed more Pre-2001 its just the 2 normal cc based tax options, either below 1500cc or above. Pre 1984 (40yr rolling) its free If for some reason you like cars from the wrong millenium this import 'loophole' could be a handy way of not getting reamed for road tax. But its simpler to just buy a pre 2001 car and generally pay lower tax anyway- and in the case of xjr's get a much better looking car too.

[@JonDingle]

Insurance, its a postcode con. A friend of mine lives on the outskirts of Blackburn, Lancashire and he pays a few hundred quid for his fancy Skoda thing and he is 53. His daughter is just about 20 I think, drives a tiny 1litre tin can Aygo type thing and lives near to the centre of Blackburn and her insurance quote was up in the many thousands of £'s. Factor in the brokers who do feck all to help when you do need to make a claim, are geographically and technologically thick and you understand why they do nothing to help. Even the underwriters are unhelpful. I have yet to find in my almost 40years of driving a good insurance company. They just want your money. Nice Jaguar young squire!

[@JoJo-hc4dj]

Interesting video 👍🏼

[@VishalGupta-od5mf]

I absolutely love your car. Let me know if you ever plan to sell it, please. 🙏

[@fortnitefred1351]

Information CO2 is 0.04% of the atmosphere.

[@sputumtube]

Your road tax can also be half if you're registered as 'disabled'. You do have to apply though (it doesn't happen automatically) and have proof (e.g. Blue Badge etc.). I taxed my X-Type 3.0 Sovereign for £730 BEFORE I found out about it. Bugger!

[@matthewjenkins1161]

Swap it for a 2005 model and you'll be paying half of £415, saving well over £500 a year.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

And it needs noting if your car were UK spec, it would be ULEZ compliant, but your registration when checked isn't. Yes can can probably be sorted, but a big additional hassle.

[@brasherish]

Ask the insurers as to why your road is so expensive. What's the accident/claims history like in that post code as opposed to your parents road.

[@djtaylorutube]

I didn't need to do any of this with a 50 year old classic car and my 1995 Volvo 850. Already £0 and pre-CO2 testing. 😉

[@ParallelSyntax]

My twin turbo Legacy is surprisingly cheap too. I suppose this is why.

[@warishussain82]

Blimey!!! You got a good deal, mine is £771.75, it's a 2006 4.2 v8 sovereign 😂!!!!!!!

[@drewboy232]

Darcy, Japanese import so right hand drive bonus there, but is the speedo in km/h? Is it just an option to display in mph? XK8 owner so I'm not familiar with the XJR

[@Darcysdrive]

Luckily they also do MPH in Japan 🇯🇵

[@chrisbaker121924]

Not so much a loophole and more the regulations.

[@harpo7226]

Being an import isn’t your insurance more than standard.

[@Darcysdrive]

Nope hasn’t made a difference

[@fujimotosan9123]

Only if they are JDM, i.e. Toyota Century or Crown, but Japcover gives you a decent quote, not so horrible either

[@adamtarrington6541]

Lovely car and a good video, but the tax has nothing to do with being imported from Japan. The date of registration falls into the pre c02 tax bands in the uk aswell.

[@Darcysdrive]

That may be the case, but there is a massive reduction in tax for Japanese imports. Read the pinned comment, someone has a 2008 model Japanese import and it’s £340 to tax

[@rjj00]

​@@DarcysdriveNot if someone imports a 1.2. It works both ways so can be a massive increase on cars that may be low tax or even tax exempt

[@johnhardy4437]

Insurance wise its quite simply if the company doesn't have anyone on there books at that post code it puts in a high price....

[@djsyxx]

What you failed to mention is the car in question isn't ULEZ compliant. Meaning that if you live or drive in the zone for 30 days or more, that saving in road tax is negated. So not really saving any money there.

[@ultimobici.]

Wrong. XJR is Euro 4 so compliant. Most petrol cars post 2001 are compliant. Japanese imports also have lower VED than their UK registered counterparts. Both my 2005 Passat W8 and BMW 528 are lower tax and ulez compliant.

[@djsyxx]

@ultimobici. No you're wrong. Jap imports are hard to get emmissions data for. If you took that same jag but it was registered here, it would be automatically ULEZ compliant. Good luck getting a COC from Japan. It is not easy.

[@fujimotosan9123]

The highest benefit of a Japanese import is they have way stricter MOT requirements. Also they have 65mph/110kmh speed limit, which guarantees the cars are immaculate compared to UK average. It saves you thousands on future repairs. Do not buy anything from Hokkaido, they are the only of the islands, using salt on the roads

[@s9enny]

Any car 2006 and under what ever the emissions even uk car would be the same

[@f1remandg]

I have a 2003 3l XJ6 and pay £34.56p and i don’t pay the London tax as it’s not applicable due to the emissions!

[@roytyler8534]

You may possibly save on road tax, however you pay more for your cars insurance.

[@Darcysdrive]

No I don’t actually, it cost me £700 for the year. My newer BMW M235i I had before cost me £1750

[@roytyler8534]

@ you are comparing 🍎’s with 🍊’s I was saying UK car to Imported car same make/model … you’ll pay more!

[@Darcysdrive]

@@roytyler8534 actually no, I got a quote for £1000 on a UK spec one before looking at this car which was £300 less to insure 😊

[@CNDUK-q8r]

2005 SLK here! 2005 is a Road Tax loophole year, even if the car isn't brought from Japan.👍👍

[@grahamforbes3243]

Japanese spec XJs don’t have heated windscreens as standard which is essential for British winters

[@Darcysdrive]

Mine does luckily

[@malcolmlane-ley2044]

No and they’re not corroded through the use of salt on the road either so surely that’s a small price to pay as we have mild winters anyway.

[@stevenhunter5799]

Essential?! 🤔

[@blacktemplar2377]

That's a bit like American cars, if I'm not mistaken it can be cheaper to buy them from Poland and I wouldn't have thought it would've been as expensive to import them from there instead of from the united states.

[@jamesmcmahon7837]

Whatever you’ve saved on taxing it you’re gonna spent 10 times as much keeping a Jaguar road worthy 😂😂😂

[@Darcysdrive]

I couldn’t care less 😁

[@janheinink5387]

Complaining about road tax? Here in the Netherlands i pay almost € 1200,- per year. Here it has everything to do with the weight of the car.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

X350s are really light for their size, due to the aluminium monocoque construction. A V6 X350 is about 100kg lighter than the much smaller X-Type.

[@tabsntoot]

A regal looking steed

[@musiclights3897]

I'm a big fan of Japanese imports too (Volvo XC70). On your insurance, try clearing out your browser cookies between quotes...

[@peterwhitehouse5234]

Hi, can I, ask is it ulez exempt

[@rjj00]

I guess not because no emissions data on the V5C

[@andylaws4247]

The X350 is all aluminium bodyshell, so they don't rust anyway!

[@Darcysdrive]

Precisely! but aluminium can still corrode

[@davidwoodvine3491]

Steel subframes on the aluminium Jags still corrode

[@getawayhs2856]

But it'll cost £800 to get the Leaper removed. And it really must be removed.

[@Darcysdrive]

I love it, no chance that’s coming off

[@douglastodd1947]

@@Darcysdrive Illegal in UK unless it Boomerangs , spring Loaded mounting so it can fold onto its side or back on impact , as it can do real damage to someones Head or Face . Unbolt it put a touch paint of any chipped paint & 2 Rubber Grommets in Holes

[@vernongoodey5096]

Just 2 nuts and a 11 mm spanner

[@TimW-m9w]

@@Darcysdrive . The police told me I had to take my Jaguar mascot off the bonnet of my car as it was a safety concern for pedestrians been thrown onto the car

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

​@@TimW-m9w I think it depends on the age of the car.

[@HA05GER]

Insurance is just cheap on this sort of thing my mate had an early xj v8 sovereign and for his first car it was under £400 a year.

[@mikestinyshedofdreams]

Did you include the modifications to the exhaust and intake? Perhaps your road or postcode etc has a higher number of risky drivers living there? who knows how it works, there seems to be little reason for the prices quoted. These cars seem to be cheap to insure, I guess they are owned by lower risk drivers in general, I was shocked to see the cheapest quote for my SV8 came in at £160 fully comp! cheaper than all my other (much less powerful) vehicles.

[@Feilding8187]

That insurance is expensive, I've got a Honda accord 2.4 VTEC. 2005. £380, any driver. And low road tax.

[@Darcysdrive]

That’s great but how old are you? I’m 22 and this is a 4.2l V8 I think £700 is very reasonable!

[@Feilding8187]

@Darcysdrive my age doesn't come into it. All my vehicles are any driver, only need a UK driver licence. Classic cars are the cheapest vehicles to have. A friend has cars from the sixties/seventies. No tax, no MOT, insurance about £70 yr.

[@jonathonmanxrusby7762]

ANY CAR registered before 23 March 2006 is cheaper - the 'usual rate' on this, or ANY pre 23 March 2006 registered car is and will/would be £415/year .

[@Darcysdrive]

Yes that’s true, but this is a separate loop hole. Regardless of whether my car is before or after 2006 it would still be £345 to tax

[@rjj00]

​​@@DarcysdriveIt's not really a loophole it's very common knowledge. But good video

[@PJ-om2wq]

Is it ULEZ compliant?

[@1maico1]

No it's not, although it's always worth checking as there are anomalies. I had a 2.0L car made in 2000 which should be charged but isn't.

[@AndyK.1]

Thought petrol cars are.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

@@AndyK.1 If it were UK spec, it would be compliant. The point of saving £70 a year on road tax, when it comes with the downside of paying a chunk of that every single day it drives within an emissions zone is lost on me. Not just London. There are a dozen or so across the UK, with new ones appearing all the time.

[@PaulHoneywell-s2c]

My 2006 imported Jaguar XJ Super V8 is ULEZ compliant and half the road tax of a UK car

[@matthewjenkins1161]

@@PaulHoneywell-s2c Was it much grief to get that sorted? if it is after March 2006 you have a significant saving, otherwise it is £70 a year.

[@jammiedodger7040]

Road tax should be based on the weight of a vehicle not based on emissions.

[@davidknight1144]

Hi Darcy Join the Jaguar Enthusiast club The insurance will blow you away Ned XKR

[@evoermine]

You said it was £875 to insure on a comment on your other video about it?

[@Darcysdrive]

That was the quotes I was getting online. Since that video the renewal quote from my current insurer came through at only £700!

[@rjj00]

​@@DarcysdriveAdmiral?

[@johnhardy4437]

When your turning your head to the left to talk to camera its makeing me very nervous ..the other angle you have in the car is alot safer...

[@Pigdowndog]

Your spelling makes me just as nervous!

[@HA05GER]

I tell you what is a loophole is have a friend that gets disability free tax baby.

[@karltaylor7378]

I'll stick with the 1.5tdci mondeo. Free tax.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

The pain of living in Greater London is that all the affordable used free or cheap road tax cars, are non-ULEZ compliant diesels.

[@karltaylor7378]

@matthewjenkins1161 I'd up sticks and sell up, move out of ripoff londonistan and live somewhere nice. It's a win win. 🇬🇧👍

[@altvamp]

I think you mean halve!

[@anthonycurr3161]

Typical slack British law

[@TR4zest]

Halve, not half.

[@SANDSCORCHER]

It’s because it’s an ‘05 If it was an ‘06 (post March) the tax would be hundreds more Every MOT test is subject to a an emissions check and has been for years.

[@PaulHoneywell-s2c]

Not true. My Jaguar Super V8 is a Japanese import registered November 2006 and road tax is the same as Darcy's. It is also ULEZ compliant

[@darrenhall6509]

Lovely motor, but would not like to keep her in tyres. Especially the way you drive it...

[@Darcysdrive]

Not sure what you’re getting at

[@JohnnyMQB]

@@Darcysdrive basically he wouldnt like to pay to replace the tyres on it as it might cost a bit and he thinks they would wear out rather frequently due to your driving style.

[@Darcysdrive]

@@JohnnyMQBI see, I drive very leisurely 90% of the time. It just makes for a more interesting flyby to floor it!

[@JohnnyMQB]

​@@DarcysdriveYeah screw the tyre wear enjoy it and let that V8 sing

[@chrishart8548]

​@@Darcysdrivealso engines don't benefit from being driven carful all the time. An Italian tune does the world of good.

[@SI13O14GF]

Jaaaaag

[@Camrocok]

Bullshit headline. Not a loophole it is the age.

[@Darcysdrive]

No that’s wrong, if this car was a 2008 it would still cost £345 because it is a Japanese import. I’m not making this shit up do your research. I’m aware that because of the age of it was a uk car it would be 400 and something to tax but it’s still cheaper as it’s an import

[@Darcysdrive]

Read the pinned comment

[@willdatsun]

knew about this, not really a loophole , you have no control over it. hyrbid Yaris £0 tax. Import yaris £345. grr