ADVICE COLUMN:Answering all your motoring queries is Michael McAleer
From Tony McDermott: I have been told that the Isuzu D-Max Stallion Crew Cab has a VRT of €50, and an annual road tax of €277. I presume this is because it falls into category C of vehicles and qualifies as a commercial.
However, it has rear seats, four doors, child locks on the rear doors and Isofix child seat mounting in the rear. Can you please clarify the classification and explain why it qualifies as commercial (if it does) when it has rear seats and doors etc?
The same applies to the Nissan Navara apparently, and in both instances it is down to what can only be described as a tax loophole.
It's to do with the fact that the cargo area is outside the main cabin. In what seems like a total hypocrisy to Government strategy, part of the criteria for it qualifying is that it's so big and heavy. It's sold as a "crew cab" so it can carry workers and a cargo to a job.
You have, of course, spotted the anomaly, that not many building sites employ staff that need to travel in babyseats, at least not in these recessionary times.
It all comes down to the legal definition of a crew cab. According to a spokesman for Revenue Commissioners, this means a vehicle that comprises a cab, with seating for a driver and a minimum of three and a maximum of six other persons, and an area to the rear of the cab that is designed, constructed or adapted exclusively for the carriage of goods and which area: "is completely and permanently separated from the cab by a rigid partition; and has a floor length that is not less than 45 per cent of the wheel base."
When the vehicle meets the above criteria it can be classified as a commercial crew cab and, depending on the gross vehicle weight, will attract 13.3 per cent Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). However, if its gross vehicle weight is 3,500kg or more, the VRT falls to a flat rate of €50.
In both instances the importers of Isuzu and Nissan have adapted their vehicles to qualify for these taxes.
The irony is clear - you can get a 3.5 tonne, 2.5-litre pick-up for €23,634 and pay road tax of €277. That's less than you pay on a 1.2-litre VW Polo, but it has similar emissions to a Mercedes S-Class.
What's more, as it weighs 3,500kg exactly, it manages to scrape into Category B for driving licences, so anyone with a regular car licence can drive it. All in a land where apparently the Green Party has some role in Government.
It's a loophole, and a similar one led to a rush towards larger pick-ups in the US market in the 1990s, that in turn led to the popularity of large, thirsty vehicles. That, in turn, has played its part in the problems faced by the US car industry today.
The good news is that no one is going to produce vehicles specifically for the Irish market; loophole or not, we're too small.
From LH: I've won a new Mitsubishi car in a prize draw. The retail price of the car is advertised at €12,795 on the garage's website.
The garage has said that I must register the car within the week, which means that it will be a 2008 reg as opposed to 2009, and has offered me €8,500 cash as an alternative to taking the car.
Is this a reasonable offer, and what is your advice in this matter?
Before we go any further: congratulations. Even if you take the cash, €8,500 is a good windfall in the current climate. I take it from the price that the car is a Colt.
You would need to check the terms and conditions of the competition carefully, as it probably states that the car must be registered in the coming weeks and that no cash alternative is offered. Those are usually included in the stipulations on car competitions.
That means the dealer is not obliged to offer you the cash alternative. In reality, you should make more for the car on the open market, but that means taking the risk. As you know, there are plenty of used cars out there at present, and good bargains abound for buyers.
If you are not in a rush to cash in, I suggest you take the car and try to sell privately.
If you want to play it safe, accept the offer. After all, it's still €8,500 of a windfall.