Car tax

[Jerryjal]

I’m picking up my MS on Tuesday, it’s the very first time that I have bought brand new. Do Tesla tax the vehicle?
I know that there is zero cost but do they do it before collection or is it something that I have to sort out?

 

[Adopado]

It's done as part of the registration process so you shouldn't have to do anything ... but after a week or so it might be worth checking online ... mistakes happen!

 

[dan223]

I’m picking up my MS on Tuesday, it’s the very first time that I have bought brand new. Do Tesla tax the vehicle?
I know that there is zero cost but do they do it before collection or is it something that I have to sort out?

All cars are sold as “on the road” which includes everything you need to get on the road. This will include sorting out anything with car tax, though I’m not sure if they actually have to do anything as it’s free, I would suspect its automatic. Any other car that you do have to pay tax on though you will have it included in the on the road price, normally 12 months but some only do 6.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

The VED thing is a bit mad. I've owned zero VED cars for several years now, but you still have to renew the VED every year, even though there's no charge. Until they switched to doing this online, I used to go into our village post office to do it, and once mentioned that I felt a bit guilty, as presumably they didn't earn any revenue from issuing a zero VED. The lady told me they got paid a flat rate for each one they handled by DVLA, so she got paid the same for issuing a zero rate VED disc as a paid for one (this was back when we still had to display discs). This meant that, in reality, a zero VED car cost the government money each year. . .

 

[Jason71]

The VED thing is a bit mad. I've owned zero VED cars for several years now, but you still have to renew the VED every year, even though there's no charge. Until they switched to doing this online, I used to go into our village post office to do it, and once mentioned that I felt a bit guilty, as presumably they didn't earn any revenue from issuing a zero VED. The lady told me they got paid a flat rate for each one they handled by DVLA, so she got paid the same for issuing a zero rate VED disc as a paid for one (this was back when we still had to display discs). This meant that, in reality, a zero VED car cost the government money each year. . .

It used to be a way to make sure you had mot and insurance before you Could have the disc for your windscreen. They got rid of the disc and the insurance check so it's a bit pointless now. There are easier ways to confirm MOT. You still get fined though if you don't get your zero VED

 

[Jason71]

It's done as part of the registration process so you shouldn't have to do anything ... but after a week or so it might be worth checking online ... mistakes happen!

Easier still. If the v5 shows up its registered. If it's registered its taxed

 

[Neilman]

I can't remember if its the same evening on collection or the next day but in your online account there will be some PDF files one of which it the tax application Tesla do to register the car - its a screen grab of the computer that was used to register your car.
It takes another day or so for the registration to be accessible online.

 

[MrBadger]

If you are buying inventory or pre owned, or been hoodwinked, do double check. First registration, tax comes part of the process, but once registered, the onus is on the new owner to tax the vehicle as tax is non transferable. A couple of reports from people driving away with an untaxed vehicle in these circumstances - some not realising that they had bought a pre registered car. To maintain continuous registration, you then need to tax and insure annually (make sure you inform DVLA if you move otherwise you will not get a reminder), irrespective of the cost, or convert to SORN if no longer used.

 

[Foucault]

It used to be a way to make sure you had mot and insurance before you Could have the disc for your windscreen. They got rid of the disc and the insurance check so it's a bit pointless now. There are easier ways to confirm MOT. You still get fined though if you don't get your zero VED

The insurance check is still there but you don’t see it. The DVLA checks for your insurance against the imaginatively named Motor Insurance Database. I think this was originally set up to check for uninsured drivers but makes online VED renewal possible, as does online registration of MOTs.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

It’s an annual confirmation that the details of the owner are still correct and from its third birthday MOT is needed. Insurance checked along the way. ANPR and dynamically looking things up is far more reliable that a bit of paper in the windscreen, a police car camera can pick up a car that’s not been done from seeing the number plate at a distance.

First year VED can’t be done until the car is registered and as Tesla do that and aren’t always quick to do it, they’ll take care of it, it might even be part of the registration process.

 

[MrBadger]

The insurance check is still there but you don’t see it. The DVLA checks for your insurance against the imaginatively named Motor Insurance Database. I think this was originally set up to check for uninsured drivers but makes online VED renewal possible, as does online registration of MOTs.

Yes. You cannot tax your car unless your insurance and a valid MOT (if required) are in force for the day of Tax renewal.

My 0 VED ICE had its MOT expiry date a few days prior to end of month tax renewal which left things a bit tight if I left my MOT a bit late. So I renewed my VED again a few months later so that they would not coincide which did not cost anything du to 0 VED but might in other circumstances. Worth considering for anyone whose car is registered towards the end of the month as having an expired MOT when repairs are necessary can be a PITA.

 

[phil4]

I know that there is zero cost but do they do it before collection or is it something that I have to sort out?

Thanks for asking the question I'd wondered, but not got around to asking.

 

[Jason71]

The insurance check is still there but you don’t see it. The DVLA checks for your insurance against the imaginatively named Motor Insurance Database. I think this was originally set up to check for uninsured drivers but makes online VED renewal possible, as does online registration of MOTs.

Actually not true. There is no longer an insurance check at the point of taxing the car either on line or at the post office. It was done away with years ago. The update time for the MID is up to two weeks so there were a lot of people who could not tax their car because the mid was not up to date quickly enough so they did away with the check. So you can buy VED even if the car is not insured.
Instead of a single check at the point of tax insurance now checked continuously in the background so you can no longer get away with buying insurance taxing then cancelling the insurance.

 

[Jason71]

It’s an annual confirmation that the details of the owner are still correct and from its third birthday MOT is needed. Insurance checked along the way. ANPR and dynamically looking things up is far more reliable that a bit of paper in the windscreen, a police car camera can pick up a car that’s not been done from seeing the number plate at a distance.

First year VED can’t be done until the car is registered and as Tesla do that and aren’t always quick to do it, they’ll take care of it, it might even be part of the registration process.

it is part of the registration process you can't register the car without paying the VED all be it zero in this case.

 

[Jason71]

If you are buying inventory or pre owned, or been hoodwinked, do double check. First registration, tax comes part of the process, but once registered, the onus is on the new owner to tax the vehicle as tax is non transferable. A couple of reports from people driving away with an untaxed vehicle in these circumstances - some not realising that they had bought a pre registered car. To maintain continuous registration, you then need to tax and insure annually (make sure you inform DVLA if you move otherwise you will not get a reminder), irrespective of the cost, or convert to SORN if no longer used.

Even worse when the £350 additional rate applied this came as a bit of a shock since it was due on the second licence irrespective of the age which people did not realise. Fortunately now a thing of the past

 

[Jason71]

Yes. You cannot tax your car unless your insurance and a valid MOT (if required) are in force for the day of Tax renewal.

My 0 VED ICE had its MOT expiry date a few days prior to end of month tax renewal which left things a bit tight if I left my MOT a bit late. So I renewed my VED again a few months later so that they would not coincide which did not cost anything du to 0 VED but might in other circumstances. Worth considering for anyone whose car is registered towards the end of the month as having an expired MOT when repairs are necessary can be a PITA.

you can MOT your car and tax it an hour later there is a real time check on the MOT database which is good, but as you say still an issue if it fails. unlike the insurance which used to take up to 2 weeks to update. As I mentioned above insurance no longer checked at the point of taxation so you can tax your vehicle even if it is un-insured but I don't recommend it since they will still come after you down the line.

 

[Neilsbrae]

Just collected my Model 3 LR AWD yesterday, how log does the DVLA take to deliver the V5, I need to transfer my own plate.

 

[MrBadger]

Ours came by end of the week after collecting on the Saturday.

Refund on car tax of trade in also came equally quick.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Just collected my Model 3 LR AWD yesterday, how log does the DVLA take to deliver the V5, I need to transfer my own plate.

Mine was pretty quick, about a week IIRC. I had already had the new plates made up using the retention certificate, so had the reg changed over online, and the insurance amended, within half an hour of the V5 arriving. Being able to do this online, rather than waiting a week by post, or standing in a long queue at the local DVLA office (now closed anyway) is a lot easier and quicker.

 

[Jason71]

Just collected my Model 3 LR AWD yesterday, how log does the DVLA take to deliver the V5, I need to transfer my own plate.

The V5 would normally be printed over night and go in the post the next day i.e. today in your case so then its just a case of how long it takes for the Royal Mail to get it to you Monday or Tuesday would be my guess. They are pretty quick.

For info anything fully electronic is pretty quick with DVLA but send them anything on paper that needs a human to handle it right now and it will take a long long time to be processed due to COVID. So anything you can do online like keeper transfer or address change or private plate transfer for your own sanity do it online.

BTW do you have a plan for physically transferring your plates? standard plastic UK plates will not fit in the Tesla holders in case you are not aware.