Update: And to be fair its no fault of Toyota's, the car is going to have a VAT rate of 23% and VRT of between 24% --> 32% which is emissions dependent. I just found on the inter webs its 160g/km for the GT86 which puts it at a VRT rate of 24% so looking at a price of 38k upwards. The worst thing being VRT is calculated at base cost + VAT! So we get taxed on tax , along with double taxation
Really! so 50% or so of the new car price is tax to the Irish government?
Unfortunately afaik know this is correct and the reason that the performance car market in Ireland is gone such as the high end Subaru's , Nissan's, Mazdas ie. RX-8 the list goes on and on. Its also the reason why in general the spec of car in Ireland is much lower for a similar price point as other European countries as the manufacturers try to get the model into the Irish market at a certain price bracket
This is also the same scenario for the price of petrol in ireland where 75% (roughly) goes to the goverment. The petrol station gets between 3-4 cents and the cost of it to them is in the 40cents bracket last time i checked the rest is duty, carbon tax and vat!
Irish motorists get the real run around. In the end its the state of our roads that annoys me I would be happy with all these taxes if our roads where drivable for the most part.
I think he should be trying to change the system to make it fairer and more sustainable. The current motor tax system is unfair especially for people with 07 cars that are identical to 08 but are paying tax that is in some cases 500+ more expensive! My parents fall into this category unfortunately with a Saab 93 1.9 TiD 650euro tax while 08 is 266euro i think. Then we have the vrt issue which is stifling the market as people cant afford to buy new cars. Cheaper cars a retail would mean a more frequent turn around as Ireland people before the recession like to change every 4ish years many after only a year or two. This meant that there was a great second hand market. We seen this with the scrappage scheme but well as we know the goverment are rather short sighted.
It was his fore bearers that set up the system and the vrt+vat issue has been there for years, its not however illegal but the EU has said that it is in conflict with a free market philosophy and should be phased out but this was before the current global meltdown so dont see it ending ever really.
So Leo should be ashamed of keeping a terrible set up system going and not making changes! Especially with the equal distribution of funds to rural councils for road maintenance. Too much money is pumped into the raods in the capital while rural roads get worse and cause accidents.
Anyways this should prob be in its own thread and not the ruining the excitement of the GT86 thread
Looks good and seem composed but still no AE86 for pure spectator enjoyment! They seem to still be very grippy even with those prius tyres or for some odd reason a lack of power!?
Now we know exactly what he meant. Pistonheads has uncovered the cheapest 86 model sold in Japan and discovered exactly why it’s almost £10,000 less than the UK version.
True purists will be thrilled. While people who thought they were purists might waver when they read the list of missing kit from the RC model, the cheapest of four versions on sale from April.
No cupholders is a good start, and no air con a necessary sacrifice for weight loss. Who needs front fogs anyway, and you can live without a boot lamp, or indeed an intake manifold cover. Plastic covering for the steering wheel and gear shifter isn’t ideal, but man-made materials have come on a long way since its forebear, the Corolla AE86. But no stereo, or indeed any speakers could be a stretch too far.
And when you take delivery, the wing mirrors, door handles and front and rear bumpers are in ‘foundation’, meaning they lack exterior paint finish.
But the biggest omission is our favourite. No alloys, but instead you ride on 16-inch steel wheels with 205/55 rubber, as opposed to 17-inch 215/45 tyres for the top-spec GT Limited.
All this slashes the price to just 1.9m Yen (£16,320). That’s compared to the £24,995 for the UK car when it arrives later in the year, the spec of which is much more in line with the JDM GT Limited (3m Yen), including 17-inch alloys, HID headlamps, LED running lights, dual-zone air con, aluminium pedals and cruise control.
According to the Japanese consumer website, the stripped back RC weighs 1,190kg compared to 1,230kg for the GT Limited, which is another reason not to go high spec. Disappointingly you do lose the limited slip diff.
However Toyota doesn’t expect Japanese buyers to stick to the showroom poverty spec. Customisation is the name of the game, and in the “spirit of the AE86”, according to the website, the personalisation starts with a bare-bones RC. But wouldn’t it be fun to keep it like that?
The alternative is the full-spec TRD (Toyota Racing Developments) makeover, revealed earlier this year in Tokyo, which included reworked suspension and 18-inch alloys. So, show off or purist? Let’s hope Toyota – and Subaru of course – expand the range so we get the choice here too.
I got a call from toyota with regard to my test drive looks like it aint gettin released here till june they guy was real nice saying if any other toyota caught my eye just give him a shout for a test drive , prius here i come hah
If you drool on your keyboard it may stop working.....
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and yes... it's turbocharged :woohoo:
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Driver Kouta Sasaki sounds up to the challenge too. "I'm determined to boost Subaru's challenge with the BRZ as it is a new car. The car certainly looks cool, so our mission is to match speed with appearance. I believe that'll result in a flood of BRZs around town. In this sense, I feel a lot is riding on our shoulders."
Check out all of the article and more pictures here: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=25246
