I have just recieved my reminder to tax my car ,and I noticed at the bottom right hand corner of the V11 it states that cars registered before 1st Jan 1960 do not require an MOT certificate, I would of thought that cars that old would be the ones that would need it most. more proof of bureaucratic stupidity. 
I suppose itās because itās highly unlikely that a car of that age would be used as a daily runaround but is more likely just to be used as a show car, which means that firstly it doesnāt cover a very high mileage, and secondly it is probably looked after far better than a 52 reg Mondeo or somesuch.
And donāt forget that pre 1974 cars get a free tax disc too. It is also a good way to get insurance premiums down if you are a young driver.
Or if you wanted a new car with no vehicle tax you could buy an electric or hybrid car, there are plenty about. VW 1.6 bluemotion, Volvo V40 or the Toyota Prius to name a few. There are over 2 million vehicles on the road now that donāt require tax, worse thing is they still need tax discs therefore taking money out of the system due to admin costs.
Slackbladder:
Or if you wanted a new car with no vehicle tax you could buy an electric or hybrid car, there are plenty about. VW 1.6 bluemotion, Volvo V40 or the Toyota Prius to name a few. There are over 2 million vehicles on the road now that donāt require tax, worse thing is they still need tax discs therefore taking money out of the system due to admin costs.
ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā donāt need a tax disc. 
there is talk about doing away with the tax discās altogether, the argument is that with all the anpr cameraās in use now they are becoming obsolete 
Yes, they donāt actually give you a proper MOT certificate any more, itās described as a āreceipt-style certificateā confirming that the test pass has been recorded on the DVLA database.
Santa:
And donāt forget that pre 1974 cars get a free tax disc too.
Being pedantic itās 1st Jan 1973. Also that date refers to the date of manufacture not registration.
mrpj:
Santa:
And donāt forget that pre 1974 cars get a free tax disc too.Being pedantic itās 1st Jan 1973. Also that date refers to the date of manufacture not registration.
Santa,you will be correct as from 1st April 2014
rocky 7:
I have just recieved my reminder to tax my car ,and I noticed at the bottom right hand corner of the V11 it states that cars registered before 1st Jan 1960 do not require an MOT certificate, I would of thought that cars that old would be the ones that would need it most. more proof of bureaucratic stupidity.
Just in case someone is willing to jog my memory, could I ask if there WAS an MOT test before 1st Jan, 1960?
Harry Monk:
I suppose itās because itās highly unlikely that a car of that age would be used as a daily runaround but is more likely just to be used as a show car, which means that firstly it doesnāt cover a very high mileage, and secondly it is probably looked after far better than a 52 reg Mondeo or somesuch.
I agree with you in principle Harry but, every car should be subject to an MOT annually, even classic cars can go wrong.
Well Rocky7 itās been that way since testing began and there have been no issues with it simply because owners of these vehicles maintain them to a high standard with the majority being better looked after than the wife!!!. Eddie.
Retired Old ā ā ā ā :
Just in case someone is willing to jog my memory, could I ask if there WAS an MOT test before 1st Jan, 1960?
No - It was first introduced in 1960 (not sure what date). It cost 7/6 (35p) and only applied to cars over 10 years old. The MOT for trucks came in 2 years later.
I remember my first one: I had an old Morris ex Post Office van. I parked on the forecourt of the garage and operated the lights and horn for the tester. He then drove it around and slammed on the brakes. As he wrote out the certificate he commented that the steering was a bit slack - You could move the wheel about 10 degrees before anything happened so I guess he was right. The whole thing took less than ten minutes.
They do not have road tax in Europe, they pay for the toll road on the motorway.
Ah yes, the old āTen-year Testā as we used to call it. Things were a bit slacker then, before Elf & Safety, no doubt.
Iām gutted, my bike was registered in 1963 so needs an MoT, got free road tax though.
My old car was registered in 1973 and I have to pay the full whack road tax over Ā£200 a year.
The truck I run at 11t cost less to insure and tax than the car!
Can anyone explain that?
Cheers
Paul
Sir +:
mrpj:
Santa:
And donāt forget that pre 1974 cars get a free tax disc too.Being pedantic itās 1st Jan 1973. Also that date refers to the date of manufacture not registration.
Santa,you will be correct as from 1st April 2014
Being pedantic again but I am afraid that Santa will never be correct on this one
All vehicles upon attaining 25 yrs from year of manufacture used to become tax (VED) exempt and V5 stamped historic vehicle but this was scrapped by the government in 1998. Any vehicle already classed as historic retained the historic vehicle status. the last date of manufacture to be classed as historic is therefore 31-12-1972
Owners of these vehicles must still apply for and display a disc but the amount shown is Ā£0.00
How many pedants can one thread take?
Sir +:
How many pedants can one thread take?
I must admit I had missed that change 
Sir +:
How many pedants can one thread take?
I stand corrected sir