October the 1st 2014 saw changes which made the display of the circular 'tax disc' in the windscreen obsolete. Along with the tax disc no longer being issued, the options of paying for the Vehicle Excise Duty now include a monthly, by 'Direct-Debit' option. But the biggest unseen change will come when you sell your C3. The new rules mean that road tax paid for won't carry over to the car with a new owner. When you buy a car, any existing Vehicle Excise Duty will be automatically refunded to the recorded keeper when DVLA receive the V5, which means the buyer will have to tax the car, no matter how much was left to run. That's a haggling point lost
You may no longer have a handy reminder in your windscreen showing when your cars Vehicle Excise Duty is due but the DVLA have given anyone access to the database, if you can supply the Registration number and the correct vehicle make.
You can check the status of your C3 'road tax' by clicking the link below:
https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/
and get a report like this:
- Vehicle Enquiry for VED (Road Tax)
The service was in Beta testing stage when the screen shot was taken, so the quantity of information, or the layout may change in the future.
The postal reminder will still be issued before the 6 or 12 month duration is about to expire. You can apply to tax your C3 online, here https://www.gov.uk/tax-disc, by phone on 0300 123 4321 at anywhere from 2p to 10p from landlines and from 10p to 40p from mobile phones.
To apply online or phone you'll need either:
- the 16 digit reference number on your vehicle tax renewal letter (V11)
- the 11 digit reference number on your log book (V5C)
- the 12 digit reference number on your New Keeper Supplement (V5C/2) if you've just bought the C3
What to do with your old Tax Discs? Well, a large number of them end up on eBay, go on, have a look here. You may just be sitting on a piece of paper worth more than your car
