Spacewagon52

I accept Linas that you will not apologise for being wrong. You are very knowledgeable about cars and have contributed positively to many debates. Sadly you do not understand or see how you come across on a forum. You have rubbed-up more than me, particularly when you state opinion as fact. I am always prepared to hold my hands up if I have made a mistake - which I have in the past on this forum. It has already been mentioned that your posts can be blocked by members who do not wish to read your posts. The sad part, I feel Linas, is that people will begin to ignore your posts and comments. That would be a shame as I feel you have much to contribute to the website. Regarding what you say above - The system for ensuring cars are taxed, Mot'd and insured has become more robust, particularly with the use of ANPR cameras. The days when people could insure their car for a day, get the tax (without an MOT) and then cancel the insurance and run around, is becoming harder and so it should. Your gripe over taxation is you opinion, which many people will agree with. However, I do not. I am more than happy to pay my fair share of tax considering the excellent NHS healthcare I and my family have received in the past 10 years. The system, which has changed, is there for the benefit of the whole community. I will be blunt with you, this is an open forum so what I am saying is public, you are doing yourself no favours being so dogmatic and blatantly wrong without admitting to it. You must decide how you wish to respond in an open forum. I have no personal animosity towards you, I just felt you should have had the decency to apologise for your mistake. I think it needs to end here, as far as I am concerned. I do hope to read your comments on other matters of which your are knowledgeable.

I agree John, if you tax a vehicle then it must have an MOT and Insurance at the time you tax it. When the period of the tax runs out you MUST make a declaration. Choices - Tax it, SORN it, Sell it, Scrap it - but you MUST do one of these or you get fined like Steve did. Number plates missing or even if the vehicle is parked on the Moon makes no difference! I feel better for that! Cathartic! All I needed instead was a straight apology! That is life!

Yes, even if you do not have to "pay" road tax i.e. £0 - you still have to make the application!

Speed is the vital factor - if you have a similar crash at 40 mph and 150 mph the consequences can be more drammatic. This guy was apparently doing 150 miles an hour - legally in Germany. This footage made me cringe.

Good result regarding the stone. I would not be too worried about a rusty heat shield. That is a cracking car. If I were to replace my LS400 the GS450h would be at the top of my list.

You must insure and tax your vehicle if you do not have a SORN. If you do not, you’ll automatically be fined £80 for not having a SORN. There’s also a fine for having an uninsured vehicle. From the Government Website https://www.gov.uk/sorn-statutory-off-road-notification

That is interesting as I think I would prefer cloth - however the smell of a LS 400 leather - is very special!

You MUST turn the engine on John ..... on the back of an AA truck does not count!

That sounds better. MPG has so many variables it is hard to compare but I achieved 36 mpg (RX 400h) on a motorway trip from Bristol to Kent.

The technology is proven. The difficulty with Al - air batteries, they are like ordinary batteries you put in a torch. Once they are depleted they need to be changed. You can't charge them up. You need the infrastructure (through investment) to be able to swap these batteries. They are re-cyclable but not rechargeable! Car makers would have to fully come on board to make them a viable alternative to Lithium based batteries. Betamax / VHS situation!

I heard about this a while ago from a friend who keeps up with the latest technologies. The main point then was that the batteries would be so much cheaper to produce.

I don't think you understand how the DVLA system works. You MUST have Road Tax OR you MUST SORN the car if it is registered to you! You do not have a choice of doing nothing. Does this make it clearer?

My surprise John was that my 3.3 litre returns similar figures to a 2.5 4 cylinder.

Sorry Linas - I await your apology - I am NOT wrong. You either TAX a vehicle or you SORN it. If you do neither you will be fined.

If a car has no road tax, no MOT or no insurance OR any one of those is it classed as abandoned? I did put abandoned in parenthesis, meaning they just appear abandoned. How would you differentiate ?

Taking the number plate off the car would make no difference Linas. The car would be registered in Steve's name - if it was not on SORN then it is presumed it is being used on the road, so it should be taxed.

I have to take issue with this Linas. If you are saying that all uninsured, untaxed cars should be allowed to be parked on the public highway for free, then what might follow would be parking chaos. You may be lucky to have your own drive but imagine having to street park where lots of spaces are permanently taken up with "abandoned" cars. I am just thinking it through to its logical conclusion.

I am a little surprised it is as low as that to be honest. That compares with my RX 400h on a long run.

Thanks Paul - som ething to consider when the insurance runs out. Had a good reply from Honest John - thank you Roy of the Rovers!

Hindsight .......................... if only we knew!

Why do you feel you need a charger? Is the RX400h stood unused for long periods?

Thank you Dan!

Thank you Phil. We will probably go with the extra driver and sort out the insurance when the Beetle is sold. Retain the number plate first. 4-5 working days is not bad.

Please, please can you advise me of the best procedure for the following:- My daughter has a Beetle with a personalised plate P22BEX They want to "buy" my blue Lexus. Her insurance on the Beetle runs out in two weeks. She will want to get a new insurance quote for the Lexus. She wants to be able to have the Beetle insured so that it can be sold privately. What is the best way to proceed so they are not without a car? 1) Put the plate on retention first then Inform insurance company of plate change? 2) Wait for new V5C to arrive - then advertise car? 3) What then to do about insurance? There are various options, one is putting her husband on my insurance as a named driver? I am befuddled of the best (cheapest) course of for her and me to take? HELP PLEASE!

I would also be interested in your comments.