Road user charges: the more eco your small diesel car is, the more you are penalised per litre of fuel as RUC is calculated per kilometer. So your small diesel Volkswagen bluemotion does heaps of kilometers per litre of diesel. So it is paying the same as someone driving a toureg V10 Diesel for the same distance travelled but has only used one third of the fuel.
johnn,
Jan 22, 10:53pm
That is why it is called road user charges, otherwise it would be called diesel charges & you would pay by the litre. If you think about it it then it is really the people that drive economic petrol cars over big cars that are being penalised unfairly.
neo_psy,
Jan 22, 10:55pm
I've heard it's not worth getting a small to midsize Euro diesel unless you do massive Ks - kinds like LPG, I suppose.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 22, 11:13pm
Always do the math, spreading rumours causes other people to take it as gospel and wind up wasting a lot of money.
Not meaning to be harsh but you need to ALWAYS do your own math for the particular circumstances and vehicle. I have seen so many people rush out and waste money based on hearsay like that.
mrfxit,
Jan 22, 11:42pm
It's what you NEED it for, is more of an issue.
No point in buying a Surf/ if it's only to take the kids to Kindy & get grocerys.
My Surf's treated as an allrounder Kid carter 4x4 play toy Eco tripper (day by day cheap) Rubbish carter House contents shifter Tree remover Trailer towing (yes small & BIG loads) Tool shed STAY DA FRICK OUT OF MY WAY general transport
etc etc
Even been used as a panel beating anchor for pulling panels straight
bigjerry,
Jan 22, 11:49pm
yep.my hilux is 580 to register, plus r.u.c. after a year the wifes commy is cheaper to run. albeit she uses it for shopping runs. Diesel isnt even cheap at the pump these days.
Even a tiny VW Polo is still 15% better off on annual running costs at present if its a Diesel and thats assuming just 288km a week being about the typical national average.
Theres not even a $580 figure within ANY part of the rego OR licence fee's
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 22, 11:58pm
The Hilux is always a bad example. They use archaic technology, require ridiculously frequent maintenance and are not even very efficient.
Same goes with most of the sad attempts the Japanese made at diesel engines before the mid part of last decade.
im_andrew,
Jan 23, 12:04am
Well get a smaller small diesel then. RUC is taxed by weight and KMs done, Its the fairest way of doing it. Why the hell should vehicles that weigh the same and use more fuel be taxed more! They are already getting arseholed at the pump.
vtecintegra,
Jan 23, 12:05am
They are extremely durable and reliable though, well at least the more basic models like the 2.8 non-turbo.
There is a reason they were the 'Toyota wars' after all.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 23, 12:15am
I disagree, they are not comparatively reliable at all, especially given how simple the design is. The number I have seen come and go from my friends workshop has been appalling.
I think the reason they were popular is because they were only competing against other even worse Asian diesels. There were really no cheap European Diesel Utes etc on the market at the time, in fact just about no European Utes at all.
BTW, I am not intentionally asian bashing here, its just a product of their emission laws etc. They had no incentive to put money into improving their diesels until very recently.
I do agree the Hilux itself is durable tough, no doubt about it. If it had decent engines available it would have really been quite something.
tui4u,
Jan 23, 12:29am
My Nissan Navara 2.3 TD has travelled 560,000 km without a spanner on the motor, and is still going strong. As it is a jap import, the speedo was probably wound back too. I would consider that to be reasonable reliable.
yendor,
Jan 23, 12:40am
"STAY DA FRICK OUT OF MY WAY general transport" Unfortunately that is the attitude of so many 4x4 drivers.
franc123,
Jan 23, 12:57am
It will be $596 its a ute, a Surf shouldn't be but even those have been mistakenly registered as goods vehicles in the past, it happens more often than you'd think.There was apparantly a batch of Pajero Juniors that were incorrectly registered about 12 years ago, which wasn't discovered until the current buttreaming price structure was introduced.Pays to check!
franc123,
Jan 23, 1:01am
If its one of those old crappy 2.4 diesel Surfs that comment applies to the vehicle behind, more like GET OUT OF MY WAY, STOP HOLDING ME UP AND TAKE YOUR FRICKEN CLOUD OF BLACK SMOKE WITH YOU!And don't use full throttle, it isn't going to make it go any faster LMAO.
mrfxit,
Jan 23, 1:11am
IF it's been licenced as a "PRIVATE vehicle" & NOT licemced for business use, then THAT example will be $417.73 for 12 months
Most Surf size & style vehicles in private usage are generally classed in the "station wagon" category.
Mines an 88 Surf 2 door, with the canopy it's classed as a station wagon, without it's classed as a utility. Either way ir's still licenced for the same amount because of it's weight & for private use only.
Considering most later model versions of the Surf, including the Prado'sare smaller bodys, then why would a later model be charged at "bigjerry's" example of $580 instead of my real cost of $417.73. Presuming his is also for private use!
mrfxit,
Jan 23, 1:16am
LOL . UP your's too Mine don't smoke Local garage has often commented it goes really well for the age & size. Most ppl tend to "get in MY way" ( yes & without trashing the throttle). I often suffer from the "truckys problem" . ppl think because I have big tyres compared to them, that I can stop faster then someone with smaller tyres & smaler vehicle . . . ROFL yea sure . TUI
mrfxit,
Jan 23, 1:22am
For me . only when ppl do really stupid crap beside or in front of me. I don't have the instant pickup that most cars have, so I tend to drive conservatively most days. I KNOW the LIMITATIONS of my vehicle
Oh &. . WTF is it with ppl caling full size (let alone any real 4x4) (not frickin AWD's) 4x4's "cars"
franc123,
Jan 23, 1:25am
Knew that would get a bite.Until bigjerry comes back and confirms what his vehicle is I would say it is a ute and not a Surf.
mrfxit,
Jan 23, 1:29am
Either way, it would be licenced for commercial use at anything like that figure he suggested.
kevymtnz,
Jan 23, 1:42am
should ban all small diesel engines under 4L or mainly all the polluting ones and there are lots of them around
meadow_man,
Jan 23, 1:54am
It's the same crap with License fee's, check out the difference in motor cycle sizes and the fee's, not a great deal all things considered. To all you National supporters, reap what you sow suckers lol.
phillip.weston,
Jan 23, 1:55am
Actually no mrfxit, all utes are now catergorised as 'goods truck/van/utility', whether it's privately owned or owned by a business. According to the NZTA and their statistics, accidents which comprise of vans, goods trucks and utes tend to be more expensive for the ACC to cover, therefore the ACC levy in their registration fees are more expensive.
illusion_,
Jan 23, 2:38am
the devil is in the detail
goods truck/van/utility meaning goods truck OR van OR utility
a hulux (note: NOT a surf) is classed as a utility and therefore the moneygrabbers win again
my bigger landcruiser however is charged at the same rate as the Surf :)
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