Holland the most expensive place in Europe to buy a new car?
This makes Holland the most expensive place in Europe to buy a new car. Coupled to this, is the astronomical road tax, which is calculated on weight in the Netherlands. The heavier the car the greater the road tax, the logic being that the heavier it is, the more damage it does to the road and the more polution it emits. For a 2000kg (2 ton) Defender, the yearly road tax is currently €1500 euros, that’s around £1000 a year.
But, Holland has a 25 year classic car exemption from all this. Using the date of first registration (not the build date as in North America) once the car attains 25 years since first registered, it is no longer liable to road tax and becomes “belastingvrij” or tax free in English. Also, because the vehicle is 25 years old, there is no BPM (Dutch imported vehicle tax) to pay on import. So for the last couple of years, since the 110 quietly celebrated its 25th birthday, the Dutch have been importing early 110 of all descriptions from neighbouring countries. This includes the UK where there is a plentiful supply of all Land Rovers, especially the early Land Rover 110 albeit with the steering wheel on the right.
This together with the demand from the USA has seen some good and some not so good examples of the 110 and 90 climb in price out of proportion to newer Land Rovers. Take a look at eBay UK or the UK version of Auto Trader if you are in the market for an early 110. You will not find such a bargain as you could have done a year or so ago, but you may just be lucky as times are a little harder now with the credit crunch and finances not being quite as sound as they once were for some people.
The information on this website is derived from my own knowledge base and experiences as encountered over several years of dealing in Land Rovers. If there are any mistakes or errors, I apologise. I will add more information as and when I get time.
