Percy’s road tax ran out today, so it was time to renew the tax disc. Luckily, it’s a fairly easy and painless process to do in the UK. I received the reminder letter from the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) two weeks ago and with that reminder there was a reference code, which you just enter into the website http://www.gov.uk/taxdisc
The Fairway Driver is listed under the manufacturer Carbodies and tax class is private/light goods with engine capacity over 1549CC, making the cost of renewal for 6 months £123.75 or for a full year £225.
I did contemplate getting just the 6 months but thought there wasn’t much point renewing again when we can always get a refund if Percy doesn’t make it through the year (fingers crossed he does).
This has got me thinking about the running costs for our ex London Fairway taxi and it dawned on me that we probably pay more to keep him stationary on the road than we do for driving him around. I was curious to know if this was the case and if so, how much does it really cost to keep an ex London Fairway Driver taxi running.
Note to self, do these sums BEFORE you decide to buy a car.
The parking permit to have the pleasure of parking somewhere on our road or the road behind if you’re lucky, or sometimes several roads away if you’re unlucky, costs £115 a year. MOT costs £54.85.
Classic car insurance for a Fairway Driver for 3000 miles a year in the NW8 area costs £220 fully comprehensive including roadside assistance.
Assuming average diesel price for the year is £1.50 per litre and that Percy does 6 miles per litre then diesel costs for the year are roughly £750 per year.
Road Tax – £225
Westminster Parking Permit – £115
Classic Car Insurance from Peter Best (NW8 postcode) at 3000 mile limit – £220
MOT – £54.85
Estimated servicing costs and parts (doesn’t include the ‘upgrades’ we’ve bought Percy so far) – £100
Diesel (for the year) – £750
Grand Total – £1464.85
Pleasure of owning Percy – Priceless
To put this into perspective… if we were to do 3000 miles in a Hertz on Demand car club car it would cost roughly £1750, based on 65 days of hire a year and although we moan that we sometimes have to walk to the road behind the flat to find Percy, the nearest Hertz on Demand car is a 10 minute walk away so Nina would never be able to drive to school for those early morning meetings twice a week. Maybe the sums do add up after all.
The rabbit is an optional extra…
could have told me this patch was fake!
Percythelondontaxi 
Hi!
Following these thought provoking calculations on the running expenses of Percy (to sum it up – is Percy worth keeping, or does it deliver what it costs to maintain?), I found it interesting to compare what a cab costs in France, to what it does in its native Britain, or in this case – what Sherwood cost me so far :
· Initial purchase price: £500 (or 600 €)
· expenses for fetching the cab in UK (train, ferries, hotel, food, diesel) : 350 €
· certificate of conformity (delivered by Octobus, France) : 1000 €
· certificate of registration (France) : 200 €
· pair of EU headlights (2nd hand Austin Mini) : 50 €
· pair of chrome gutter mouldings and rear window strip : 70 €
· rear plate light replacement (Lucas replica in glass and chrome) : 26 €
· stainless steel fuel cap : 15 €
· front indicators replacement (Land Rover) : 12 €
· set of 4 remould tyres (+ transport) : 240 €
· professional fitting of tyres : 72 €
· calorstat, thermostat housing gasket, radiator hoses and caps : 110 €
· professional repair of fuel ignition pump: 760 €
· MOT : 65 € (must be taken every 2 years)
· historic/classic vehicule insurance : 65 € (per year)
Roughly a grand total of 3700 € (or about £3100)
On the bright side :
– no road tax (suppressed in 2000 in France)
– no parking fees (off road parking space in front of my house)
– diesel is cheap: 1.35 €/litre (9 or 10 litres per 100 km, or 30 MPG)
– insurance is cheap: 65 €
– and you also get a very strong and reliable car : autobox, power steering, servo brakes, bulletproof diesel engine, electric windows and mirrors, fantastic turning circle, loads of space inside, incomparable look, etc..
Conclusion: while initial purchasing price of a cab in UK is low (between £500 and £1500 – so much car for so little), the certificate of conformity delivered by Octobus – Carbodies sole importer in France – is murder, but once the cab is registered and in good nick, annual running costs are minimal, and the pleasure of feeling “British” everytime you climb your cab – this glorious little piece of British heritage – is unspeakable!
I wish Percy a long life in your keep 😉
Hi Kabhi2011,
Thanks for sharing your running costs for Sherwood with us. It’s really interesting to compare the costs of running a Fairway for private use in London against France. I’m sure it’d be useful for anyone looking to own a Fairway either here or in France too.
That certificate of conformity seems rather extortionate, but like you say you have no road tax or parking permit to pay for, and you get every penny back from the pleasure of driving around in your Fairway.
All the best to you and Sherwood
Paul, Nina and Percy
Hi Paul & Nina,
Thanks, I like this word extortionate – that’s exactly what it is ! Especially since all of it goes into a private pocket – not a cent to the tax revenue – but there’s no way around it – no certificate of conformity = no registration!
As a comparison the certificate of conformity for a Jaguar – any type – is something around 70 €.
But when you’re hooked on cabs, it’s a cab you must have, not a Jaguar…
Hi Kabhi2011,
At least it’s good to see that a Fairway Driver taxi is worth more than any Jaguar in the importer’s eyes.
Kind regards
Paul, Nina and Percy