Spring is nearly here
Well, according to the meteorological calendar Spring started on the 1st March which takes us two thirds of the way through the 200 Club Year and not an interim update in sight. Hopefully not just the heralding of Spring but the start of Barchettas coming out of hibernation and facing a rapidly changing world – not to mention the new revised car tax rate of £275 a year.
Inevitably with the 200 Club it’s a numbers game. We now have 222 members in the Owners Club of which 15 have joined since the beginning of 1 July 2021 – only 2 of those have joined the 200 Club – about 13% – which leaves plenty of room for improvement! Just to put you completely in the picture because I know you are really curious – we have 83 allocated tickets sold but 6 of those may not be repeat business – which by simple deduction leaves 77. Don’t switch off just yet – of those 77 – 18 are split between 9 members – which leaves the remaining 59 tickets. All of which is a somewhat convoluted way of saying that out of 222 Club members only 68 have joined the 200 Club i.e. just over 30%. Not quite a 20/80 Pareto principle but not far short.
We are in our fifth year now – Y1 prize fund was £440 but based on only nine months of subscriptions- Y2 £740 – Y3 £980 and Y4 £1091 – it is still the Owners Club main source of income. You can see from the prize fund which is normally distributed between four or five tickets that the cost of car tax and insurance could easily be met – with pretty good odds for a win- by the purchase of a single ticket in the 200 Club Lottery. Do consider Chris Knott Insurance again as each policy taken out creates a small percentage commission for the Club not just on our Barchettas but our ‘everyday’ cars as well- they can actually be very competitive!
These are very difficult times for all of us but it does look as though we should still manage to pass the £1000 prize fund again this year – so thank you to everyone who has continued to support the 200 Club and for those of you yet to join there is still time in this year.
Details of how to join the 200 Club are available here.
Mike Barnes
Treasurer
…”not to mention the new revised car tax rate of £275 a year…”
When I acquired my barchetta in July 1999, a year’s VED was £155 and every year since then the cost has either remained static or increased by either £5 or £10 (except for 2010/11 when it went up by £15).
In December 2021, I paid £280 for a year’s VED, so you mean it’s been reduced by a fiver? That’s a first …
It’s always gratifying to know that someone has read an article on the website and taken the time to comment.
Steve’s point has raised an anomaly which maybe related to the age of the car – my B was registered in 2005 – and looking back the RFL was the same last year as it is this year £275. I had thought it had increased on last year – but obviously not! So status quo – no reduction and no increase! Not sure why there is a variance though.
Hi Mike – I wonder if it’s something to do with the engine type? Up until October 2000, barchettas were fitted with an engine type designated as 183A1; after that the engine type became the 188A6. Same size and (I think) power output, but maybe slightly lower emisssions from the newer engine type?
I believe I have the answer! Taxation changed for cars registered before or after 1st March 2001. Before that date an engine size over 1549cc was taxed £280 (I have just paid £295)
Cars registered after that date are in Band “I” emissions and were paying £275 now £2?? So newer cars slightly cheaper.
Taxation did indeed change to an emissions basis if registered after March 2001. From that date until April 2004 the Barchetta emission rate was 198 g/km – Band J – so will cost £330 from April this year. If you have a Barchetta Facelift (as the Vehicle Certification Agency call it) registered May 2004 or later, it will be rated at 181 g/km – Band I (£290 this year).