Anyone know if you can run a blue truck (e.g./i.e Ford Pronto Chassis-Cab pickup) as a private vehicle?
I’m guessing/assuming that the ones you see around are commercially licensed and pay a (much?) higher rate of tax.
Anyone know (a) if this is true, and (b) how much it is, and/or © whether its possible to avoid paying it if you aren’t using the vehicle for business purposes (though I can probably guess that one).
[quote]I’m guessing/assuming that the ones you see around are commercially licensed and pay a (much?) higher rate of tax.
[/quote]
You are assuming wrong. They pay a much lower rate of tax. A 3000cc truck’s annual registration and tax is that of a 2000cc vehicle.
[quote=“Fox”][quote]I’m guessing/assuming that the ones you see around are commercially licensed and pay a (much?) higher rate of tax.
[/quote]
You are assuming wrong. They pay a much lower rate of tax. A 3000cc truck’s annual registration and tax is that of a 2000cc vehicle.[/quote]
Well thanks, that sounds encouraging. I’ve been told different by Taiwanese, but have no reason to believe they knew what they were talking about.
So if commercial vehicle tax is less, perhaps there’d be no official objection to my running one privately and paying more (assuming I couldn’t wangle some business connection to justify commercial registration)? In the UK there’s no objection registration-wise, (provided its not an HGV) but many insurance companies wont cover you at all or require you to buy commercial-use insurance at higher rates.
A registered company with a business license can own a commercial vehicle and register it as such. A private individual cannot. If you have a friend with a company and he’s willing to register and take responsibility for your truck then you’re set. He might be willing to do this if you offer to get his uniform tax code number on your gas and repair reciepts as he could claim those as company expenses against corporate tax. OTOH he’d be legally responsible for whatever you get up to in the truck…
Setting up a company just to save on vehicle taxes would not be worthwhile.
[quote=“redwagon”]A registered company with a business license can own a commercial vehicle and register it as such. A private individual cannot. If you have a friend with a company and he’s willing to register and take responsibility for your truck then you’re set. He might be willing to do this if you offer to get his uniform tax code number on your gas and repair reciepts as he could claim those as company expenses against corporate tax. OTOH he’d be legally responsible for whatever you get up to in the truck…
Setting up a company just to save on vehicle taxes would not be worthwhile.[/quote]
Hm…Forgetting about any potential tax saving for the moment (might be possible but not a primary concern) I’m still unclear as to whether you’d be allowed to register a light commercial (eg/ie Ford Pronto chassis-cab pickup) as a private vehicle, paying the standard private tax for its engine capacity class.
Its fairly common for people to run light commercials as private cars in the UK, and I believe, even commoner in the US with (not so light) pickup trucks, but maybe in Taiwan The Man likes to keep his vehicle categories separate.
Yes, you can register a light truck as a private individual. I forget what the top of that weight class is, but it’s certainly more than a couple of tons. Probably 3.5 tons or so.
Avoid the older 800cc Prontos like the plague… lousy weak engines (in both senses) and brakes in those. The newer 4-cyl version is much better, but I would go for the 1100cc CMC Varica… much tougher.
[quote=“redwagon”]Yes, you can register a light truck as a private individual. I forget what the top of that weight class is, but it’s certainly more than a couple of tons. Probably 3.5 tons or so.
Avoid the older 800cc Prontos like the plague… lousy weak engines (in both senses) and brakes in those. The newer 4-cyl version is much better, but I would go for the 1100cc CMC Varica… much tougher.[/quote]
Well, thats nice to know, ta. Only an idea at the moment, but when current transport (Sierra 2L automatic) dies or I get tired of paying its running/tax costs I’ll look into it further.
I figured the Varica would probably be a better vehicle, but I THINK the Pronto is the same machine as the Bedford Rascal / Suzuki Carry that was once marketed in the UK, and if so there’s a Haynes aftermarket repair manual available for it. I’ve discovered (from Kymco ownership here, and a Renault Dodge truck in the UK) that I really don’t like not having a manual available.
I’ve driven the panel van Bedford Rascal a couple of times and it was fairly unpleasant, and I’m a Lada enthusiast, so my standards aren’t high. It got the basic job done though.
In the UK I had a Honda TN550 Acty Van pickup with a (theoretically) demountable camper van back. Supercute, astonishingly space-efficient, and surprisingly sophisticated for a rock-bottom utility (eg de dion rear suspension). But that’s Honda. Rare as hens teeth, dealership suits had never heard of it and always put you through to the m/c dept where you got laughed at by people like Mordeth (I imagine).
I’m actually translating the entire Motor Vehicle Law or whatever you call it right now, so I’ll keep an eye out to see if there are any specific regs in the law (there may be other regulations in the “Principles for Applying the Motor Vehicle Law”, of course). It’s a very long law, though, so it may take two or three weeks to work through it. 
So far I’ve only seen definitions for light and heavy vehicles, not for private vs. commercial, but I’m sure that’s coming up later.
Yes, the Pronto is a badge-engineered Suzuki. The engine is weak… headgasket goes if the temp gauge creeps over halfway. I ended up stuffing a 2.8l V6 into mine, but that’s another story. 
I would so love to have my own little blue truck. Very useful and I think I would look cool at the wheel. 
bobepine
[quote=“redwagon”]A registered company with a business license can own a commercial vehicle and register it as such. A private individual cannot. If you have a friend with a company and he’s willing to register and take responsibility for your truck then you’re set. He might be willing to do this if you offer to get his uniform tax code number on your gas and repair reciepts as he could claim those as company expenses against corporate tax. OTOH he’d be legally responsible for whatever you get up to in the truck…
Setting up a company just to save on vehicle taxes would not be worthwhile.[/quote]
Maybe even better if you know a farmer. They get really good deals with stuff like this I’m told. When I get my little blue truck it will be going in the wife’s daddy’s name. (that may be a long time from now though)
[quote=“navillus”]
Maybe even better if you know a farmer. They get really good deals with stuff like this I’m told. When I get my little blue truck it will be going in the wife’s daddy’s name. (that may be a long time from now though)[/quote]The government caught onto that scam years ago. If your registered address was zoned as farmland you used to be able to simply paint “farm use” on the back of a vehicle and just drive it around sans plates, taxes or hassle. Of course the vehicles slowly drifted from blue trucks to old sedans and finally to Mercedes Benzes, and area of operations slowly crept to include the freeway and the downtown area of the nearest city. Naturally other citizens started complaining about this and there was a crackdown. Now the farmer’s S320 is like anyone elses except for the fertilizer and shovels in the trunk.
Only in Taiwan…
Yes, I thought I’d seen some reference to that, (in the context of chasing down and chastising dangerous drivers). Probably quite an interesting story technically (I might have a spare Ford DOHC 2L if the Sierra dies, bit less OTT?) but in view of the…err…regulatory environment…perhaps a bit too complicated.
Hmmm… slightly off topic, but when I was in Alberta around 15 years ago I remember hearing about purple gas, gas that farmers got at a discount rate that was coloured purple, does such a thing exist in Taiwan?
In the UK its pink diesel. Only supposed to be used on the farm, but it sort of “leaks” onto the general and HGV market, and there’s a lot of roadside fuel testing by HM Customs, with hefty penalties if they catch you. Also rumours of illicit stills to remove the pink stuff (“Run by organised crime”, but then its probably hard to run a still if you’re disorganised).
I’d guess Taiwanese would be at least as active in exploiting such a resource, and The Man probably less effective at prevention, so there’s probably no equivalent here. Could be wrong though.
I wonder what the smallest available commercial diesel would be; Delica maybe?
[quote=“Ducked”]
I wonder what the smallest available commercial diesel would be; Delica maybe?[/quote]Yep. Ford/Mazda have one about the same size too. They’re both pretty crappy though… gutless and unreliable. You want to go up to something like a Z20 or a Canter at least.
Sorry to relight this little legacy thread, but I did buy myself a varica 1100 to tour Taiwan with, havent done so yet, due to colder than usual circumstances, however, I have no idea what the specs of this van are, I would like to know things like the fuel tank capacity etc, and how much to pump the tyres before I leave.
I’ve searched on web, and found very little.
Did you guys find anything like spec or something on the varica?
[quote=“redwagon”]A registered company with a business license can own a commercial vehicle and register it as such. A private individual cannot. If you have a friend with a company and he’s willing to register and take responsibility for your truck then you’re set. He might be willing to do this if you offer to get his uniform tax code number on your gas and repair reciepts as he could claim those as company expenses against corporate tax. OTOH he’d be legally responsible for whatever you get up to in the truck…
Setting up a company just to save on vehicle taxes would not be worthwhile.[/quote]
Hmmmm…so what about all those trucks that used to say “personal use”?
Anyway, when I need one I borrow my BIL’s 3.5 Canter with hydraulic tailgate. Sure beats lifting things.
I would never own one or drive too often. If you crash, you’re the first person at the scene of the wreck. 
[quote=“JohnnyT”]Sorry to relight this little legacy thread, but I did buy myself a varica 1100 to tour Taiwan with, havent done so yet, due to colder than usual circumstances, however, I have no idea what the specs of this van are, I would like to know things like the fuel tank capacity etc, and how much to pump the tyres before I leave.
I’ve searched on web, and found very little.
Did you guys find anything like spec or something on the varica?[/quote]
'Fraid not. Some commercials have tyre pressures on a plate in the cab. I doubt its very critical, though. I generally run cars higher than the manufacturers recommendation, which is optimised for comfort.
For what its worth the recommended pressures for the Bedford Rascal pickup (AKA Ford Pronto/Suzuki Carry), a similar vehicle to the Varica pickup, are 25 psi front, 36 rear. These are commercial vehicle pressures and probably assume the vehicle is (fully?) laden.
When carrying the demountable Romahome camper on the pickup version (an early version of which I used to have, but mine was on a Honda Acty) its 28psi front and 35 rear. Presumably there’s more weight over the front and less over the rear in that configuration. (The camper has an over-cab section you could maybe stow a small child in.)
If yours is a van rather than a pickup/truck there’ll be a bit less rear bias, so the camper pressures might be where to start, but if you’re not carrying much and find the ride harsh/bouncy, drop it a bit in small decrements (maybe 2 psi at a time) until it feels OK.
Remember of course that its not a Roller, won’t ride like one, and very under-inflated tyres are dangerous. You shouldn’t need to go the other way but if you do you shouldn’t exceed (or even get near) the max tyre pressure moulded on the sidewall. Keep an eye on the tyre wear pattern.
I think Redwagon has posted a procedure for “tyre pressure tuning” involving sidewall chalk marks and other clever tricks which you might try and find if you decide to get obsessi…er…meticulous about it.
I’m not sure why you would care much about the precise tank capacity.
If you want an owners handbook you might be able to get one from a main dealer. It’ll be in Chinese, of course.
Alternatively, this bloke seems to be selling handbooks.
tw.f2.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/b38171448
Only shows a Delica and a Freeca at present but if you get a Chinese speaker/writer to enquire he might get one for you, at a price, of course.
They are sometimes still in the glove compartment when a vehicle arrives in the scrapyard.
[quote=“Elegua”]
I would never own one or drive too often. If you crash, you’re the first person at the scene of the wreck. [/quote]
Canter might not be so bad (bigger and higher) but the wee ones would be bad news in a crash. In the Acty I was always very conscious my thigh bones were the crumple zone.
Even those responsible 5th Gear people have been injured in the Rascal. Not exactly normal service though.