{"id":237868,"date":"2023-09-10T11:50:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T11:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/?p=237868"},"modified":"2023-09-10T11:50:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T11:50:04","slug":"how-the-vw-id-3-vauxhall-astra-and-mini-justify-their-40k-price-tags-is-beyond-my-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/car-reviews\/how-the-vw-id-3-vauxhall-astra-and-mini-justify-their-40k-price-tags-is-beyond-my-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How the VW ID.3, Vauxhall Astra and MINI justify their \u00a340k price tags is beyond my comprehension\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Rutherford is growing increasingly frustrated at the cost of buying a brand new car<\/h2>\n


\n<\/p>\n

One half of the story goes like this: September 2023 is a good month to buy a new car, what with the arrival of the 73-plate and no end of manufacturers and dealers having more models in their compounds, aboard their globe-trotting ships, on their quaysides or within their showrooms and storage yards than they know what to do with.<\/p>\n

So far, so good. But then the story goes wonky. The irrefutable fact is that retail prices for factory-fresh cars are prohibitively high \u2013 and becoming higher still \u2013 for private buyers. Vehicle producers and their franchised outlets are seeking larger profits, while the third protagonist in the selling equation, the UK Government, happily grabs its highly lucrative 20 per cent VAT on every new car sold. Talk about easy money for doing next to nowt in return.<\/p>\n