Expressway charges changing again > ETC = worthless

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

Thanks Metabo.

 

Did you make much use of it?

 

Sure did! Nearly every week this season.

 

Car will need an early tune-up this spring.

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

There was a story in today's paper about plans to reduce or eliminate some of the highway discounts.

 

Plans not finalized yet, but current proposal includes reducing the 50% discount on weekends, holidays and late night to 30%, and eliminating the 30% discount on weekdays outside of rush hours.

 

Changes would take effect from April 1st, 2014.

[KlingKlang 1]

Hurray for Abenomics!

 

Oh, hold on, wait...

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

Hurray for Abenomics!

 

Oh, hold on, wait...

 

Hurray indeed: people will see highway tolls becoming more expensive -- especially relative to their shrinking paychecks -- which will, by reverse psychology, make driving on the highway seem even more valuable and desirable, thus inspiring ever more driving to distant recreational locations, resulting in copious economic stimulation throughout the land.

 

Fiendishly clever, wish I'd thought of it. But I didn't, and that is why it is called Abenomics, not Metabonomics.

[Alexander L 80]

It's plenty expensive as it is. Especially Kyushu. 250 yen for 50 yards of road from Sasebo onto coastal road. Rip off.

[pie-eater 207]

Well, as we all know, Abe knows best and so if that is what is needed for the good of us all, then I jolly well support it!

 

[BagOfCrisps 24]

A true follower, pie-eater.

 

Do they still have free use for Tohoku people?

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

I think they still have something for people who were forced to evacuate due to the meltdown, so they can go to their homes in the exclusion zone now and then and get their stuff. Nothing else anymore.

[pie-eater 207]

There was a meltdown?!

 

I want to know where that goo is. And, actually, is it goo? And it's green right, as goo often is. Or pink.

 

A true follower, pie-eater

 

He inspires it, BagOfCrisps. What can you do?

[muikabochi 208]

I really hope they don't scrap those discounts.

 

[NoFakie 45]

Stick the new ETC info up if you hear it Metabo.

 

Here's also hoping you can get some skiing in this season

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

Will do, Mr. W.

(And thanks!)

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

Looks like some of the local holiday discount reductions will be put off for 3 months, so as not to coincide with the raising of the consumption tax April 1st. The rest of the reductions, however, are still set for April 1st.

 

Oh, and now they are thinking of increasing the discount for trucks.

 

So the highways will become more expensive for ordinary cars, but cheaper for trucks.

[pie-eater 207]

If they do that, I'm deffo buying a truck, maybe like Chriselles.

 

[Chriselle 158]

Yippee..... I'm a 1 number "truck" so I should be getting in on some of this goodness.

[HighlyTrainedNovaTeacher 2]

Is number 1 bigger than the one pie-eater posted?!

[Thundercat 60]

Yippee..... I'm a 1 number "truck" so I should be getting in on some of this goodness.

 

Does that mean you have to do shaken every year?

[muikabochi 208]

That's one big truck.

[NoFakie 45]

Sorry to ask the obvious question, but how many folks who've converted to 1 numbers put the back seats back in?

Does it void your insurance etc. if you do it? Can you get away with saying its "temporary"?

[grungy-gonads 54]

"Converted to 1 numbers", Mr Wiggles?

[NoFakie 45]

Conversion to a 1 number is taking the back seats out of a minivan to register it as as a van for supposed commercial use.

With older minivans, taking the back seats out is usually enough for the car to qualify as a goods van.

For a car with a three litre engine, the road tax (jidousha-zei) is about 40,000 a year less for the same car if its registered as a commercial van.

Shaken on a commercial vehicle is yearly, but the taxes at shaken time are about half the two year shaken for regular cars.

[Chriselle 158]

My LandCruiser was originally registered as an "8" number because it had a factory installed camping set/bed in the back. Way back when..... 8 number taxes were cheap so all the LC guys took out the third row of seats and put in cheap camp sets and got their trucks changed over from 3 to 8. About 10 years ago or so the 8 number taxes went WAY up so everyone did the 1 number re-registration which has the cheapest tax rates. But, shaken is every year, insurance is little more expensive and you have to put welded hinges in your back seats because the second row of seats on a 1 number cannot recline. After the shaken we just take them off again.

 

I have to do shaken every year and it's a bit cheaper but only about 20%......not half Mr. Wiggles.....I wish.. I think in the long run it may be a wee bit cheaper to have the 1 number but up until now elevated 1 number highway fees ate up any savings. I'm interested to see how much of a supposed discount we are going to get. I expect the government to make up those discounts somewhere else like raising the price of diesel or some other "gyousha" tax.

[Chriselle 158]

Sorry to ask the obvious question, but how many folks who've converted to 1 numbers put the back seats back in?

Does it void your insurance etc. if you do it? Can you get away with saying its "temporary"?

 

Well, I would say no one. Most want those heavy, goofy 3rd row of seats out of there. Assuming you did though... having an accident in a truck with 7 people in it that is only registered for 5 or 3 (1 number) will automatically void your insurance...(of course).

 

I took the 3rd row of seats out of my previous 5 number Prado (9 passenger) and was told to be careful of the cops should you have an accident. It could affect the outcome of a settlement. Basically, any modification out of the specs of registration is a no-no. BUT....8000k + HID bulbs, LED tail lights and markers, blow off valves...etc...Everyone does it though...

[NoFakie 45]

Thanks for all that Chris. Especially the detail. My idea was whether you could temporarily put the car into a 1 number config just to save on the tax. The numbers I got were for an E50 Elgrand, which is 3.3L and 58,000 for the jidoshazei. Off the info I found this morning online ( ), with only the front seats, it goes down to 8,000. WIth the front and second row of seats, it goes down to 17,000. You're totally right about the other non-shaken mods though. Possibly the dodgiest is some of wheel/tyre sets people put on their cars.

[Chriselle 158]

Ya..my shaken is about 80,000 but my 4x4 shop has to put on smaller tires (mine stick out about 1 cm beyond the fender), the second seat brackets, headlights and tail lights, and some other stuff ....all to pass shaken. They only charge me 5000 yen to do all that work which is pretty reasonable when I consider how much time and effort it would take me to do all that in my driveway.