[Vision2020] engine tax

[Chris Storhok]

Ah yes, the good old Japanese engine tax.  What is missing from the
story is some off the interesting side effects of this tax as there is
more to the story than a tax on the size of the engine.  The same law
also pretty much mandates that once an engine hits 50,000 miles it no
longer will meet Japanese emission standards, if you want to keep the
engine you have to pay a tax; however, if you replace the engine, the
tax is waived.   The result of this tax is an almost inexhaustible
supply of after market engines and parts that are shipped around the
world to non-authorized parts suppliers and mechanics.  Have any of you
ever wondered how come there is such a price difference for parts
between shops that are certified by Honda, Toyota, Subaru and the other
guy who "specializes in foreign cars"?  It's the parts.  Believe me, I
found out the hard way many years back when I had trouble with the fuel
pump of my Mazda 626 (at that time the 626 was built in Japan).  I went
to an unauthorized repair shop in Moscow (it closed in the 90's),
naturally to save a buck, and they slapped on a really cheap fuel pump.
Six months later they put on another one, finally I took it to the one
dealer in town who had a certified shop and they explained the problem
to me.  I did a bit of research on my own and found out that the
certified dealer had told me the truth; the cheap shop had replaced my
fuel pump with a used pump.  

On the positive side of the equation, if you happen to own and race
Japanese cars in SCCA events, you have a really great supply of cheap
parts that usually need replacing after a race or two anyway...

Chris      


 

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
[mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Paul Rumelhart
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 5:26 PM
To: Vision2020
Subject: [Vision2020] engine tax

Fellow vision2020-ites,

While wandering aimlessly through the internet one day (meaning that I 
don't remember where I came across it), I found out that Japan has an 
engine tax.  The smaller and more fuel-efficient the engine, the smaller

the tax.  The tax apparently ranges from about $40 to $800 or so 
annually, iirc.  People who own more than one car would presumably be 
taxed on both.  In these days of higher gas prices, global warming, and 
pollution concerns, it seems to me like it could be a good idea for our 
country to adopt.  We could start with lower numbers and add it in to 
the registration cost.  That's presuming, I guess, that the registration

cost doesn't already include it.  Does anyone know what that amount is 
comprised of?

Any thoughts on this?  Is it a good idea?

Paul

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