Can I, as a private driver, buy a crew cab?

Recently returned home from Australia, looking at buying second hand Land Rover Discovery or Range Rover. I’m confused with the commercial crew cab idea. If I buy a crew cab as a private driver, no small business or VAT number, can I drive it and get it taxed commercially or am I going to make trouble for myself?

Cheers

Paul

Paul Lynch (Nenagh)

Sep 2020 Filed under: commercial vehicle

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Expert answer

Hi Paul,

Short answer: yes. The good bit is that you can still pick up second hand crew-cabs, or large SUVs that (briefly, technically) qualified as commercial vehicles and they are generally cheaper to buy than their regular passenger car counterparts. However, if you tax such a vehicle as a commercial, you can only use it as such — no social, domestic, nor pleasure use and there are some hefty fines if you’re caught out. 

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Advisor
@neilmbriscoe