Buying a van when not VAT registered

[Rascal]

Hi All,

When buying a van from a dealer the price is always advertised as + VAT. Not being VAT registered I can't claim that back. What I can't figure out is what is the true value of the van. Am I being penalised buy paying VAT on top of the 'true' value of the van or is the real value the price including VAT. Am I better off buying privately?

Thanks in advance

Tom

[Poldenacc]

Hi,
Put simply, dealers are required to add VAT onto the sales value of the vehicles they sell, but are equally able to recover any VAT on their purchases.

I would suggest that you look at both commercial dealers and private sellers and compare both on total price. Don't get too hung up on the VAT, just add it to the value charged by dealers when comparing prices.