Wingmirror Tax payment issues

One of our vast fleet of vehicles has become eligible for paying the wingmirror tax

 
Which raises a question: when?

Not having a wingmirror

1. gives you a tactical advantage in negotations with oncoming traffic when that oncoming vehicle still retains theirs.
2. lets you drive through monty at least 3 mph faster.
3. stops you having to worry about cars driving past when you are parked in those same montpelier streets.
4. ensures that you aren't elegible to pay the tax a second time.

Any disadvantages?

1. unless the mirror is blatantly hanging off, held on only by duct tape, oncoming vehicles may not realise that you don't care about your wingmirrors; you really need to communicate your status and intent to achieve the best outcome in the negotiation over who goes first.
2. being passenger side, you have to park your car on the wrong side of the road to gain immunity to the passing-car problem.
3. Pulling out from parked is slightly harder. You may even now want to consider indicating.
4. it's not great changing lanes on the M4
5. Bicycles coming up the inside of you on a bus lane have to look out for you switching into their lane before a junction -but they had to do that anyway.
6. Kills that conversation starter in the evening post "a cyclist smashed my wing mirror and cycled off -and do you think they were insured". 

Apart from the motorway lane changing problem, all of these are manageable, and the key advantage "you know you won't break it again" gives tangible tax-payment reductions.

The only time you need a functional wingmirror is the day of the MoT.

Which raises an interesting idea for a new business: wingmirrors to rent by the day.

1. Survey the streets of monty and the taxis of the city, build up some stats of vehicle brands & types in the target market. (example above; VW)
2. Identify those mirrors in the market where the cost of replacement is significant: (example above; VW). 
3. Build up a stock of the main mirror types from some of the discount online wingmirror retailers (yes, they exist).
4. Discreetly let it be known that you can rent mirrors at a rate of £5/mirror/day.
5. Rent them

The need for building up the portfolio of mirrors could be avoided if you start by requiring a weeks notice "to put you in the calendar". You can then buy the mirrors on demand online, building up the set of mirrors you need driven directly by customer demand.

Yes: this could work.

The main competition is actually going to be mirror theft: you need to price your daily rate low enough that it's not worth stealing mirrors off other vehicles

Other than that though: "wingmirrors to rent" could be the new business to transform the city.