So far only Bugatti owners are sweating...

[PeterCrespin]

One day they might start sniffing around the Robey or Hutson order books...

This is the text of a DVLA letter going out to about 150(?) Bugatti owners at present:..

Dear [name]

Vehicle registration [XXX XXX]

I am writing to you as our records show you are the keeper of a[sic] 'Historic' vehicle. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency have been made aware that the recorded date of manufacture for a number of vehicles may not be accurate. Initial investigations have confirmed that some historic vehicles have been built using replica/replacement parts or a mixture of period and new components and have therefore been incorrectly registered. A period manufacture date has been recorded in error and the registration number allocated based on this date.

I hope you will appreciate that DVLA has a legal responsibility in ensuring that our records are accurate. This letter aims to provide you with advice and guidance on how DVLA will look to resolve this matter. DVLA require information about the provenance, construction and origin of your vehicle. You should provide as much information about your vehicle as you can. This could include:

Copies of receipts
Old documents such as log books
Copies of historical race sheets or reports
Recent / historical photographs
Copies of old sale advertisements
Extracts from books

We also require information on the age and origin of major components your vehicle comprises of, such as chassis, engine, axles, and steering assembly. You should also advise if the vehicle has been rebuilt, restored or entirely constructed in the last 25 years. The relevant owners club may be able to assist. The information should be send to:

Vehicle Registration Policy.
Strategy, Policy and Communications Directorate
D16
[DVLA address]

Using this information, together with the documentation that was provided at first registration, we will assess whether a historical classification is appropriate for your vehicle and if the date of manufacture is correct. If the vehicle has been recently built using a new or replica chassis, it is likely the DVLA records will be incorrect. You should be aware that we may contact the relevant owners club to help with our investigations.

Once investigations are complete, we will write to you again explaining our conclusions. If any amendments are needed to the information DVLA holds on the vehicle record, these will be made and a new vehicle registration certificate issued. This could involve the issue of a different registration number. In addition, in some cases individual vehicle approval may be required and/or a Q registration number may be appropriate.

Please be aware that while these investigations are ongoing, applications to notify a change of vehicle keeper will not be processed.

Yours etc.


Anyone sweating yet? How many nanoseconds before the price bubble popped for cars graced with a Q-plate? SVA too - hmmm, that could get interesting! Maybe S2s/3s would be the only ones able to pass. Hopefully they'll be too busy to go after volume-production post-war cars like ours, but the E-type has a mega-high profile and you know what they say about tall poppies.

Pete

[mystery type]

so far only Qugatti owners are sweating

been a long time coming, its a wonder it took this long.

[Tony]

My oil filter, spark plugs and tyres are not original , plus a few other bits. Should I be worried.?

[christopher storey]

The standard reply should be

" Kindly direct me within 7 days to the relevant regulation and/or statute which gives you the power to require me to give you this information for a vehicle in respect of which I am in possession of a valid V5C"

[MarekH]

Any time a vehicle changes hands or any details on the v5 change they'll be entitled to ask that question, since you make a declaration that the details are correct.

In this case, their argument is subtly different in that once a year you have to tax your vehicle or declare a SORN and a historic vehicle (defined as made before 1/1/1975) has a rate of tax of ?0 so they are asking whether it was really made before 1975 - as defined by them - or whether it ought not be taxed at a rate of ?240 per year, so once a year when you renew your ?0 tax disc, they are asking for confirmation that it is in the right tax category.

Arguably, you should simply reply confirming that their records are indeed correct and leave it at that.

kind regards
Marek

[Mark Gordon]

That's a big advantage to owning a classic car in Virginia. When I bought mine in 2008, I registered it as an antique (defined as any automobile that's over 25 years old), paid the $40 registration fee which is good for as long as I own the car and don't have to go through annual safety or biannual emissions inspections (I guess equivalent to your MOT.) Seems like our governments are always trying to take their pound of flesh, but here in the U.S., most states have provisions for antique cars similar to Virginia's.

[Paul71a]

sounds like Triggers broom scenario ! ;0)

[markc555]

Surely this is a wind up, someone having some fun at the expense of the "collector car" business.

The internet and social media ensure that these urban myths proliferate at light speed and before you know it they're on respectable motoring and club forums as fact

Mark

[PeterCrespin]

Surely this is a wind up, someone having some fun at the expense of the "collector car" business.

The internet and social media ensure that these urban myths proliferate at light speed and before you know it they're on respectable motoring and club forums as fact

Mark

Please don't confuse bare-bones reportage with gullible rumour-mongering.

Far from being a 'wind-up' [sic] the DVLA team leader John Vale has put the wind up the Bugatti Owners Club and I don't suppose they are uniquely venal. That being the case, I also don't anticipate DVLA will stop there. Clearly the Federation of British Historical Vehicle Clubs don't think so either. They sent representatives to discuss the move with DVLA staff on July 9th, six days after the letters went out.

Still laughing?

It may be a wave that affects nobody here, but I wonder where Jaguar stand with any of the new lightweights registered in the UK? Would they need or pass SVA?

Pete

[Sjmmarsh]

I am sure the new lightweights are 'competition cars' and so will not be lad legal in the UK. ?1m is a lot for a car that you can't drive on the road and may not be recognised as a true historic for many racing series...

Steve