The 'E' Type Forum

I’ve bought a Canadian Import 1962 FHC project which was imported into the UK and reslgustered last December.

The E-types being delivered tomorrow but the V5 has been transferred to me today and I noticed it’s been given an ‘A’ registration and a registration date of 31/12/63 even though it was built and exported to Canada in 1962 (according to the Heritage Certificate).

My question is how do DVLA decide what year an import should be registered too and is the above is a mistake can I get it reregistered as a pre-A?

Mike, have you tried through membership of clubs like the JDC or JEC, they have the experience to help on these matters? Even if you’re not a member, the cost of a year’s fee is well worth the help given.
Give both a call, first, to see what they think.

Geoff

Hi Mike,

I had the exact same issue when I first registered my 62 FHC. Unfortunately it was a few years ago now and I can’t remember the contact details, but the bottom line is you need to contact the DVLA and highlightbthe issue.

There aren't many rules for registration of a vehicle but one of them is you cannot put a plate on your car that makes it appear newer than it actually is!

As long as you have the heritage certificate stating it was manufactured in 1962, you should be able to get a correct, pre-A plate.

Keep at them, even it they send you another A plate (like they did with me!)

Cheers, and good luck.

Not sure if this helps and cannot recall where I read this - but apparently DVLA seem these days not be too worried about fitting a fairly close plate with the explanation that one can always purchase an older plate from many sources...

I posted the V5 back to DVLA with a copy of the Heritage Certificate showing date of manufacture, and a covering letter explaining there’d been a mistake when it was registered back in January (by the previous owner) and that it should be on a 1962 plate.

Couple of weeks later I got a call apologising and saying they’d change the reg number and my new V5 would be back in 10 days - result!

I don't wish to be a prophet of doom, but you may well find that instead of the A plate you end up with TSU*** or something similar

I would have thought a “TSUxxx” plate is a lot better than an A plate on a 62 reg car, but if not surely it’s simple enough to get a private plate of choice (funds permitting)

Not really, Darryl. It immediately marks it as a re-registered import, whereas the A plate is age appropriate even if it's a month or two later than the car

I’m leaving it as a LHD so it’s going to be obvious it’s an import anyway

I am going through the process right now and carefully put together everything and sent it off.

A week later everything came back. My heritage certificate was rejected for being too old,. i got it in 2017. They state that all the documents need to be the originals and the heritage must be less than a year old. They also did not like the fact I used the delivered to date from the heritage, preferring the manufactured date.

I decided then to follow the DVLA guidelines and get a club to endorse my photos and my V55 form, registration doc etc.

I sent everything to Louise at the etype Club and she prepared a letter and endorsed all my documents; V55, Nova etc and requested that DVLA give me a D plate rather than the E plate that DVLA would have given me as the US registration stated 1967 even though the car is June 66.

I am yet to send this off but for £25 it was preferable to getting another heritage certificate and risking rejection again.

I am confident that a lot of the problems are likely down to who you get at DVLA and how pedantic they wish to be.

Hope this helps

Chris

Just an update to this thread.

After 1 more rejection I eventually received my registration document which was an E suffix and not a D. We all know this is not great news if your car is August 1966. An E Suffix would likely mean a series 1.25 or 1.5 which are worth less than a true series 1 so when I come to sell people would be confused.

I sent everything back with a covering letter and the heritage certificate etc... DVLA called me and they stated that they had followed guidelines and dated from the US Title which states 1967 (no date just a year).

I then wrote to them again with historic documents from Nevada State proving that title dates changed from August 1966 to a 1967 model year which was common for many states. I waited a further 6 weeks and got a call today to say they would date the car on the heritage certificate. Bizarrely before they corrected the mistake I checked the MOT status and the date of manufacture was logged as 31 December 1966 so when applying the E suffix they entered the wrong year in their system in any case.

It will certainly depend on who reviews your paperwork but don't leave anything to chance have the documentaton very clear. If I did another one I might not even include the US title especially if the date is incorrect or vague.

Cheers

There are "true series 1" Etypes on an E Suffix plate. My uk S1 was built and registered in May 67 and therefore on an E Suffix.

The DVLA are under an obligation for the vehicle registry to be accurate. However, when I went through the V55 application process following our car being imported from the USA with a 1964 title, they registered it as 1st Jan 1964 even though the build ledger and heritage certificate showed it not being manufactured until June 1964. Having pointed out their obligation for things to be accurate (plus the factory records) they then changed the date and issued us with a revised V5

I don't know if I'm jumping in without reading the full thread, but an August 66 car would be registered as a 67. The system changed plates on the 1st August each year so 1st Aug 66 would mean a 67 reg. Although we hsave a different system now, I guess they would have to follow the rules at the time.

John

Herzeg wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 09, 2022 2:27 pm

I don't know if I'm jumping in without reading the full thread, but an August 66 car would be registered as a 67. The system changed plates on the 1st August each year so 1st Aug 66 would mean a 67 reg. Although we hsave a different system now, I guess they would have to follow the rules at the time.

John

Er don’t think so. All 66 cars were D reg and E was Jan-Jul 67, when they moved the year start to 1st August as dealers were too hung over to hand cars over on 1st Jan

Just to complete my story. I sent back my E plate registration with a letter and a new heritage certificate together with signed documentation from the Jaguar Etype Club to DVLA and finally I got a call to say they would issue the correct D plate. It then arrived in the post virtually the next day. Hurrah!

Basically if you persist you should get things corrected but it costs time and a little bit of money.

Thanks
Chris