There has been a great deal of debate over the last year or so regarding ‘incorrectly registered kits’. These are kitcars that never had their correct ‘make’ and ‘model’ stated on their V5 registration document, but retained the donor vehicle’s make and model instead. We have now had news from the DVLA that they have FINALLY formulated a policy regarding these kits.
Before we outline the policy, however, a bit of history might provide some useful background.
Long before SVA was ever dreamed of, building a kitcar and putting it on the road was a very simple matter. One simply chose a kit, bought a donor vehicle, did the necessary work and went for an MoT test. Unfortunately, however, although many kits were perfectly soundly engineered, there were a few out there that left a little to be desired in terms of safety and compliance with various legal requirements. The problem was that although the MoT test could check the condition of various safety-critical components, it couldn’t check the design of those components. It was therefore possible to have (say) tyres of a completely inadequate speed and load rating on a kit and still be allowed out on the road as long as they had enough tread. Similarly, as long as the correct seat belts were fitted and working, it didn’t really matter if they were held into the floor with a couple of pop rivets!
It was as a result of these concerns that the SVA scheme was introduced. Initially dubbed the ‘Super MoT’, it finally emerged in pretty much the same form that we are familiar with today. It was modelled on a mixture of the old British National Type Approval scheme, the UK Construction and Use Regulations and the UK Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations. Although the last two sets of regulations did, in fact, apply to any vehicle used on a public road, their requirements were frequently ignored by kitcar manufacturers and constructors alike.
The way the regulations were drafted, the SVA test only legally applied to a vehicle being ‘first registered’ for use on a public road. As a result, the DVLA had to introduce a scheme whereby anyone building a car themselves got a ‘new’ registration. That way, the vehicle was classed as being ‘first registered’ and would have to go through the SVA test. On the other hand, the DVLA were keen not to mislead the public into thinking that a car built largely from second-hand parts was ‘new’. There was also a further complication in that some ‘kits’ really didn’t change the original donor vehicle that much and these could possibly be classed as still being the original vehicle.
This resulted in the introduction of the three distinct types of ‘kit vehicle’ that the DVLA still uses today.
A kitcar’ was a kit built entirely from new parts. This was straightforward. It could be allocated a ‘new’ registration without any fear of misleading the public and in doing so; it would obviously have to undergo the SVA test.
A ‘kit conversion’ was a car built from a mixture of old and new parts. These might have been an existing chassis with a different body, engine and seating plan, or maybe a new chassis and running gear but with a donor engine, transmission, brakes etc. These were dealt with by allocating a registration number, which suggested the car was the same age as its donor parts but NOT to allow it to keep the same registration as the donor vehicle. In that way, the vehicle would have a registration number that did not suggest the car was ‘new’ but at the same time, it would still have to undergo the SVA test because it would be the first time that the particular car in question had been issued with that particular registration –i.e. ‘first registered’.
Finally, they created a third category, which was a car that kept the original and unmodified chassis or bodyshell from the donor vehicle. These were deemed to still be the donor vehicle and that is why they are able to keep the actual donor registration and do not need to do an SVA test.
So that pretty much brings us up to date. It doesn’t deal with ‘Q’ plates or ‘Radically altered vehicles’ but it is reasonable outline of what happens to most kits currently registered in the UK.
So what about those older kits that are ‘incorrectly registered’?
Most ‘incorrectly registered’ kits were built before SVA came into force. July 1st 1998 is the important date here. Up until then, there was no SVA test to go through and although a kit builder SHOULD have informed the DVLA of the changes he was making to the donor vehicle, many chose not to do so. To be fair to the kit builders, some of the problem was that many years ago, the DVLA’s computer couldn’t cope with makes and models other than those of the major manufacturers stored in its memory. Nowadays, however, you can call a kit pretty much anything you like. (…and I’m sure many of us do so quite frequently)!
So for one reason or another, there were a great many kits running about whose registration documents would state a make of (say) Triumph and a model of ‘Herald’ rather than the make ‘Burlington’ and the model ‘Berretta’ for example. The DVLA were well aware of this problem and a few years ago, they held an ‘amnesty’ during which people with incorrectly registered cars could send their V5s to Swansea with a covering letter saying what they actually ought to have said. The DVLA would then issue a corrected V5 with no questions asked. PROVIDED, that is, there was some record of Swansea having been informed of the changes to the vehicle at the time it was converted. If the DVLA hadn’t been informed, they would send out a letter asking you to get it inspected by your DVLA Local Office to make sure it was what you had claimed. If you didn’t have credible evidence of the source of all the major components, they would still amend the V5, but would probably award a ‘Q’ plate. It’s possible this put a number of owners of incorrectly registered kits off contacting the DVLA.
The amnesty ended a couple of years ago now so owners who still have incorrectly registered kits are still in a difficult situation. The most likely problem they will (one day) encounter will probably be a refusal by an MoT station to test the vehicle. The computerisation of the MoT stations is gradually being rolled-out across the country. At computerised stations, the first thing the tester does is enter the registration number of the car. The central computer then comes back with the vehicle’s details (such as make, model, age, emissions requirements and so on). Obviously, a vehicle not correctly described will be flagged up as the donor vehicle and this is likely to create problems or maybe even a refusal to test. Although we are not sure of the precise implications as yet, the other effect of having an incorrectly registered kit is the negative effect on resale value caused by uncertainty over what the future holds. Either way, it is plain to see that things would be much better if everything was correctly described.
After a long period of lobbying by various sectors of the industry, the DVLA has now come up with a policy on re-registering existing kits without an SVA test. Unfortunately, this will not solve everybody’s problem. But some readers might be able to take advantage of the new policy.
The DVLA have agreed that IF there is credible evidence that the car has been on the road for AT LEAST 10 years AND there is at least ONE old MOT certificate describing the vehicle as what it currently is rather than the donor vehicle, the DVLA will amend the registration document to correctly describe the vehicle without an SVA test having been carried out.
Unfortunately, there will still be a fair few vehicles less than 10 years old that won’t be able to take advantage of this scheme. Our advice to such owners would be to hang on to the car (take it off the road and complete a ‘SORN’ declaration if necessary) until it is over 10 years old. We shouldn’t have that long to wait because on July 1st 2008, all the kits that should have gone through the SVA scheme will, by then either have done so or be more than 10 years old.
One last suggestion would be to approach the DVLA themselves and ask for a copy of any relevant correspondence that they hold on your vehicle. The DVLA used to microfilm all correspondence relating to any car and they hold it for the car’s entire life. Sometimes, this can provide helpful clues as to whether or not the DVLA were informed when the car was built. In order to do this, you need to write to the DVLA giving your reasons for wanting a copy of the vehicle record. You have to be the registered keeper and you’ll need to have a good reason for asking AND you have to pay £5 or so but the information you get sometimes proves to be well worth it.
The address to write to is:
Fee Paying Enquiries Section
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1AJ
Remember to quote the registration number!
