"The Historic and Classic Vehicles Alliance – founded in 2021 and the classic car alternative to the Countryside Alliance according to chief executive Guy Lachlan - explains to This is Money the rigmarole around the DVLA registration process, and why it's so important that the 'systemic' registration issues are fixed. HCVA says owners are falling foul of DVLA's ambiguous registration processes."
Here's why your classic car is at risk of being slapped with a Q-plate:-
https://www.thisismo...ssues-HCVA.html
The call for evidence - what is it?
The classic car call for evidence was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper at Bicester Heritage on May 9.
Running for eight weeks - until election day on July 4 - it's a huge moment for the classic car industry that's been campaigning for over four years 'to streamline every aspect of historic vehicle registration'.
But with the coinciding election there's a threat of it getting lost in the election run-up.
For the sake of the historic motors everyone wants to continue to see on our roads, the livelihoods of 115,000 people the HCVA estimates work in the classic car industry, and the £4billion the industry brings in yearly revenue, it's imperative enthusiasts and motorists answer the call.
So what's causing the registration issues?
It's always been the case that imported and highly-modified historic vehicles can be subject to new Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs), Q-plates (used on vehicles where their history is unverifiable) and sometimes needing to re-pass vehicle approval.
But the classic car registration process hasn't been updated since the 1980s.
It used to be that local DVLA offices would look at each car and rationally examine any changes, talk to the owner and make an educated and sensible decision on how the car's changes or modifications should or should not alter the registration of the vehicle.
But cost saving measures were brought in, and offices were gradually closed. The DVLA system was centralised and the process has, according to Guy Lachlan, 'become a victim of its own bureaucracy.'
Today the DVLA's focus on modifications and repairs has led to many unilateral decisions denying genuine historic identities and original registration numbers.
How these decisions are reached is anyone's guess according to Guy: 'It's the only industry that operates to rules not published anywhere'.
Paul Griffin, lawyer, member and former board member of the HCVA, reported in an article in Classic & Sports Car that the DVLA's focus has 'stretched beyond even imported and highly-modified cars, and increasing numbers of enthusiasts are finding themselves powerless against unilateral decisions'.
DVLA intervention can be prompted by seemingly any number of things; from a minor body change to a new drivetrain component, or simply drilling a hole or undertaking standard repairs that improve the safety of a car and its drivability.
Obviously, there are some cars that really are modified beyond all recognition – two vehicles welded together to make one for instance - and warrant a Q-plate, but for the most part the HCVA says 'even radical change doesn't remove vehicle identity'.
Guy added 'the key is continuous vehicle history'.
The re-registration process - a letter
If your car's been put under scrutiny the process usually starts with a letter from the DVLA informing you that because the vehicle no longer has the component with the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), so the vehicle is voided and can't be used on the road until it's re-registered.
The DVLA will tell you to re-register your car with a new VIN, Individual Vehicle Approval and a Q-plate registration number.
The problem is that 'the DVLA processes are inconsistent' Guy explains. 'The appeals process isn't fit for purpose, you can go through arbitration and court, but that's too expensive for most people'.
And according to Paul 'most appeals to the DVLA fall flat'.
When questioned the DVLA told Classic & Sports Car: 'Applications relating to historic vehicles are considered on a case-by-case basis, based on the evidence provided.
(More in the link above)
Edited by mab01uk, 20 June 2024 - 10:38 AM.
