mini-el restoration - ** success at DVLA **

Own the fantastic City El trike ?
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booboo
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Postby booboo » Sat Sep 01, 2007 9:16 am

The joys of MoT success have been swamped by the despair of dealing with the DVLA .

The DVLA website only gives advice on how to register imported vehicles that are less than 10years old, so I opted to give the helpline a call. Having explained what the vehicle was, its age and the circumstances I was told I needed to complete a form V55/5 and either take,or post, the completed form (and other relevant documentation) to my local DVLA Office (in my case this would be Brighton).

At no point did they tell me that the forms are only obtainable from the local DVLA office in person ('coz they dont have a public phone number) or that you have to order them by phone from the DVLA helpline - which was who I phoned in the first place!!! :?

This would have been useful knowledge to have had before a 20min queue at the local post office.... :evil:

After a third call to the DVLA helpline, I now hopefully have a form on its way. :roll:


Aaaargh, I can tell this paperwork side of things is going to be far more grief than the mechanical/electrical side.


I'm feeling tired and emotional now, so I'm off for several beers and a lay down.
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

anachrocomputer
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Postby anachrocomputer » Sat Sep 01, 2007 11:41 am

If the vehicle is over 10 years old, all you need are MOT and insurance documents. But, you'll need to prove the date of manufacture, so normally you'll need the original registration document as well.

The web-site info doesn't explicitly say anything about older vehicles, but as you saw, tells you all about how to deal with cars less than 10 years old. When I called in to my local branch, the person dealing with the form knew right away that over 10 years old, just an MOT required.
1994 Suzuki Cappuccino
1992 Mini-El electric bubblecar

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Fri Sep 07, 2007 2:59 pm

Went to the DVLA offices in Brighton today armed with my newly completed V55/5, MoT, Insurance cover note, Driving Licence and utility plus my German "registration document",handbooks and the original purchasing paperwork.

Despite my optimistic hopes of a smooth transaction, my progress has now hit the buffers .
The gent behind the protective screen would not accept my green German "log book" type paperwork as proof of the vehicles age. This was because the date of manufacture ,although stamped in three seperate sections of the form, was not actually stamped in the box he thought it should be. :roll:
He also feels there should be some proof of import duties having been paid, which I do not have. Despite me pointing out the first owner (Maurice Gibb) is now deceased, I have had to complete a Customs and Excise form and await their reply.
:?

He has retained all my paperwork plus handbooks,insurance,MoT etc whilst they investigate . I can expect a reply in 5 working days... :wink:

I told him I was concerned at the offer of simply posting the items back unless it was via recorded delivery (which they refuse to do), so I have instructed them to contact me once they have finished with the paperwork and I will collect it in person. I am paranoid about it going missing.

Now I know why they have protective screens.........
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Fri Sep 07, 2007 4:11 pm

URG! What a nightmare!

John's went through almost as a breeze. I wonder if the guy was just being a jobsworth? May be worth trying the DVLA here if they're being a nightmare!

Nikki
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booboo
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Postby booboo » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:12 am

I've decided to bombard DVLA with overwhelming evidence proving that my mini-el is of the age described.

So far I have sent an e-mail CityCom in Germany and CityEl in Denmark asking if they are willing to help by providing letters supporting my claim.

My next goal is to obtain evidence of age related differences between the various models, the fact mine is fully convertible should help. Plus the type of motor fitted, dashboard layout etc. Any help in this area would be most appreciated.

I've also researched the DVLA customer complaints procedure and looked up the details of my local MP.

Having come this far, I am somewhat reluctant to just roll over ...... :evil:
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:34 pm

What a mere :shock:

Cant beleive its this hard :? whats there actual problem, I cant quite understand what the problem is , does it actually matter when it was made ?? or am I missing something , surely they can just register it with a new plate ??

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:20 am

ChrisB wrote:What a mere :shock:

Cant beleive its this hard :? whats there actual problem, I cant quite understand what the problem is , does it actually matter when it was made ?? or am I missing something , surely they can just register it with a new plate ??

ChrisB


Hi Chris,

From my perspective the problem is one of a complete lack of common sense being displayed by staff at DVLA Brighton :evil:

In truth, they are completely hung up on a date missing from a particular section of a green German "log book" type document. The fact that the dates are consistent in three other sections of the same form,and also tie in with the service hisitory and other documents supplied with the vehicle, is totally ignored.

They are therefore rejecting my claim that the mini-el is of 1991 origin and are pushing for me to accept a Q plate - which I refuse.

In an effort to ease the deadlock, they insist I provide an official written
translation of the documents provided and/or a letter of authentication from the manufacturer or Owners Club. Once this has been obtained they will examine the vehicle themselves.

Then they MIGHT amend their decision... :roll:

All this on a vehicle that has a manufacturers vehicle Identification Plate
with the wording " Baujahr 91".........which directly translates as " year of manufacture 91". :shock:

So far I have e-mailed several sources supplied by Nikki and am awaiting replies.

I have also taken up a complaint with DVLA Customer Services and my local MP.

I'm absolutely furious at the amount of effort this is taking, with no immediate light at the end of the tunnel.
:cry:
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:15 am

a Q Plate is for vehicles of questionable origin. They've found a question and therefore it's of questionable origin and consequently they want to put a Q on it.

Jobsworth comes to mind for some reason :wink:

Personally I like Q plates I built a Spartan many many years ago when Q plates first came out and I had my Spartan (see below) on a Q. I'd get just as many people wanting to ask me about the reg as I did the car plus no one could ever age the car so I was more than happy at having it on a Q

Image

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booboo
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Postby booboo » Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:13 pm

Love those Spartan kit cars...quite a shame later ones were based on Ford Cortina's....which are now becoming quite rare.

As for DVLA Brighton;

***** SUCCESS *********

Round two today at DVLA Brighton produced a result .....looks like my letter of complaint to the Customer Services Manager at DVLA Swansea, copied to my local MP, got noticed. 8)

Plus I managed to obtain a letter of support from Andreas at TWIKE as the present UK importer for the vehicles.

Faced with overwhelming evidence, I got my age related plate :P

My good wife has always said I'm a stubborn sod.... :twisted:
London to Brighton on a Sinclair C5 - 6/5/07 - what a trip !
Ford Explorer 4.0 v6 petrol for everyday abuse - thank God for LPG
Sinclair C5's (Plus "c5alive.co.uk" ) as a hobby

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:47 pm

Hooray!!!

So do you have the aforementioned number now emblazened on the beastie ? :wink:

Careful what you say about the Cortina as my Spartan was actually built from a 72 2000GT


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