Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[alastairq]

I'm a little confused.

Reading from the classic motor press, it appears that any car/bike/other registered before 1960 will have to have a VHI declared on or around May 20.

Does this mean that, if I don't make an effort to visit my local sub-post office with V5c, Insurance, form V112 [MoT exemption form]...and V172, my 1951 Dellow would suddenly need an MoT to be road legal...despite not needing a valid MoT Certificate?

It isn't due for re-taxing until November....last time I did the deed online...without hitch....no mention of needing an MoT exemption declaration [equivalent to form V112]....The only time a V112 was submitted by me for the car was when DVLA's IT system got a glitch...and I 'taxed' it at the local post office. All other times, before & after, I have renewed the 'tax' online, and there were no issues.

I ask because , having scrutinised the dot.Gov sites I got the impression pre-1960 car owners need do nothing...as the exemption was already there?

In essence.....if the VHI declaration isn't dealt with first thing on the Monday, 21st May...will the car be on the road unlawfully, for some reason? Would this mean I couldn't drive to my nearest post office [5 miles or so]....in the car [no buses, donkey carts or trains]....?

Or can I just forget about it till next November?

[Rootes75]

Interesting, I have two pre 1960 vehicles on the road this year and I presumed we need not to do anything.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[lowdrag]

I fully understand the confusion. Originally it was to be going to be necessary to declare your car a VHI if it was more than 40 years old, the cut-off date having been changed to 1978 from 1960, and henceforth on a rolling basis. The 40 year age means that no further MOT is necessary, and the DVLA computer has been adjusted to automatically cope with this based on the date of original registration on your V5. So, if for example your car was first registered on 1/9/78 then automatically you will need no further MOT as from 1/9/18. There is nothing for you to do. In my case the car is not SORNed but laid up with VED until August but no MOT, so I rang the DVLA. As from 20/05/2018 the car can be driven legally on the road. Nothing to do. It's automatic.

However, there is also a 30-year cut-off for substantially modified cars, like my XKSS which according to the V5 is still a 1967 2+2 E-type. So the DVLA have incorporated a new question on the internet for renewing your VED, which even though we don't actually have one for the screen has to be done just the same. This question will ask if your vehicle conforms with the new regulations. This had to be done because so many cars out there have been substantially changed - a Bentley saloon to a Le Mans replica, an Austin 7 to a trials car, and even any original Rolls Royce since Rolls sold only the chassis and you took it to Thrupp and Maberley, Barkers, Park Ward or whoever.

The first draft included modifications such as a 15% increase in power plus other modifications such as modified brakes and goodness knows what else. All of that has now been dropped since it was overly complicated, and now all you have to do is click on line (or go to the Post Office if you will) to renew your road fund licence and tick the box saying that your car qualifies as a Vehicle of Historic Interest according to the new rules. And as said, the new rules are that it is over 40 years old or if a seriously modified car like mine that the modifications were carried out over 30 years ago. If my car had been modified less than thirty years ago I would continue to need an MOT until the rolling thirty years was reached, then it would qualify because the original date of registration was over forty years ago and the modifications over thirty years ago.

I'm sorry if this sounds complicated, but in effect your car will need no declaration, and all that has changed as far as you are concerned is that the 1960 date has changed to 1978. Happy motoring!

[alastairq]

The press are intimating that V5cs will need to be sent off for adjustment to reflect VHI.

Even though, both my old car , and my old old car, are both annotated as Historic Vehicles.

In fact, prior to all this kerfuffle [which started out as a zero VED thing].....cars made prior to 1972 were also zero VED [my Mustang is a 1967....and will have 6 months of MoT ticket left, come May...so I will bide my time with this VHI stuff for that wee beast.]

When I re-imported [IE, returned to the land of its origin]....my Dellow [which had gone to the USA in the mid-1990s]....I only had to pay 5% VAT[customs duty]....as evidence was presented to show its age, and the fact it was previously registered in the UK..[and in fact has retained it's original number.....].....I was surprised at the restrictions as to use, placed upon the car by HMRC to qualify as a 'historic vehicle'...in their terms.

In simple terms, I was only allowed to drive it about looking pretty!

Certainly not allowed to park it in Tesco's!

[lowdrag]