Another MOT question

[Observer2]

I have an import car that was first registered in the UK on 1.7.2003. I bought it in September 2003 and the V5 states "declared manufactured in 2002". I have no way of establishing when it was first used.

My question, then, is "When is (was) the first MOT test due?".

[MrsMiggins]

Depends on who you ask. My bike was manufactured in 1999 but registered new in the UK in May 2000. DVLA sent me an MOT reminder thingy telling me the first MOT was due on 1st Jan 2003; I reckoned it should be 3 years from new i.e. May 2003.

I phoned DVLA on more than 1 occasion and spoke to several different people. One went as far as telling me that my bike wasn't new because it was made from 'old components'. WTF? I pointed out to him that using that criteria meant that nothing is ever new and pointed out that that would be patently ridiculous. He stuck to his story but couldn't get anyone to explain the rules clearly.

Eventually I managed to speak to someone more senior after I emailed them instead of phoning. They apologised for the phone muppets, explaining that they only read the script from the screen. I then received a letter confirming that the first MOT was due in May 03 as I expected.

[gilbertd]

If a vehicle is declared new when first registered, it is three years old on the third anniversary of it's registration. The fact that it may have sat in a field for a year before going on to a dealers where it sits in their showroom for another 6 months doesn't matter. A VIN check with the manufacturer will often show a car was up to 2 years old when it was first registered and declared new.

With an import, the V5 will show a declared manufactured in date. This will have been verified by documentation from the country it was imported from (and entered on the V55/5 when first registered here). You should have that documentation but if you don't DVLA will be able to tell you the exact date. If no documentation had been produced, you would have got a Q plate and it would need an MoT from day one.

[Dwight VanDriver]

If evidence can be amassed that the vehicle was used on road outside UK then imported it is the end of the year of manufacture plus 3 years for a requirement to be tested. If it hasn't been used then the date is taken from that when first registsred in UK.

dvd