DVLA, Vinyl Wrap, Colour Change....ARGHHHH!

[Rill]

I have a road legal track/race car that has recently had a vinyl wrap that covers approximately 50% of the bodywork. I did a bit of “googling” and the consensus of opinion appears to be that because a vinyl wrap is classed as a temporary colour change I do not have to change the colour of the car on the V5.

Being the cautious chap that I am I decided to contact the DVLA for email confirmation of this and that is when the fun started. I originally sent them a message explaining the situation on the morning of 23-11-2009 and I received a standard response at about lunchtime on the same day simply listing all the modifications that require DVLA notification.

I then sent a second message explaining that they hadn’t really answered my question and could they please try again. A few hours later I received another response advising me that if I had changed the colour of my car I should indicate which colour now best matches my vehicle from the list below, fill in the appropriate section of my V5 and return it to them.

I then sent a third message, this time replacing any words and phrases from my original message which may be the cause of the confusion, i.e. stickers instead of vinyl wrap etc. The following day (24-11-2009) I received an auto-generated response informing me that my question requires input from a specialist department and they would get back to me within 10 days. Finally, I thought I was getting somewhere.

This morning I have received another auto-generated response informing me, yet again, that my question requires input from a specialist department and they would get back to me within 10 days. Is that 10 days from today or 10 days from 24-11-2009 which is when I received the previous response telling me I'd get a response within 10 days?

Is my question really that difficult?

Edited by Rill on Monday 30th November 10:24

[kwk]

Try and give them a ring and ask who you are speakind to. The personal touch is sometimes better. When you get your answer, ask them to confirm in writing. My wife works there and they're not all bad.

[the_lone_wolf]

As above, they've always been polite and helpful whenever I've had to phone them...

Emails are easy to ignore

[Rill]

Thanks kwk, I'm sure they're not all bad mate....but you can probably appreciate my frustration with this particular debacle though. Please pass on my regards to your wife!

My intention was to ring them but I cannot find a number anywhere, apparently the only way to contact them is by email or by visiting one of their regional offices.

That'll be the regional offices that are only open when I'm at work I suppose!

[Rill]

What is this mystical number you speak of lone wolf?

Are my "Googling" skills really as pants as that?

Edited by Rill on Monday 30th November 10:52

[JumboBeef]

Good luck with the DVLA. I'd love to see them sort out what colour this should be on the V5!

http://www.rossvw.com/vw/pics/harlequin/Thumbs1.ht...

[JumboBeef]

Rill said:

What is this mystical number you speak of lone wolf?

Are my "Googling" skills really as pants as that?

Try this:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/contactus/localoffices/...

[Rill]

JumboBeef said:

Good luck with the DVLA. I'd love to see them sort out what colour this should be on the V5!

http://www.rossvw.com/vw/pics/harlequin/Thumbs1.ht...

I know the answer to that....apparently one of the colours you can choose is MULTI!

Edited by Rill on Monday 30th November 10:57

[the_lone_wolf]

Rill said:

Are my "Googling" skills really as pants as that?

I'm afraid so dude

What he said^^^

For non-local enquiries I've always phoned HQ in Wales, if only because the accents make me smile...

[F i F]

Rill said:

JumboBeef said:

Good luck with the DVLA. I'd love to see them sort out what colour this should be on the V5!

http://www.rossvw.com/vw/pics/harlequin/Thumbs1.ht...

I know the answer to that....apparently one of the colours you can choose is MULTI!

OP answers own question drama shock horror probe.

Surely you just refer to your car colour as MULTI on the V5C

:clarkson:
How hard can it be?
:/clarkson:

[mat205125]

At what age must drivers of red Alfa Romeos, and Vauxhalls contact the DVLA to inform them that their cars are now pink?

[Rill]

F i F said:

OP answers own question drama shock horror probe.

Actually no....as I said it's classed as a temporary colour change and as far as I am aware it doesn't require changing. My concern is that I don't want to have an argument on the side of the road with an over-zealous Police Officer who has stopped me because of the colour of my car. My car is a magnet for the Police (understandably) hence the reason I carry my V5, insurance document & MOT about with me on the very rare occasion it ventures out on a public road.

Written evidence from the DVLA would make things so much simpler.

[Rill]

Update: I've phoned the DVLA....thanks for highlighting my poor reasearch skills guys!

Apparently I've got to Fax them!

[pits]

mat205125 said:

At what age must drivers of red Alfa Romeos, and Vauxhalls contact the DVLA to inform them that their cars are now pink?

Woh! Anyone who lets an Alfa go pink does not deserve to own an Alfa

[peterguk M500]

JumboBeef said:

Good luck with the DVLA. I'd love to see them sort out what colour this should be on the V5!

http://www.rossvw.com/vw/pics/harlequin/Thumbs1.ht...

They probably just called it st

[simonrockman]

I'd stop now. The ball is in their court. Wait for the specialist to get back to you. If no-one does and in the extremely unlikely event that it causes a problem, you can demonstrate that you tried to get it resolved.

Simon

[Rill]

simonrockman said:

I'd stop now. The ball is in their court. Wait for the specialist to get back to you. If no-one does and in the extremely unlikely event that it causes a problem, you can demonstrate that you tried to get it resolved.

Simon

Yep, I'd have to agree.

Fax machine broken....rang DVLA back and asked if there was an alternative....they told me to email them!

[Thudd]

That Harlequin is turquoise.